TheOldFellow wrote:
My previous thread about my frozen supply pipe elicited no helpful
suggestions, frankly just as I expected. There just isn't any way to
thaw out a pipe in the ground.

So now it's 4 days later, and the air temperature here has been above
4 for all that time, even at night, and most days above 6. Pits dug
around the garden in the likely places have not found the pipe yet,
but do confirm that the ground is NOT frozen now - at any depth.

I've checked that the stopcock in the road is OK, and that there is
nothing impeding flow at the house. The pit was full of ice on
Monday, but has been clear since I cooked that out with boiling water.

Does anyone know how long it will take to thaw a pipe, or does this
sound like a 'hire a digger' job?

Much appreciate some help on this, as watching SWMBO with the bucket
of her head going to the village pump is getting boring.

R.

Firstly, if the house was built in the 70's, it's highly likely that the
main is less than the required 30 inch minimum depth, a lot less - it's
possible it's only a foot down, given the laxidasical way building was
carried out in this country during the 70's.
I'm assuming it's in black plastic?

There's a cold spot where the main enters the building - if you can find
where the main enters either the concrete footings or the brickwork (below
ground) this is the most likely place for a freeze, and it's why 150mm
lagging is used at this point during new mains installations, regardless of
depth

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008