If you are going to be away from home during "the normal heating season", you really should check with your insurance agent/broker to see what, if anything, you need to do to ensure that your insurance remains valid. Often there are requirements that a competent adult check the house once a day or once every few days during the normal heating season. If this is not done and there is a loss, it may not be covered.
amy best friend had a neighbor who would go away for the winter. my nbuddy would check the house regurALLY AND MAKE A PHONE CALL TO PROVE THE HOME WAS OCCUPIED.
stupid cap lock:(
termtests wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Simple. Lower the pressure in your pipes to 611 Pa. At 0°C the water will freeze but...it will also boil. Oh, and steam can also exist. All three at the same time...no s*it - the triple point of water.
611 Pa, simple, yeah right. :-)
Bob reminds me of my plan, never implemented but a good plan, when I went away last november and december. That was to connect to the burglar alarm a thermostat that would close a circuit when the temp got below a certain level, and would dial my alarm company and let them now the house is too cold. If you have a burglar alarm already, this is easy. Any old thermostat from I think any furnace will work. I was going to use th eround Honeywell that my house came with, before I replaced it. Most alarm zones can be coded to say if they are reporting a break-in, a fire, or cold, and probably some other things.
I have an oil furnace that is quite old, and I was also going to wire the control panel so that when the ignition tripped off, it would tell the burglar alarm, and the service would notify a friend who would come and reset or fix the furnace.
But I took my trip without even fixing the burglar alarm and there were no burglars and it never got cold enough to freeze anything, even if the furnace were off, and I don't think I'll ever take a long trip in the winter again. If I plan one, maybe I'll install that thermostat.
OK so far everyone seems to be saying to do so, I am going to offer a contrary opinion. Don't touch a thing.
There are many ways things can go wrong with this. The main water valve leaks or breaks when you turn it off, or when you turn it back on. The water heater or radiant heat is damaged when it runs while dry. You turn the water back on when you get home forgetting that something is open somewhere, causing a flood. Shutoff valves under a sink or toilet start to leak when you turn them back on. What is the chance that something like that will happen, versus the house freezing while you are away. Yes, most of my dire scenarios can be avoided through care and competence. On the other hand, how long will you be away? Is there someone who could check on the house every day or so while you're away? Is the house old with old cranky plumbing? I think if I were going to be away for, say, a week or so, or a couple weeks with someone checking, I would just turn the thermostat down a little. -- H
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