Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Home Repair (alt.home.repair) For all homeowners and DIYers with many experienced tradesmen. Solve your toughest home fix-it problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
It seems everyone I know has had frozen pipes this winter, even those in the south, qwho normally dont experience such severe cold temps. It's been a very severe winter, and I have actually given up on some pipes that repeatedly keep freezing. Carrying containers of water si becoming the norm, and is much less trouble than constantly fighting with frozen pipes. I even drained the pipes in a trailer house that I have on my property, and just gave up the battle till weather warms up. I have pipes that NEVER froze since I moved to this farm about 15 years ago. The heat tapes just can not keep up, while my electric bills are frightening. Even my sewer pipe is now frozen, going to the septic. I had to just quit using the toilet, and use a camper toilet in the house, which gets dumped outdoors. I disconnected the sewer pipe, and rigged a pipe outdoors that just drains the gray water on the lawn. It's a major pain in the ass, but what else can I do???? Come warmer weather, I'm going to redo some of these pipes. But for now, all I can do is live with it, and wait till the weather warms up. I'm posting this to find out how many of you are having these same problems. I bet it's far more extensive than expected. Come Spring, I bet plumbers are going to be making lots of money and working overtime. |
#2
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
In article ,
wrote: Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter? No. We don't have any pipes on an exterior wall, and enough heat leaks out of our HVAC ducting to keep the basement pretty warm. Michigan. Cindy Hamilton -- |
#3
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
|
#4
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
|
#5
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 14:42:29 -0600, CRNG
wrote: On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 13:52:48 -0600, wrote in I disconnected the sewer pipe, and rigged a pipe outdoors that just drains the gray water on the lawn. How do you keep that from freezing? Plenty of pitch, the end is raised off the lawn surface so it dont form an ice blob and plug it. I'm fortunate to be going downhill, so this works out for me. I also shovel away snow buildup after snow storms and drifting at the pipe end. |
#6
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
|
#7
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
"Scott Lurndal" wrote in message news:JWaKu.34593
stuff snipped I suspect that most people, who live in cold climes, bury their water pipes below the frost line where they won't freeze. Same with the SWD lines. Are those frost lines set in stone? Seems to me a long, long spell of artic air could allow the cold to penetrate below the frostline. Anyone know of data regarding how long it takes surface temperatures of say 0F to permeate the ground below? I guess it's off to Google again. http://www.innovateus.net/earth-matters/what-frost-line Says: " The depth of frost line ranges in the U.S from about 3 to 6 feet. Below that depth the temperature stays constant 50° F" I seem to remember that being true from an article I did 30 years ago about rammed earth homes that were being built in the side of mountain but I couldn't swear to it. Don't we have any ex-miners or mining engineers around? It seems apparent that most municipalities would put their mains below frost lines but they seem to be breaking anyway: Here's something I found online: http://gazettextra.com/article/20140...140209861/1060 Marcia Nelesen February 6, 2014 [picture] Matt Trickel, a superintendent with Woodward Petroleum, connects an electrical cable to thaw frozen pipes running to a home on Joliet Avenue in Janesville. JANESVILLE--The extended, bitter cold is pushing the ground frost so deep it is freezing the water in buried pipes that connect Janesville homes to water mains under streets. One Janesville resident returned Saturday from an eight-day holiday to be greeted with a trickle of water from his faucets and then nothing at all. Water department workers determined the water had frozen somewhere on its way from the main to his home. Have you noticed your cold tap water is really, really cold? That's because the pipes buried outdoors are really, really cold. The 16 workers in the Janesville Water Department this season have been dealing with a record number of water main breaks, about 48 so far, said Dave Botts, utility director. "But now we're getting all these freeze-ups," Botts said. "We have to have guys out dealing with that." Workers are on call 24/7, and there have been only a couple of days since the end of December when crews haven't been called in, Botts said. There won't be any letup for at least the next 10 days. More low temperatures below zero are predicted, and highs are not expected to climb above freezing. Normally, the water department will get one or two calls a season concerning a service pipe freezing, and those usually are in crawl spaces or basements, Botts said. "Not in the ground like we are seeing," Botts said. If the pipe is frozen between the stop box-which usually is located at the property line-and the home, it is the property owner's responsibility. If the water is frozen from the stop box to the water main under the street, it's the city's responsibility. The department in recent weeks has responded to about 60 private line freezes and 15 to 20 freezes on the city side. |
#8
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
"Scott Lurndal" wrote in message ... I suspect that most people, who live in cold climes, bury their water pipes below the frost line where they won't freeze. Same with the SWD lines. I lived where we had many nights of minus 35 degrees. Had 6 weeks one year that was minus 35 for several lows and 29 degrees for the high. No problems. Frost line was 9 feet deep and water and sewer were deeper. WW |
#9
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
WW wrote:
"Scott Lurndal" wrote in message ... I suspect that most people, who live in cold climes, bury their water pipes below the frost line where they won't freeze. Same with the SWD lines. I lived where we had many nights of minus 35 degrees. Had 6 weeks one year that was minus 35 for several lows and 29 degrees for the high. No problems. Frost line was 9 feet deep and water and sewer were deeper. WW Hi, Exactly, I did not have any water pipe freezing in the past ~50 years. Even ~15 year old all season cabin in the mountain did not have any issues. |
#10
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
In article ,
wrote: Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter? No. ...snipped... -- Better to be stuck up in a tree than tied to one. Larry W. - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar.org |
#11
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
Well I replaced a bunch of copper at my GFs nieces home, copper had frozen and burst.
