[SS[_2_]]

Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.

[Phil L[_2_]]

SS wrote:
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off,
meaning the central heating will not have been working over the last
week of the cold spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes.
Hopefully not burst but possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far
distant to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave
the taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.

Yes, and flush the toilet too, and run the hot water off for a while, which
may empty any header tanks and therefore drain the pipes leading to them.
Don't forget outside taps - the idea is to get rid of as much water in the
pipes as possible, where there's a chance it could freeze, expand and damage
the pipe walls.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

[Harry Bloomfield[_3_]]

SS formulated the question :
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just realised
after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning the central
heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold spell
(minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far distant to
go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

I would suggest turn the water off at the stop tap and open the taps to
let it all drain down. There might also be a possibility of the heating
system having frozen. If you are sure that has thawed out without any
leaks, it might be worth just leaving that on at a very low setting on
the room stat, to prevent any future freeze ups.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article ,
"SS" writes:
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.

You need to drain down tanks and heating system (if it has central
heating), if you aren't leaving it running in frost protection mode.
That's probably a condition of any insurance.

Turning off the water will limit the volume of water damage to the
tank(s) full if they come through the house as a result of a burst
pipe, but you could also damage a lot of the pipework and heating
system if the residual water in them freezes.

Might make sense to arrange to visit at same time as a plumber, so
he can do this for you if you aren't sure. There may already be some
damage which needs repairing too.

How long is the house likely to be empty? I would suggest leaving
the electricity on with some lights on timeswitches for security
purposes.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[SS[_2_]]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"SS" writes:
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning
the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst
but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far
distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.

You need to drain down tanks and heating system (if it has central
heating), if you aren't leaving it running in frost protection mode.
That's probably a condition of any insurance.

Turning off the water will limit the volume of water damage to the
tank(s) full if they come through the house as a result of a burst
pipe, but you could also damage a lot of the pipework and heating
system if the residual water in them freezes.

Might make sense to arrange to visit at same time as a plumber, so
he can do this for you if you aren't sure. There may already be some
damage which needs repairing too.

How long is the house likely to be empty? I would suggest leaving
the electricity on with some lights on timeswitches for security
purposes.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Thanks for the replies.

The house could be empty for a month maybe 6 weeks.
I should have mentioned its a combi heating system.
I think I have the jist of what to do ie drain as much water out of pipes
and (I think) drain the combi boiler system.
As far as I am aware there are no header tanks due to combi system.
I suppose one problem will be if pipes frozen it wont drain :-(

Dreading this visit tomorrow. At least if I get the mains off it should
limit damage if a pipe has burst but frozen.

[george [dicegeorge]]

SS wrote:
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"SS" writes:
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning
the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst
but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far
distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.
You need to drain down tanks and heating system (if it has central
heating), if you aren't leaving it running in frost protection mode.
That's probably a condition of any insurance.

Turning off the water will limit the volume of water damage to the
tank(s) full if they come through the house as a result of a burst
pipe, but you could also damage a lot of the pipework and heating
system if the residual water in them freezes.

Might make sense to arrange to visit at same time as a plumber, so
he can do this for you if you aren't sure. There may already be some
damage which needs repairing too.

How long is the house likely to be empty? I would suggest leaving
the electricity on with some lights on timeswitches for security
purposes.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Thanks for the replies.

The house could be empty for a month maybe 6 weeks.
I should have mentioned its a combi heating system.
I think I have the jist of what to do ie drain as much water out of pipes
and (I think) drain the combi boiler system.
As far as I am aware there are no header tanks due to combi system.
I suppose one problem will be if pipes frozen it wont drain :-(

Dreading this visit tomorrow. At least if I get the mains off it should
limit damage if a pipe has burst but frozen.


my plastic inlet pipe in the attic froze,
then the water level in the tank went down (cos not refilling)
then the float valve thing float down a bit
then the inlet thawed
water poured into the tank
and it overflowed because the float valve thing was frozen open,
it woke me at 3.30a.m. on christmas day
the waterfall thundering down the stairs!

and i hadnt turned off the main supply so if i hadnt heard it
it would have poured down all night!

[g]

[george [dicegeorge]]

and i hadnt turned off the main supply so if i hadnt heard it
it would have poured down all night!

[g]
which reminded me to nip down to the cellar and turn it off again
so it wont happen tonight!

[ransley]

On Dec 28, 3:37*pm, "SS" wrote:
Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.

I would heat the house back up, make sure all faucets flow, then drain
everything even the heating system. For a short period it might be
better to just heat it as draining a heating system and refilling can
be a big job to remove all air from radiators and pipes, and unless
your house is set up right draining the water pipes can be hard, and
the water heater?.

[TheOldFellow]

On Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:37:47 -0000
"SS" wrote:

Hi guys looking for an answer re frozen pipes.

dad in laws house lying vacant at the moment (hospitalised) and just
realised after my wife had been down, she turned the elec off, meaning the
central heating will not have been working over the last week of the cold
spell (minus 6) So good likely hood of frozen pipes. Hopefully not burst but
possibility.

My intention is to turn the water off at the mains, as I am to far distant
to go back and forth to keep an eye on it.
Is it best (assuming nothing burst) to turn off at the main and leave the
taps open to ease expansion?

Any ideas.




What everyone else said. Consider some form of background heat in the
core of the house, I use an electric (yes, it means that's on - but
you probably need it for security lights) heater designed for a
greenhouse - it has a thermostat designed for low temperature switching
- 1200 watts, but only on when temp falls below 1C. It's amazing how
little energy is needed to keep a moderately insulated house frost-free.

R.