Water leak during subzero

Question

I had a water leak in subzero weather this winter. I shut off the main water supply. After I repaired the leak I  turned the water at the meter back on but he water kept going to fill up water heater. I ran it over 10 minutes but it never quit trying to fill it. I thought I had another leak, so I turned the water supply off again.
Does it take that long to fill the hot water heater, Or Do I Have Another Leak? (I don't understand filling up the hot water heater would then supply cold water to the rest of the house.)
How does it get to the rest, after the hot water heater, through which lines?
Please help.  (I am thinking about turning the meter back on and letting the water run for an hour or so but I don't want $5000   water bill without the problem being fixed!)

Ecnerwal · Answer

The water to fill the water heater comes from the cold supply to it and the rest of the house - there's not normally any way to fill it without supplying water to the rest of the house, unless you have valves to shut everything else off, and have shut them all off.
How long your water heater takes to fill depends on the size of the heater and the flow rate of your supply. You need to open a hot tap to vent the trapped air in the heater, to allow it to fill.
You may have other leaks you have not fixed - you will have to look for those, we can't see them from the other side of a computer screen.

Water leak during subzero

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