should I switch off water?

hotcookie101

We are going away in 3 days, for 2 weeks. We have had a couple of leaks within the last 6months on our mains water pipe (lead) outside the property, but past the stopcock, so our responsibility, so they have been repaired.
I was wondering if I should switch the water off at the stopcock when we go away-in case the pipe goes again when we aren't here. Just worried it might increase likelihood of freezing? Any possible complications? I am going to be leaving the heating on in the house at a slightly lower than normal temperature (cat is staying at home with someone feeding him-if I switched water off I would leave bottled water for him to drink)

divadee

If you turn the water off then your heating won't work will it?

That's how it works in my house anyway I think.

dampdaveski

Hi Hotcookie,
It's never a bad idea to switch the water off when you're going to be away for a couple of weeks.
Whilst im most definately no plumber, if you have a combi boiler then you will most likely have a sealed or pressurised system, this system is not affected by your incoming water supply
Even if it was a gravity fed system (top up water tank in the loft) it would be more than likely be ok for a couple of weeks assuming of course you didn't have any catastrophic leaks in the system

Have a nice time

DD

googler

divadee wrote: »

If you turn the water off then your heating won't work will it?

That's how it works in my house anyway I think.

Tell us why your heating needs a constant supply of mains water, please...

SAHD_Jim

AFAIK, if it is a combi boiler, it should shut off if pressure was to drop to a low level for any reason, so it is safe to leave on even with the supply switched off.

If the water is not required, it is extra peace of mind to have the supply switched off. Near neighbours of mine had a flood while they were abroad (albeit for 2 months) two winters ago and it nigh on destroyed their entire house.

macman

Shutting the stop**** won't remotely reduce the risk of freezing. All it will do is prevent the water from continuing to flow from the mains should there be a burst.
It's thawing that does the damage, not freezing.
If you have a conventional boiler, then closing the stop**** will prevent the header tank from topping up should the level drop.

Enterprise_1701C

We always turn off the water if the house is empty for more than a few days, we have had leaks in the past.

But then, we have a warm air heating system

Mrs_Skrimper

divadee wrote: »

If you turn the water off then your heating won't work will it?

That's how it works in my house anyway I think.

It depends on your type of system. On some systems the central heating is a sealed unit so doesn't depend on an external source of water BUT with this type of system you will have a hot water storage cylinder and you MUST NOT RUN ANY HOT WATER TAPS. If you do you will empty the cylinder but the CH coil will continue to heat the air in the cylinder with obvious and expensive results.results. The best thing is to check with your usual central heating maintenance engineer or the CH maintenance department of your gas supplier is your system runs on gas.

(I worked for British Gas on the emergency service for many years)

Stooby2

I would guess the lead pipe is going due to mains pressure and being very old - it's a common problem where I live and I replaced my water main when we had a new drive fitted to be on the safe side. My neighbour's main went half a dozen times (including flooding my under floor space) until he had a new one fitted.

In the long run, it will probably save you time and money to get a new water main fitted. Not cheap at the time, but cheaper than constant leaks and repairs.

hotcookie101

Thanks everyone. I didn't think switching it off would reduce likelihood of freezing pipes-more increase it as the water would be sitting in it, rather than flowing.
We have a combi, so heating works with no water
We are planning on getting new mains, it is just getting someone to do the work, and when to it. It's just as we away so soon......

kevin0410

edited cos i didn't read the op's first post properly!