Turn on gas if home is empty?

[CharlieK]

Good afternoon, my wife and I are closing on a house in a few weeks but won't be moving in until February. I plan to turn on water and electricity - we have friends keeping an eye on the house until we arrive. My question is should I turn on the gas? We have gas Range and dryer. Tankless water heater. My thought it to wait until Feb to turn it on. Thoughts? Thanks

[Bill14564]

Good afternoon, my wife and I are closing on a house in a few weeks but won't be moving in until February. I plan to turn on water and electricity - we have friends keeping an eye on the house until we arrive. My question is should I turn on the gas? We have gas Range and dryer. Tankless water heater. My thought it to wait until Feb to turn it on. Thoughts? Thanks

I would open accounts with all the utilities. You don't want to get here and have to wait for the next available appointment.

I would turn off the breaker for the hot water heater and turn off the water shutoff inside the house. I'm not sure if the breaker is as important for the tankless heater but it can't hurt. Turning off the water inside the house could save you some money if a faucet drips, a toilet leaks, or there is some other problem. Both of these are very easy to turn back on when you arrive in Feb.

Not sure on the gas; I have electric so it isn't something I need to think about. I believe I would leave it on so the pilot lights continue to burn and the appliances are ready when I arrive. Pilot lights aren't difficult but it's one more task. On the other hand, leaving the gas off would make one less thing to be concerned about.

Actually, do appliances even have pilot lights any more?

[villagetinker]

IMHO, many of the gas appliances use electronic lighters, however if you were to have a leak the results could be very bad. Your gas supplier may have a suggestion, but I would turn the gas off. If you have an electric tankless water heater, I would also turn this off, as the heater would burn out without any water. Your friends could turn on the water supply when they stop by the house, flush the toilets, run the sinks, and look for any leaks, then turn the water off again.
You did not mention irrigation, which IMHO should be left on with someone keeping an eye on it for leaks. You should have someone mowing the grass.
I would suggest getting one of the home watch companies to do a weekly check, I cannot make any recommendations for these.

I will start early and say welcome to the villages.

[metoo21]

Have the gas turned on by the utility company and then you can turn it off at the meter. There should be a valve on the house side of the meter. Turn it back on when you return in February. The range and dryer do not have a pilot light (neither does the on demand water heater) so no problems there. When you do return, light a burner on the stove. It may take 10's of seconds to bleed the air out of the line and actually light if there is air in the line. The stove should be the last in line for the gas line so all air would be removed throughout the entire line. Usually plumbed as on demand water heater, dryer, then stove.

There are several threads here about what to do if you are going to leave a house here vacant for a period of time. I suggest you read through a couple of them.

[retiredguy123]

I would turn off the gas. But, it is more important to turn off the water supply valve. A small water leak can destroy your house. I have seen it happen several times.

[Papa_lecki]

Are you able to settle, if you don’t have all utilities turned on?

[Maker]

If you have a gas furnace, you want the gas on around October.
Otherwise, why pay for the monthly minimum for something you don't need. Call gas company and ask about how long it takes them to re-established service. Not sure but maybe they have a plan to suspend active service when away?

Find the directions for snowbirds leaving a house empty for months. Pay attention to...
Leave air conditioning on, but perhaps set around 80 (people all have their opinions on temperature) to make sure humidity levels are controlled.
Maintain water in all drain traps to block sewer gas.
Irrigation needs to run. Turn off water inside the house.
Lots of other things to read about (pest control, refrigerator, etc)

[Decadeofdave]

I would not leave water on.
Have your friend turn on and flush toilets, water in traps. Cover drains and shut water off. Do this once a month.