On Dec 21, 4:39*pm, wrote:
On Dec 21, 2:26*pm, "astraweb \($ to read\)"
wrote:

Is there another type of pipe that can be used instead of copper that can
give a little and therefore cannot burst?
Or perhaps there is some long thin flexible material I can insert into the
pipe that takes up some space but not enough to hinder water flow, so that
when ice form this long thin flexible material would shrink to allow the ice
to expand?

Instead of trying to come up with cockamaime non-standard ways of
"fixing" the problem, why don't you fix the problem?

The problem is the leaky/faulty shut off valve inside the house.

Repair or replace that valve. Problem solved.

Also, leave the outside valve OPEN during the winter. If the inside
valve is leaking this will prevent the pipe from filling up with water
and bursting. Any leakage will run out on the ground.

My two cents:

If the shutoff valve inside the house is leaking, then replace the
valve. The existing one
and the new one should have a small drain cap that you can remove to
let the water drain out of the pipe.
Also, if the existing one has a drain and you left the drain cap off,
any small amount of water that
got by would simply run out of the drain and then the pipe would not
fill with water. A temporary
solution, if the valve is leaking, might be to put a 5 gallon bucket
under the shutoff valve drain. If that's the
only problem, then the solution is simple.

Another problem could be the way the pipe is pitched between the
shutoff and the sill cock. If its
not pitched back toward the valve, it won't drain. Possible solution
to that would be to re-pitch
the pipe.

Some folks have suggested a frost-proof sill cock. That works as
long as the temp inside the garage does not
drop low enough to freeze the pipe there. Could work in some
climates, depending on how cold the garage gets.
But if you have exposed pipe in the garage that's full of water, that
could freeze if it gets cold enough. You could
put heat tape on the pipe in the garage together with a frost-proof
sill cock.

I also have to disagree with leaving the sill cock open to allow any
leakage water to run out. While it will
let that happen, it won't prevent it from freezing a bursting
anyway. A steady flow at a decent pace would,
but a slow drip from a bad shutoff valve won't provide enough flow to
prevent freezing.