I wаѕ messing around trying tο fix mу sink. Tһе hot water wouldn't turn аƖƖ tһе way οff, аחԁ tһе water knob under tһе sink іѕ ѕο οƖԁ аחԁ rusted tһаt, wһеח I tried tο loosen іt wіtһ a wrench, іt sprung a leak аחԁ..... tο mаkе a long ѕtοrу short, I need tο сυt tһе hot water οff аt tһе source. I seem tο һаνе managed tο ԁο tһіѕ bу moving a lever οח tһе pipe coming out οf tһе hot water heater іחtο tһе "οff " position. Mу qυеѕtіοח іѕ....іѕ іt ok tο turn tһаt lever οff? Am I going tο cause tһе water heater tο back up аחԁ explode οr anything? I doubt tһаt Ican ɡеt a plumber out until Monday. I don't mind חοt having hot water....I јυѕt dont' want tο blow up mу basement !
I јυѕt realized frοm Kim R.'s аחѕwеr tһаt I didn't mаkе myself clear...I already tried tһе silver, football-shaped knob under tһе sink, bυt іt іѕ ѕο rusted tһаt turning іt caused a leak tο ѕtаrt іח tһе pipe itself.
Sο Mustella Frenata....I actually ԁο һаνе two shut οff valves, one οח tһе incoming pipe аחԁ one οח tһе outgoing. Arе уου saying іf I turn οff tһе one going out, bυt חοt tһе one coming іח, I don't һаνе tο shut οff tһе power?
Plumbing emergency question !?
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Wed, Sep 16, 2009
September 16th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Nope, that is just the isolation valve. It’s whole purpose is to shut off hot water so that you can do repairs.
Now, I am assuming you have a hot water heater like mine where the isolation vale is actually on the cold water INLET to the water heater (so that you can turn it off to replace the water heater without having to shut off cold water to the whole house). Feel the two pipes — the hotter one is the outlet, the cooler one is the inlet. They are also almost always marked on the water heater, but on old ones it can be really hard to read.
If it is going to be shut off for more than a few hours (that is, you are not going to be able to have someone fix the faucet today) then you should shut the gas or electricity off to the water heater or turn it all the way down, so that it can’t slowly evaporate away all the water that is till inside it (since the outlet has a leak). Instructions for how to do that should be on a plate on the side of the water heater. You don’t need to do this immediately, but it should be done within a couple hours.
If your isolation valve is actually on the OUTLET valve (rare, but could be the case) or if you have isolation valves on both the inlet and the outlet, then just shutting off the valve from the water heater outlet to the rest of the house is OK and you don’t need to worry about shutting down the hot water heater itself. There is nowhere for the water to evaporate to, and even if it did then the inlet will replace it with fresh cold water.
Be very careful about shutting off gas water heaters. Ideally you want to shut off the main burner without shutting off the pilot light (this guarantees any gas that might sneak through will be burned). Most gas water heaters will have a control knob that can be set to "off" or "vacation" while leaving the pilot light lit. Don’t try to shut off the gas supply (at the wall) unless there is no way to shut down the water heater itself — it is possible that a leaky valve could let enough gas trickle through after the flame is out to slowly build up a dangerous level of gas later, that could flash or explode when you try to relight the pilot light. BTW, your local gas company will usually send someone around for free to relight the pilot just to be sure it is done safely, if you do the repairs yourself. If you have a plumber do the repairs, have him relight the water heater when he is done.
Oh yeah, one last note — if you leave the water heater on and you have turned the outlet valve off and the water heater is fairly old (over 10 years), check to make sure the overflow or relief valve pipe (which usually comes out of the top of the heater) has a bucket or something to catch any water that starts coming out of it, or that it vents to the outside of the house. It shouldn’t start venting just because you close some valves, but with really old water heaters who knows — they can sometimes do odd things. Better safe than sorry.
While working on this one repair, go around and check all the other faucet isolation valves under each of your other sinks — others may need fixing too while you are at it.
This is also a good reminder to go around and close all of those valves down then open them upo again once a month or so, to make sur they never get this badly stuck again. Thanks for reminding me, I need to go do so myself right now!
=== RESPONSE ===
Yep, if you have two shutoff valves at the heater, just turn off the OUTLET valve (the hotter one if they are not labelled) and you don’t have to worry about shutting off the water heater. I would still put a bucket under the overflow pipe if it opens to the inside of the home or garage, though — just to be sure…