I got the one bathroom and washing machine working but ran out of sharkbites and all local sources were out of stock. theres another bathroom to do, I relocated some lines that froze to indoor areas, and have to insulate a crawlspace because a trap freezes down there. Have thought about relocxating the trap to the washer into a heated area so it never freezes again |
#12
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On 2/10/2014 7:34 PM, bob haller wrote:
Well I replaced a bunch of copper at my GFs nieces home, copper had frozen and burst. Did you use PEX? That may help in the future. |
#13
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Monday, February 10, 2014 9:49:00 PM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 2/10/2014 7:34 PM, bob haller wrote: Well I replaced a bunch of copper at my GFs nieces home, copper had frozen and burst. Did you use PEX? That may help in the future. yep PEX its cheap easy to install, freeze tolerant and sharkbites make it dead easy |
#14
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 09:24:28 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote: Well I replaced a bunch of copper at my GFs nieces home, copper had frozen and burst. Did you use PEX? That may help in the future. yep PEX its cheap easy to install, freeze tolerant and sharkbites make it dead easy While the PEX pipe itself is not supposed to burst when frozen, I question what happens to the brass fittings, and particularly those sharkbites???? I also wonder how CPVC pipe compares as far as staying intact when freezing? CPVC is even easierr to install than PEX, and while the pice prices are about the same, the fittings for the CPVC are much cheaper. I do agree, copper pipe is probably the worst for durability when it freezes. Even the old galvanized steel held up better. |
#15
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 1:47:17 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 09:24:28 -0800 (PST), bob haller wrote: Well I replaced a bunch of copper at my GFs nieces home, copper had frozen and burst. Did you use PEX? That may help in the future. yep PEX its cheap easy to install, freeze tolerant and sharkbites make it dead easy While the PEX pipe itself is not supposed to burst when frozen, I question what happens to the brass fittings, and particularly those sharkbites???? I also wonder how CPVC pipe compares as far as staying intact when freezing? CPVC is even easierr to install than PEX, and while the pice prices are about the same, the fittings for the CPVC are much cheaper. I do agree, copper pipe is probably the worst for durability when it freezes. Even the old galvanized steel held up better. CPVC is easily damaged by freezing..... Sharkbites are heavy brass casting so they are likely pretty freeze tolerant..... |
#17
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
wrote in message ... Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter? It seems everyone I know has had frozen pipes this winter, even those in the south, qwho normally dont experience such severe cold temps. It's been a very severe winter, and I have actually given up on some pipes that repeatedly keep freezing. Carrying containers of water si becoming the norm, and is much less trouble than constantly fighting with frozen pipes. I even drained the pipes in a trailer house that I have on my property, and just gave up the battle till weather warms up. I have pipes that NEVER froze since I moved to this farm about 15 years ago. The heat tapes just can not keep up, while my electric bills are frightening. Even my sewer pipe is now frozen, going to the septic. I had to just quit using the toilet, and use a camper toilet in the house, which gets dumped outdoors. I disconnected the sewer pipe, and rigged a pipe outdoors that just drains the gray water on the lawn. It's a major pain in the ass, but what else can I do???? Come warmer weather, I'm going to redo some of these pipes. But for now, all I can do is live with it, and wait till the weather warms up. I'm posting this to find out how many of you are having these same problems. I bet it's far more extensive than expected. Come Spring, I bet plumbers are going to be making lots of money and working overtime. I have not here in WA and we have had two cold snaps, both with record temps. We didn't even have the house fully heated either. We have baseboard heat and it was off in many rooms. |
#18
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
wrote in message ... Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter? It seems everyone I know has had frozen pipes this winter, even those in the south, qwho normally dont experience such severe cold temps. It's been a very severe winter, and I have actually given up on some pipes that repeatedly keep freezing. Carrying containers of water si becoming the norm, and is much less trouble than constantly fighting with frozen pipes. I even drained the pipes in a trailer house that I have on my property, and just gave up the battle till weather warms up. I have pipes that NEVER froze since I moved to this farm about 15 years ago. The heat tapes just can not keep up, while my electric bills are frightening. Even my sewer pipe is now frozen, going to the septic. I had to just quit using the toilet, and use a camper toilet in the house, which gets dumped outdoors. I disconnected the sewer pipe, and rigged a pipe outdoors that just drains the gray water on the lawn. It's a major pain in the ass, but what else can I do???? Come warmer weather, I'm going to redo some of these pipes. But for now, all I can do is live with it, and wait till the weather warms up. I'm posting this to find out how many of you are having these same problems. I bet it's far more extensive than expected. Come Spring, I bet plumbers are going to be making lots of money and working overtime. There is a cure for this so long as you don't have a water meter. Just leave the tap/faucet trickling/dripping. You want the faucet furthest away from the incoming pipe so that as much pipework as possible is protected. Enough water comes through to prevent freezing. Make sure the drain doesn't freeze up. The colder it gets, the more water you need to be running through. In the UK, a fast drip is sufficient and only by night. Maybe you need more in the US. Even if you do have a water meter it might be worth it. |
