5 ms·

I guess I must plead ignorance once again. Maybe flushing the pipes would be possible? I just know I would electrocute myself screwing with anything more powe

• sokoloff 4y ago
  I happen to have valves that would allow me to drain almost all of my house to prevent freezing, but that's not universally the case (and even in my case, I couldn't drain the hot water tank fully without power without letting it just flood the basement). Freezing pipes is one concern, though having heat for the humans is another pretty desirable thing, so if I could spend effort on something that would result in drained pipes and no heat or on something that would result in enough heat in the house to make that unnecessary, I'm going for option #2 every time.
  • Marsymars 4y ago
    > (and even in my case, I couldn't drain the hot water tank fully without power without letting it just flood the basement). That doesn’t sound like it should be up to code? I’d expect building codes to require a floor drain where your water tank is.
• sbierwagen 4y ago
  Houses designed to be vacant in freezing temperatures will have a drain port at the main shutoff valve so the pipes can be fully emptied. Unfortunately, this is not a universal feature in residential construction.
  • bombcar 4y ago
    In an emergency you can often turn off the water main, and then disconnect the union that connects to the meter. Most of the water in the house will drain out.
    • lazide 4y ago
      Most houses, the curb is downhill but not all - and there is always some branch run somewhere with a loop in it under a floor or something. :s