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I want to replace a kitchen tap.

I know how to turn off my main cold water supply, but I don't know how to shut off the hot supply from the large hot water tank in the basement.

There is no valve coming out of the hot water tank.

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  • I take it there are no shutoff valves under the sink either? – ThreePhaseEel Dec 26 '17 at 5:31
  • The valves under this sink are stuck, I might replace them too. – Bryan Dec 26 '17 at 13:23
  • Is there a valve on the cold water supply going into the hot water tank? – DJohnM Dec 26 '17 at 17:57
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Although there should be a shutoff under the kitchen sink and one at the hot water heater, turning off the cold water to the entire house will effectively shut off the hot water as well since the hot water heater is fed from the cold water.

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    The valves under the sink are stuck open, I might replace them too. If I shut off the cold water to the house, there is still a hot tank full of water, are you suggesting I have to drain the whole tank? – Bryan Dec 26 '17 at 13:23
  • This is a good opportunity to add new/functioning shutoff valves and maybe have a nice soak in the bathtub. Depending on how your hot water heater is configured, though, you might find that removing the input pressure on the hot water heater leaves most of the hot water in the tank. – Aloysius Defenestrate Dec 26 '17 at 14:37
  • unless the tank is elevated higher than the sink there is no issue – agentp Dec 26 '17 at 14:40
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    The tank won’t need to be drained, especially since the tank is in the basement. Once the main water is shut off just open a faucet or two and that will relieve the little bit of pressure there is left in the system. – user76730 Dec 26 '17 at 14:44
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    @Bryan because force isn't free. To understand that, drain your hot water heater bucket by bucket into the upstairs toilet. When you're hefting the bucket up the stairs, that right there. Water does not get from the heater to the kitchen sink by magic. The water company doesn't just sell you water, they also sell you the water pressure that makes water flow through your system. Unless you have an attic tank or something... – Harper Dec 26 '17 at 17:21
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I think there will be a shutoff valve under your sink for both cold and hot water. Figure out which one is for hot water and shut that off. I think there should be a valve coming out of hot water tank, consider to check that once again.

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  • The valves under the sink are stuck open, and there is no valve on the hot pipe coming out the tank. – Bryan Dec 26 '17 at 13:25

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