While on holiday turn off water with open vented system?

[Marcus67]

Also check what your insurance policy says about it - they vary quite a bit.

Some will be OK with the heating on. Some will withdraw cover if you don't shut off and drain down. The period you can have the house empty before these requirements kick in varies.

I did check this; the policy allows for either draining down or keeping the heating on. It also says that the water must be turned off unless it is NEEDED for the heating to work.

 

[PaulDPaulD]

Before going away on holiday in the winter, talk to your plumber and ask him if there is any reason why you shouldn't turn off the water for your particular system. In most cases he/she is going to advise that you should as per the consensus on this forum.

The potential consequences of leaving the water on suffering a burst pipe don't bear thinking about...especially if you have any water in the loft (ie tanks and pipes). Imagine there was a tap installed in your loft and you went away for a week and someone entered your house and turned the tap full-on and left it like that for a week. The water would initially spread all over the loft floor and would then drip through the ceiling into every bedroom. It would then slowly pour down into the ground floor via the walls and ceilings. Everything inside your house would be soaked through... all the carpets, the doors, the plaster on the walls, the books on your bookshelves, the electrics, the joists...all of this happening in freezing cold weather. And then the mould would start to set in...

I once attended a house where this had happened. At the time I was working as a handyman and my job was to take off each internal door and roughly trim it and put it back - none of the doors would shut as they were all swollen. There was a de-humidifier running 24/7. Some time afterwards the house was demolished.

Don't be fooled by that weather forecast in January that says +6C every night. The weather can turn unexpectedly and you can find yourself out in Tenerife or Australia wishing you had turned off the water!

It is also very handy to have a neighbour with a key who is good with central heating controls and knows where your stop tap is etc etc

 

[terryplumb]

After ten years ,your a bit late replying to this thread.

 

[Wayners]

After ten years ,your a bit late replying to this thread.

Might be a long holiday?

 

[PaulDPaulD]

Well clearly there are people still looking!
Never too late