#19
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 12:06:47 PM UTC-5, harry wrote:
wrote in message ... Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter? It seems everyone I know has had frozen pipes this winter, even those in the south, qwho normally dont experience such severe cold temps. It's been a very severe winter, and I have actually given up on some pipes that repeatedly keep freezing. Carrying containers of water si becoming the norm, and is much less trouble than constantly fighting with frozen pipes. I even drained the pipes in a trailer house that I have on my property, and just gave up the battle till weather warms up. I have pipes that NEVER froze since I moved to this farm about 15 years ago. The heat tapes just can not keep up, while my electric bills are frightening. Even my sewer pipe is now frozen, going to the septic. I had to just quit using the toilet, and use a camper toilet in the house, which gets dumped outdoors. I disconnected the sewer pipe, and rigged a pipe outdoors that just drains the gray water on the lawn. It's a major pain in the ass, but what else can I do???? Come warmer weather, I'm going to redo some of these pipes. But for now, all I can do is live with it, and wait till the weather warms up. I'm posting this to find out how many of you are having these same problems. I bet it's far more extensive than expected. Come Spring, I bet plumbers are going to be making lots of money and working overtime. There is a cure for this so long as you don't have a water meter. Just leave the tap/faucet trickling/dripping. You want the faucet furthest away from the incoming pipe so that as much pipework as possible is protected. Enough water comes through to prevent freezing. I think the key here is that enough water has to be flowing. I see people all the time saying just leave a faucet dripping. It would seem to me that the flow that's needed to keep one foot of 1/2" pipe in a wall that's partly insulated from freezing is going to be a lot less than the flow required to keep 20 ft of 1" pipe that's more exposed from freezing. Make sure the drain doesn't freeze up. The colder it gets, the more water you need to be running through. In the UK, a fast drip is sufficient and only by night. Maybe you need more in the US. I think it depends on the temperature and the pipe you're trying to protect. As to the original question, the only thing I know of that froze here is a friend who had the furnace in his attic shut down. The furnace is horizontal, with the condensate drain trap on the bottom. So, you have a small plastic tank of water sitting there. I guess if the furnace ran enough, it might avoid freezing. But it's setback for long periods to 50F, so it might not run for hours. Condensate trap froze and cracked. How that ever passed inspection, IDK. Should clearly have been heat taped and the condensate line, where it's exposed should be taped too. All they did was put pipe insulation over the condensate line and even that, they missed spots. |
#20
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
Have you had Frozen Pipes this winter?
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:06:47 -0000, "harryagain"
wrote: There is a cure for this so long as you don't have a water meter. Just leave the tap/faucet trickling/dripping. You want the faucet furthest away from the incoming pipe so that as much pipework as possible is protected. Enough water comes through to prevent freezing. Make sure the drain doesn't freeze up. The colder it gets, the more water you need to be running through. In the UK, a fast drip is sufficient and only by night. Maybe you need more in the US. Even if you do have a water meter it might be worth it. I posted this awhile back. I have a trailer house on my farm, which I'm rebuilding for guests and storage. I left the water turned on in early winter, because it's heated (but barely at 40deg). I planned to work in there over winter, so I left it on. There is a drippy tab faucet, which I plan to replace. While that faucet dripped, the water line did not freeze. But the drain pipe did. Froze solid, one drip at a time. Since I didn't go in there daily, it damn near overflowed the tub. This all occurred BEFORE the worst of the cold weather. After unthawing that sewer pipe, I shut off the water in the trailer. Now the water line is frozen UNDERGROUND. There is heat tape above ground. I opened the pipe right where it enters the trailer. Then i shoved some tubing down, and measured it. Yep, frozen just below ground level (who knows how deep). Since I dont really need the water in there, it's not a big problem. It's been too damn cold to work in there anyhow! |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
frozen/burst pipes | UK diy | |||
Floor insulation == frozen pipes??? | Home Repair | |||
Frozen Pipes Follow up.. | Home Repair | |||
Frozen Pipes-WOW! | Home Repair | |||
Freezing Pipes or Pipes frozen could the Instant Hot Water Recirculator from RedyTemp work | Home Repair |