Should you turn off and drain gas water heater if you leave for 6 months?
I was a snow bird for many years and I would always shut off the gas for the water heater and also shut the valve for the supply line to the water heater. Like Ed mentioned, if the water heater is in an area where the temp will drop below 30 degrees then you'll need to drain it. I left the heat on, set very low, so I didn't have to worry about this, I didn't want to freeze out the home checkers.