Any plumbers out there? Quick plumbing question.

[Aimros]

Hi everyone,

We need to fix a leaky shower, so the plan is to shut off the main water supply (in the cellar). Do we have to shut off our natural gas water heater as well? The main water would be shut off for at most 1-2 hours. Just wondering if we need to shut it all the way down and then go through the process of relighting the pilot, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Squirlz]

There should be no need to shut it off.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

Just turn the dial on the water heater to "vacation" mode. The pilot light will stay lit, but the water heater will not turn on.

 

[rwdavis2]

Don't worry. I shut off the water to the house occaisionally and never touch the heater.

 

[Fly4free]

You should have a shut off just for the shower. Mine is in the hall backing up to the tub/shower. No need to shut off all the water in the house just to fix 1 faucet.

 

[Kies99]

You should have a shut off just for the shower. Mine is in the hall backing up to the tub/shower. No need to shut off all the water in the house just to fix 1 faucet.

I agree with this. No need to shut off water to the whole house or even the water heater. Just access the pipes and shut off there (my access is alwo in the hallway backing up to the shower). I've worked on faucets/pipes many times and never shut off the whole house.

rwdavis2....saw your signature with the Pittsburgh Dad quote. I am such a Pittsburgh Dad! Can't tell you how many times my wife is out and we have "breakfast for dinner"!

 

[sam_gordon]

You should have a shut off just for the shower. Mine is in the hall backing up to the tub/shower. No need to shut off all the water in the house just to fix 1 faucet.

We don't have a shower shutoff. The sinks & toilets all have their own shutoffs, but our shower/tub don't.

That being said, I agree that you shouldn't have to turn off your heater.

 

[sbell111]

The only time that you absolutely need to shut off your water heater is if you are going to empty the water from it. If you shut off the water downstream (either by shutting off all water to the house or just the pipe that enters the water heater) you still don't need to shut off the water heater as long as no one is using a bunch of hot water.

If you are concerned that someone in your house might use up your hot water while you are making the repair, you can close the valve on the output side of the water heater as well as the main supply to the house. This will stop anyone from being able to use the hot water and ensure that the tank remains full.

 

[Aimros]

Thanks everyone. I'm not worried about anyone using up the hot water while the repair is being done, mostly because, well, the water will be shut off. Like others, we do not have a separate water shut-off for just our shower (I'm sure it's behind the wall somewhere). We do have separate shut-off's for our toilets and sinks, but not the showers. My parents did not have a separate shut-off either, so when my Dad was redoing their bathroom he made sure to put one in. It makes sense, but we don't have one currently.

It sounds like the general consensus is that we don't need to shut the water heater off. This is what I thought, but I wanted to make sure we didn't cause any damage to the water heater and/or cause a gas leak or something .

 

[sbell111]

Thanks everyone. I'm not worried about anyone using up the hot water while the repair is being done, mostly because, well, the water will be shut off. Like others, we do not have a separate water shut-off for just our shower (I'm sure it's behind the wall somewhere). We do have separate shut-off's for our toilets and sinks, but not the showers. My parents did not have a separate shut-off either, so when my Dad was redoing their bathroom he made sure to put one in. It makes sense, but we don't have one currently.

It sounds like the general consensus is that we don't need to shut the water heater off. This is what I thought, but I wanted to make sure we didn't cause any damage to the water heater and/or cause a gas leak or something .

Regarding the bold part, you should know that in most cases, even if you shut off the water to the house, the hot water from the water heater will still run if you open a tap. You could very easily empty the how water tank this way and burn it up if you are not mindful of the issue. If you close the valve where the water come from the water heater, you guarantee that this cannot happen to you. (That's actually why that valve is there.)

 

[sam_gordon]

Regarding the bold part, you should know that in most cases, even if you shut off the water to the house, the hot water from the water heater will still run if you open a tap. You could very easily empty the how water tank this way and burn it up if you are not mindful of the issue. If you close the valve where the water come from the water heater, you guarantee that this cannot happen to you. (That's actually why that valve is there.)

I'm not a plumber, but I thought if you cut off the main valve to the house, NO faucet would work. The water company provides pressure. Without the pressure, how does the water flow?

Also, if you have a shutoff for a shower/tub, wouldn't you need two... one for hot, one for cold?

 

[rwdavis2]

I'm not a plumber, but I thought if you cut off the main valve to the house, NO faucet would work. The water company provides pressure. Without the pressure, how does the water flow?

Also, if you have a shutoff for a shower/tub, wouldn't you need two... one for hot, one for cold?

You are correct. If you shut off the water to the house there is no pressure to push the hot water out of the tank.

 

[Aimros]

We'll make sure not to run any taps, even though I don't think anything comes out when the water is off anyway. Thanks!

 

[tOSU]

You are correct. If you shut off the water to the house there is no pressure to push the hot water out of the tank.

Yup...

OP make sure you also wear pants that hang low so when you bend over you have the plumber crack - if not you didnt do the job correctly.

 

[sbell111]

You are correct. If you shut off the water to the house there is no pressure to push the hot water out of the tank.

A full water heater has the weight of the water to help push the water out.

 

[brerrabbit]

sbell111 is right. It all depends on the location of your water heater in relation to the shower you are working on. Our water heater is in the attic so the hot water will run until the tank is empty if a faucet is on even with the main water supply shut off. What kind of work are you doing? That would dictate how long you need the pipes open and if it will be a problem or not. Many homes do not have shut offs for showers or tubs. If I were to ever get a new house or build a new house I would use a Pecs water system. It is a manifold system where you have an individual pipe going from the panel to each faucet in you house. Each hot or cold valve can be shut off at the panel and you can then do what ever you need to without ever shutting off the main valve. That helps because at least in our area whenever you lose your pressure or shut the main valve you get sediment in you system and that means I have to go clean every faucet by taking off the nozzle and cleaning the screens which takes a while.

 

[sam_gordon]

A full water heater has the weight of the water to help push the water out.

Our water heater has the pipes on top. So the tank itself can't "push" water out unless there's an inflow of water.

But yes, if you have a gravity fed system, that would "push" the water.

 

[Aimros]

Yeah, our water heater is in the basement, so I don't think the water would be able to push upstairs...

All we have to do is replace a washer and/or the core of the faucet to stop it from leaking. It should only take 2 hours tops.

 

[Aimros]

Yeah, our water heater is in the basement, so I don't think the water would be able to push upstairs...

All we have to do is replace a washer and/or the core of the faucet to stop it from leaking. It should only take 2 hours tops.

 

[sbell111]

If that is all it is, it should ony take two minutes.