Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

eggert28 wrote:

Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.


Get a roll of corrugated pipe and use it temorarily.
Maybe even carry it back inside (garage?) after use.

On Feb 5, 8:28 pm, (eggert28) wrote:
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

More info would be nice. Boiling water works well if it's not too
bad. If the pipe is exposed and of a short distance it could be cut
out and replaced or even carried inside to thaw. That poly pipe is
cheap. Your other option is wait for a warmer weather.

Interestingly, the BORG where I live stops stocking poly pipe in the
winter but Ace hardware keeps it in the back with samples of every
diameter out on the isle. Your best choice to avoid the problem is to
use a shorter pipe or run the pump manually during the cold weather so
the pipe can be drained.

I live up in the northwoods our low tonite is expected to be negative
30 below farenheight.

On Feb 5, 6:28 pm, (eggert28) wrote:
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

I can't think of any reasonable way to thaw out the line. Once the
weather allows, correct the lay of theline so water does not remain in
it. There should be a constant slope down to the pipe outlet once it
leaves the heated space.

Harry K

depending on the length of the freeze, you can put a garden hose on your hot
water tank, put a quantity of hot water in the sump, then take the hose out
and start hosing the suspected frozen area. Once it starts moving any small
amount of water, keep the warm water going into the sump to finish the thaw
job. Then take the low spots out of the line to prevent pooling. Been
there, done that.

--
Steve Barker


"eggert28" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

"eggert28" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.


Don't know how much or where it's located but if you can get to it, hair
dryers work pretty good.

eggert28 wrote:
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

Sometimes, if the freeze is underground,
you just may have to bypass the
whole thing and use an above ground
pipe/hose until it thaws. I've done
that in the past. Now I have a 4" PVC
pipe underground from the house
to the edge of the property, which is
sloping downward. Both the AC
pump and battery pump exit the house (1
1/2" each) and dump in the
4". It empties pretty fast and doesn't
have too much time to freeze.

On Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:28:42 -0000, lid (eggert28) wrote:

Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

I don't have enough detail to understand the problem.

My 1 1/2 or 2" sump pump line only extends about 3 inches out of the
house, about 8 inches above the ground, and there it is inserted into
a much bigger (4"?) corrugated flexible plastic pipe which is buried
in the ground and comes out the side of a hill just beyond my yard.

If this larger pipe froze, the water would just pour out of the
connection onto the lawn. The smaller pipe won't freeze becasue it is
empty except when the pump is running.

If you are in a critical situation now, water in the sump rising and
about to go over the floor, and no outlet for the pump, you might cut
your pipe off 3 or 4 inches from the wall outside. If there is ice in
the stub -- I doubt it -- you could use anything, like a hammer and
chisel, or an ice pick. to break up the ice inside.

In article , lid
says...
Does anyone know what I can do for a frozen sump pump line?
My lines going outside are plastic so I don't think fire would work.
Any options would be helpful. Thank you.

This happens to me every couple of years. I normally have a 1.5"
corrugated hose connected to the pipe to lead the water away from the
house but I sometimes forget to disconnect it before the deep freeze
(d'oh!). Fortunately, I can go 2-3 weeks without running the pump
before the water rises to an uncomfortable level. The pump normally
runs a few times a day, but when I unplug it during one of these
frozen pipe episodes, the water rises to the level of the drain tile,
then stops for a couple of weeks before resuming its rise.
Presumably, I'm filling up the drain tile during the pause. Usually
we get a thaw during that time, and all is, once again, right with
the world! Of curse, it then takes an hour or so to pump out all
that water, but I digress.

I keep a length of 1.5" hose on hand just in case. I disconnect the
vertical pipe at the check valve, connect the hose, and run it to the
floor drain to be pumped out by the ejector pump. I'm sure our local
sewer department wouldn't be thrilled with that, but it serves the
purpose.