Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nstick13]

I'm leaving for two weeks, and would prefer to be able to use my shower upon my return, and have it be hot. Considering some of my friends have lost heat because their pipes froze, I was hoping you all would have some feasible suggestions prior to stumbling through some Korean with my landlord. I'd rather not leave the heat on at all, nor leave any faucets open a bit. Do these things have a vacation mode?

[northway]

What kind of building do you live in? Where in the building do you live?

[nstick13]

High-rise, 1st floor, in the middle.

[Drew345]

Mine does have a vacation mode. I can't type korean now, cause I am on vacation in Thailand. But one setting on mine had "wei-chul" in Korean, which is something like "going out".

[interestedinhanguk]

I doubt it's a problem. I went on vacation recently (when there was cold weather here). I turned my heat down all the way (though not off). I live on the 6th floor at the end of a highrise. You'd be surprised how much heat is shared between apartments.

[northway]

I'm a high-rise I'd probably just turn it off, but that's just me.

[Troglodyte]

If you're in a large apartment building, especially if you're in the middle, you really don't have to worry about pipes freezing. You could turn off your heat completely and nothing's going to happen. Your neighbors won't appreciate it because the thin walls mean that they'll be heating your empty apartment while you're gone, but it's not going to affect your pipes.

[kiknkorea]

If your heating unit is in a cold spot (like on the veranda), you don't want to shut it completely off. Even in a high rise, the pipes can freeze.
Just leave it on, but with the setting turned all the way down while you're away.

I know it stinks to leave something on when you're not there, but it beats frozen pipes.

[northway]

[kiknkorea]

[northway]

[ssuprnova]

[Caffeinated]

[nathanrutledge]

Couple years ago was the last time I left on a winter vacation, and I turned my heat completely off. I lived on the second floor of a 4 floor villa. Came back 3 weeks later and my place was 14 degrees, and this was about 8 am when I got in. Even in a small villa, I doubt the pipes will freeze.

I think a lot of people get confused between poor insulation and leaky windows. The concrete buildings suck up a lot of solar energy. On the inside, even during the night, the concrete walls are probably in the 6-12 degree range. Around the windows, it feels a lot colder, but this is due more to bad window design, poor window installation, etc. In a standard, concrete box villa, you could leave the heat off and, the heat of your neighbors and the sun combined, your pipes will be fine.

[Dazed and Confused]

Don't turn your heater completely off. I had a coworker who decided against the advice of management that there was no way in Hell he was going to pay for heat in his Korean apartment while sitting on the beach in Thailand. One night while he was gone everyone in the building heard a loud BOOM! but no one could ever find the source. When my coworker returned in late Feb. he found that the cover of his heater had blown off and the heater didn't work at all. Not only did he get hit with a repair bill but from that point on his heater was spotty at best and never heated the entire apartment properly. He froze his butt of for the next 5 winters and complained constantly.