Trying to find a usage of a running toilet in a month.

We can not answer this question since the pipe size, fill valve design and water pressure would all play into the flow rate. It many cases a fill tube to a toilet could discharge this much water if it were run unrestricted for a month.

1 gal per minute x 24 hours per day x 30 days = 43200 gal.

I don't think a fill tube could do that much but maybe. A leaking toilet could.

Every time you flush your toilet the tank refills 1.6 gallons, or more, in under a minute. A friend has a fishing/hunting cabin near me. His fill tube split last winter and dumed 30,000 gallons into the home. Totalled the home, insurance paid every penny except for his near $3000 water bill.

Bob...

Do you mean that the fill VALVE itself split and flooded the place? 'Cause even if the fill tube split it shouldn't be an issue unless the fill valve failed somehow. Just checking here... ;)

Mark

Thanks Bob,
I keep showing my wife these kind of stories. I turn the water off when we are away for any period, she argues every time.

Hello all,

It is a good idea to turn the water off but please don't forget to turn off the water heater recirculation pump if one installed.
I learned it the hard way last year I shut off the water forgot to turn off the recirculation pump went on vacation, when we came back the pump was not working it was burnt, called Watts if I can get a replacement it was just 10 months old, they told me no because it was my fault that shut the water off and didn't turn off the pump, cost me $250.00 to replace it, Thanks.

John

John, this just to make you feel better.

I have a two story home with water heater in the basement. When pump quit many years ago I removed it and reconnected the piping temporarily.

That's when I found out the system works with out the pump.

Just wanted to make your day.::D:D:D

Harold,

How would the system work with out the pump and what about the timing, Thanks.

Turning the water off when you go on vacation is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
Having said that has anybody gone out and checked for a hidden leak?
To check to see if you have a hidden leak first shut down everything in the house, no flush, no drinks of water, and if you are on a meter go out and check the little pointer in the gage. It should not move or creep. If it does you have a leak. If you're on a pump then check the pressure gage after the pump builds up to pressure and shuts off. The gage should not fall and the pump come back on. If so then you have a leak. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply, Tom

Massplumber, I used the wrong term. Not the fill tube but the supply line coming from the wall to the bottom of the tank. He had a chromed tube that split when the heat failed due to power failure. Tube froze, split and then thawed when the power came back on the next day. Owner did not come back to his cabin for a month. For somereason folks out here at our lake don't seem to learn. We average $1M damage every winter due to frozen pipes bursting. Crazy.

John,

Water heater in basement. Hot water out goes to ceiling, nintys to right to laundry in basement and to kitchen on first floor. Tees of horizontal run and goes up to powder room on first floor and continues to second floor to two baths. Recirculation line follows same route back. Recirculation line tees into cold water input line.

Hot water in top of tank rises and cooler water in pipe falls and reenters bottom of tank. Natural convection keeps water circulating. Once in a while convection will stop when water temperatures equalize. This sometimes happen when no hot water is used for an extended period.

Using hot water any where in the house starts the convection again. When the cold water coming into the water heater passes the tee of the recirculation line, it is at a lower pressure than the recirculation line. That starts the recirculation again. It's the Bernoulli principle. As the speed of a fluid increases its pressure decreases. This is the principle that makes carburetors work and airplanes fly.

Occasionally, first thing in the mornings, there is not instant hot water at the baths upstairs. Opening a faucet for about 10 seconds and thirty seconds later hot water is there. This happens occasionally but not that often.

I understand the Bernoulli principle and the venture law, in my case I had the Watts Recirulating system installed and that's how it failed with the water shut down, see the PDF below, Thanks.

John

I have different system. I have 1/2 line running back from master bath hot water line to cold water input of heater. The pump I had was just a small recirculating pump that ran continuously? Now all I have is just the line and a couple of check valves to things moving in the correct direction.