The county water supply had a main break this morning. My house sounded like water was running with leaks all over the house. I ran around checking. My in water line from the street into my house was very HOT. My house was sounding like it was going to blow up. I went and turned the gas off the hot water heater. Turned off the main line in my house from outside. Then I went outside and turned off the water at the meter underground. Talked to neighbors, some were having the same thing going on. They decided to do as I did and cut the water off and the gas to the hot water heater off. My question what happened and how dangeous is this if I was not home and I assume it was sucking the hot water heater empty and it was still heating the tank. Would the tank blow up or damage my pipes. About 15 years ago a water break happened from the county. When they turned the water back on I had to replace all the cartridges in my sinks etc. and dig up my front yard as it blew up the underground (my line) where is was contacted near the house. They blew so much air into my pipes with debris that it was very costly on my part. What would have happened if I had not cut stuff off? How can I fix this so this will not happen again? What if I am not home if it happens?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Freecs,

There should be a pressure regulator in your incoming line that should have prevent this from happening.

Were do I locate this and how do I fix. Thanks for answer.

Most look like this.
http://www.watts.com/pages/whatsnew/X65B.asp

your house was back syphoning
you need to install a ck valve. what happened was the water main break caused a negative pressure condition in the street piping
and it sucked the water out of your house
the hot water was your hot water heater syphoning out . or being sucked dry
the noise you heard was the burner kicking on because the t-stat was calling for heat. and with the tank dry, the burner on, the little water that was left in the tank was boiling and popping
a simple ck valve will keep the water in your pipes if this happens again
ck valves... there are 2 types
a swing ck
and a spring ck
a swing ck can be installed on the horizontal pipe in your yard. put a valve on the street side and a union on the other side of the ck. with a simple irragation plastic box over the pipe
a spring ck is installed on a vertical line
swing ck will installed on vertical will stay closed, no water. once you get a swing in your hand you will understand why. install with arrow pointing WITH the flow. other way..no flow
or tell your plumber. he will install for you
frodo
a pressure regulator does just what the name implies
it regulates the flow of water. it is used when you have high city water pressure and want to "dial down"
the pressure. most residental homes water pressure is between 45 and 55 psi, during the day
if your town has a water tank delivery system, and you live at the bottom of the hill, your pressure could spike at 100 psi. not good, that will make toilets when flushed sound like a jet taking off
scares little kids and weak hearted people
a pressure reg does not stop back syphoning

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Frodo,

i know what your problem is
is the piping in your house, under ground copper piping?
if so
then it is soft copper looped from 1 room to another
and tied togather using a manifold in the wall behind your fixtures
try this
close the valve on your water heater
then.. go to each fixture in the house,ice maker and outside faucets included
open the HOT water valve on each sink. one at a time
verify that there is NO flow
then ck the tub and shower
verify NO flow on hot side
flush toilets. verify FLOW
open hose bibs [plumber speak fot outdoor faucet}
and verify FLOW
ck washer on hot side verify NO flow
icemaker FLOW
if you find that you have water coming out on the first floor, on the wrong side
you have a manifold crossed up
a simple manifold is a 3/4 cold line coming into the bathroom behind the sink and 1/2 lines leaving the manifold to the tub and toilet respectively
also a 3/4 hot line into the room,behind the sink
with a 1/2 cold out to the tub
IF the hot line to tub is hooked to the cold water manifold...then when water is flushed on toilet it "draw" hot water into the cold water piping
giving you a head ache
ask ur plumber to ck ALL lines for a cross water connection
god luck, let me know what happens

Yes, I have a copper pipe coming into the house. In the past 15 years I have dug a hole about 4 feet down and 3 feet wide to fix a leak that occured from the time that the air blown in from the county after there was a break on their side. My dad and I soldiered the pipe,seemed to be ok for a few years and it started to leak again. I hired a plumber to fix (they only fix, not dig) After a few years, it leaks again I dig again, I hire different plumber, few years later I dig I hire new plumber. So far so good. Only problem my concrete porch has cracked and caved in ( I am having to replace as it had fallen about 5 inches in less tha a year) from I guess all the leaks. It is near were the water leak has been, under picture window. Had termites under picture window that I had taken care really fast. I assume that the wood they used to throw out picture windows when they built houses and the wettness caused termites to visit my house. As you can tell the county has caused a lot of costly repairs for me. So you have idea on the copper pipe under ground that has been fixed alot. The leak has always been in the same area, but not the same spot where it was fixed. Since it is dark, I will check the water test you decribe tomorrow. Thanks for your great detail on your answer. (:

for leaks that happen over and over in the same area
you might consider repiping the main water line
turn up in the outside wall, run the pipe up and into the attic space. use a product called pex pipe
its cheaper than copper
and a home owner can do
also need to ck the dirt your pipe is sitting in
if its rocky then the pipe can and will rub a hole in itself up against the rocks, due to expansion and contraction. when a pipe gets cold it expands , hot contracts. put a rock up against it. you get leaks
also..sounds as if when ya'll backfilled the holes you dug, you did not compact the earth
if you dont compact. it will settle and leave a void
then the porch will fall into the void
on comercial jobs we have to have 100% compaction
before we cover up the pipe
the quick and easy way to achieve this is to fill hole with sand. and haul off the dirt you dug out
sand will give you 100% due to its microscopic configureation. hell thats BS, I dont know how it works. it just does!!
bottom line. get the rocks off the pipe or it will due it again, and backfill with sand

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Frodo,

Thanks, hope I never have to dig it up again. I do know that the second plumber put bricks in the hole. Because when I dug it up I found bricks that were touching the pipes and under the pipe. I wish I knew about the sand it makes sense. I did buy top soil in bags to put in the hole next to the pipes this last time (been about 2 years)I put this soil in thinking my soil that was touching the pipe may be some of the problem. The last time I dug it up about 2 years ago, I had to chop some (not to big) tree roots that have found their way to my house from a tree far away from the house. I assume the wetness of the ground caused it to go to the source of the water. As you see I have had a lot of problems that have come from the water problem. As a friend tells me "I think you are making that up". Nope, all true. Thanks again for your great answers. I wish I had known about the sand. I wish one of the plumbers knew about the sand!

i found out about sand giving you 100% compaction from the corp of engineers
we were backfilling around pipes and using a "wacker packer" to pack the earth . the corp inspector says to me. why ya'll wacken the ground. its to labor intensive. just throw sand in the hole and move on
well. i am as lazy as the next guy. so i figured the man hours/equip rental vs the cost of sand
and the sand won
and my laborers were happy. and a happy laborer is a productive laborer
all BS aside i would seriously think about a overhead repipe. your pouring money in a hole

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Frodo,