How to Turn Off Gas Supply to Your Water Heater?

​Gas water heaters have been more popular as they provide hot water usually twice as fast as storage and electric water heaters. Not only this, gas water heaters continue providing hot water even during power-cuts. But, these water heaters don't stay effective and function at their best throughout their shelf lives. Just like other types of water heaters, gas water heaters can stop providing enough hot water, can start leaking from various places, and can make unusual sounds while in use. To find out the actual cause of these water heater defects, it is important to turn off the gas supply, switch off the heater mechanism, and check what's wrong. Turning gas and water supply to the heater will ensure that no harm or mishap takes place during the inspection. It is very easy to turn off the gas supply to the water heater but often many homeowners don't know how to do so. In this article, we have explained the step-by-step method to turn off the gas supply and completely shut down the gas water heater.

1. Before you start working on your gas water heater, clear the area around the heater. Remove all the clutter and move the items lying around the heater.
2. Locate the water heater gas valve. It is located towards the bottom of the water heater just above the burner chamber.
3. You will see three main settings on the valve - 'OFF', 'Pilot' and 'ON'. Turn the dial to ‘Pilot’ setting. shut the gas off to the burner without shutting off the pilot light.
4. Now locate the gas shut-off valve. Look above, to the side or behind the water heater for the valve. If you are unable to find the valve, follow the gas line that extends from the water heater. You will find the shut-off valve at the end of the gas line.
5. Some valves have a handle while some have a knob. Turn the handle or the knob until it stops. If you have a handle on your valve, you will notice that the handle is now at the 90° to the gas line.
6. Now turn off the water supply to the water heater. 
7. Wait for some time to let water inside the tank to cool down. 
8. After 15-20 minutes, drain the water heater. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank and empty the tank fully. 
9. Loosen the screws on the access panel at the bottom of the water heater, and remove the plastic cover of the panel. Remove the insulation and look inside the water heater.
10. Make sure you don’t see any blue flame, verifying that the gas supply to the water heater has been disabled.

Once your gas water heater is completely shut, you can call our Edmonton water heater experts to check your heater and find out the cause of the heater problem. Avoid inspecting your gas water heater on your own if you don't have enough knowledge of the heater mechanism. Inexperienced working with gas water heaters can be dangerous and lead to severe mishaps.