Originally Posted by
pseudoswede
We do that when we leave for more than a day. The last thing I want to return to is a flooded basement. It's an easy thing to do, so why not?
We've never done that, although we probably should if we'll be gone for a few days.
Originally Posted by
geo1005
Ask my father. He turns the water off if they go away for a day or more. About two years ago they came home to a flood from the broken valve where he turns the water off!
On topic, our oven (gas) has a timer and we use it all the time when we are not home (with a pot roast cooking for five hours, etc.).
We've not had a flood (knock on wood), but we did have our thermostat batteries die while we were away for a week. We'd set the thermostat to 50 F, figuring that it was warm enough to keep pipes from freezing, but that we wouldn't go through much oil. We returned home to find that the thermostat read 32 F, and the furnace would not turn on at all. The pipes were frozen (there was ice in the toilet).
Of course, it was a Sunday afternoon, so the service call was $110. The technician arrived, couldn't figure out what was wrong, and eventually realized it was the thermostat batteries. He didn't charge us for the batteries.
Back on topic--I *think* our oven has a timer. I'd be concerned with leaving something in there and setting it to turn on before I came home if it was something like a pot roast or some such, as I'd be concerned the meat shouldn't sit out for a portion of the day.
As far as this situation, since I wouldn't be gone but 2 hours tops, I would think the food would be just fine.