Yesterday I replaced my kitchen faucet after 20 years, when i turned the water back on under the sink the shutoff valve was leaking. I did find some answers to replace it. My issue is that when I went down to the basement, there is no shut off along the line. the supply goes from the main to the water heater and boiler then out to my kitchen pipe. Do I have to shut down the water main and shut down the water heater before I can cut in a new shut off under the sink?
Im afraid of burning out the water heater?
Nervous in Massachusetts......

 

There should be a shut off for the whole house. Turn the boiler off and the water heater to pilot before turning off the water and replacing the stop valve under the kitchen sink. You may want to replace both stop valves while you are at it.

 

I think the valve on that pipe would be the shutoff for the whole house. Or are you saying there isn't any valve near the water heater at all?

(I didn't think you needed to shut off the boiler because the boiler system is a closed system (the boiler cold water feed is just for supplying makeup water if/when needed). I never shut off my boiler when I shut off the main, but CasualJoe may be right about that and I do the wrong thing, I'm no plumbing expert for sure.)

 

CasualJoe,
Thank you for confirming. My water heater is electric, there is a cold water shutoff on top, I'm assuming I would close that valve after throwing the off switch? do i have to turn any valves off that relate to the boiler? MY fear is that I dont know what will drain when i cut the under sink supply... the water in my baseboard pipes?

 

I often have to turn the water off at the meter by the street.

I never do anything with the water heater. As long as you're not draining it you don't have to worry about it.

Some water will drain when you remove the old shutoff valve but it won't be a lot, remember it can only drain water lines located above. If replacing PEX or Shark Bite fittings I just move quick and don't worry about the water. If you are sweating copper then you will need to get all the water out of the line.

 

ge water heater

water heater valve

main water shutoff

I do have a main shutoff coming into the house, one before the meter and one after. I also have a supply shutoff to the water heater, if I shut the WH valve and open the faucets on my kitchen and bathroom hot water side will that drain just those HW pipes? There is no shutoff switch on the water heater, I could trip the circuit.

 

We’ll see what the other guys say, but by plumbing code your boiler system is supposed to be set up such that backflow from your boiler system into the house plumbing cannot occur. You can see that would be a health problem for sure.

There should be a backflow preventer valve in addition to a shutoff valve on the cold water feed into your boiler. If you close the shutoff valve on the boiler feed pipe that guarantees the boiler system is isolated – assuming the valve works properly. Some people leave that shutoff valve closed all the time. Others leave the valve open in case the boiler runs low on water due to a leak or some kind of servicing where water was lost, in which case the automatic feed valve will allow some new water in from the cold water feed pipe – all done automatically.

(So there should be a shutoff valve , an automatic feed valve that allows new water into the system if/when needed, and a backflow preventer valve which is sometimes combined with the automatic feed valve.)

Anyway, I don’t think you have to be concerned about your baseboard water draining out. You could close the shutoff valve just to be sure. But maybe others will say different. (and I guess you should check and make sure the proper valves were installed - I guess you never know.)

 

bottom line it seems the easiest thing to do is shut off the valves at the main. Im going to use sharkbite valves, so the water wont be off that long, (i hope), no call for hot water will be happening and I'll turn the heating boiler off so that wont kick on.
I guess my big concern was the amount of water that would drain from the pipes when i cut the valves out

Thank you to all for your advice

 

I can cut off an old valve and put on a Shark Bite quick enough that water leaking from the pipe is not an issue. Turn off the water supply to the house. Open a faucet to relieve the water pressure. Then I lay out my tools and materials so everything is close at hand. Cut off the old valve. Some water will leak out of the pipe but it's not a lot. Deburr the end of the pipe. Then shove on the new Shark Bite valve.

The job is better done faster. The longer you take the more water can leak out and more air can get into your system. I don't even bother using a catch bucket. I just lay a towel on the floor and get to work. Usually only a few ounces of water has spilled before I can shove on the new valve.

 

All set with the shark bite valve install. It was quite simple. I did shut the main water supply downstairs, turned off the boiler as a precaution. I realized after turning the water off, that without any pressure, there would be no water leaking out of the cut pipe. .... a dawn lights on marblehead.
also because of the tight pipe area under the sink I bought a Milwaukee mini pipe cutter, (cuts up to 1/2") clean, quick cut, pushed the SB valve down 1". done deal, no leaks. Thank you again to all for the great advice/guidance