[willindy]

I'm going to be gone for about a week, would like to shut off water main to house to prevent a flood if a pipe fails while I'm gone. It's the middle of winter, and I want to drain the house pipes to prevent freezing. But what should I do with my gas water heater? 1) turn it off 2) put the dial on the "pilot" or 3) "vacation" mode? I don't want to burn out an element if there is no water in the tank. I'm assuming if I drain all the water out of the house plumbing (via the basement faucet), it will drain water out of the hot water tank also?

I should have added that I have a sewage stack that has frozen up twice in my upper story cape cod style home, resulting in some water damage. So I most definitely want to drain before I go to minimize risk. So I'm just wondering how I should leave the water heater.

[ballengerb1]

For only one week it is not necessary to totally winterize your home. Setthe stat low, around 50 and shut off your main, don't need to drain the water. I do this all of the time. You can safely turn the water heater off or to vacation mode