my mom is leaving her condo in FL for 3-4 months. should she shut off her electric hot water heater at the breaker or leave it on and running. there's no vacation switch. not sure what to do. her condo was destroyed by a leak which flodded then molded. Just gutted put back together. very nervous on what exactly she should do now when she wants to leave? thanks
2007-09-19 04:43:01 · 7 answers · asked by becky c 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Hi i am an actual electrician. Most of the houses i wire are vacation homes so I deal with this alot. There is no harm in turning off your water heater while you're gone. I actually recomend it because it can be costly keeping it on and not using it at all. Draining it is fine too. HOWEVER!!!!! Be sure you COMPLETELY filled up BEFORE you turn the power back on to it!!!!! If it is not then you will be replacing another water heater becaue it will damage the coils inside. If you're not comfortable using the breaker to turn it off you can hire a licensed electrician to come and wire in a switch and you might even consider a timeclock box that can save you even more money on your ever increasing power bill. I hope this answer helps!
2007-09-19 06:22:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Becky ...
Just turn the breaker off and also turn the water off going to the rest of the trailer. That way you avoid any other potential leaks or damage that might occur.
The water heater is self contained and nothing will evaporate, but since she is going to be gone, you dont need hot water.
Save the money and tell her to enjoy the 3-4 months away from home.
2007-09-19 05:09:18 · answer #2 · answered by david a 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn the power off at the breaker. Shut off the water supply to the whole unit. Water sitting in the heater probably won't evaporate and it will not break the tank.
2007-09-19 04:53:06 · answer #3 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
turn the breaker off that will save you money also the risk of a fire hazard also turn the main water supply off say for instace you had a slow leaking toilet or dripping facet the water charges don't add up .if there is no danger off freezing of course in fact shutting down all non essential systems will save her a chunk of money.
2007-09-19 04:58:14 · answer #4 · answered by randall g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think that as long as it is a new heater, it should be ok.
I would recommend if you are going to shut it off, turn off the water supply to the whole house. You wont be there to use it anyway.
Just my 2 cents.
2007-09-19 04:47:35 · answer #5 · answered by tom p 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn off the circuit breaker. It won't hurt it at all. No need to drain it at all. Turn off the water if you wish.
2007-09-19 07:49:45 · answer #6 · answered by John himself 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why not just shut it off drain it until you get back ?
2007-09-19 04:47:19 · answer #7 · answered by J*Mo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