HOW THE HECK COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WERE THEY USING TO THAW THE PIPES?
THIS HAS ME PUZZLED....

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http://www.kttc.com/story/24683160/2...east-rochester

Home catches fire during pipe thawing in southeast Rochester
Posted:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main and
a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so the
homeowner called a service to thaw them out.

During the thawing process, the home next door caught fire just after 5
p.m. Saturday.

The pipe was also connected to the neighbor's home, whose pipes were not
frozen.

According to the Rochester Fire Department, the fire did $2,500 in
damage to the side of the house.

The owner of that home was inside.

No one was hurt.

wrote:
HOW THE HECK COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WERE THEY USING TO THAW THE
PIPES? THIS HAS ME PUZZLED....

---

http://www.kttc.com/story/24683160/2...east-rochester

Home catches fire during pipe thawing in southeast Rochester
Posted:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main
and a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so
the homeowner called a service to thaw them out.

During the thawing process, the home next door caught fire just after
5 p.m. Saturday.

The pipe was also connected to the neighbor's home, whose pipes were
not frozen.

My guess. They used a welder or something to pass current through the pipe to
thaw it. Maybe disconnected the ground connection from the pipe, and then passed
current though it to ground to warm the pipe. Ground connection from pipe to
ground rods at neighbors house overheated and started fire.

On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:31:34 -0600, wrote:

HOW THE HECK COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WERE THEY USING TO THAW THE PIPES?
THIS HAS ME PUZZLED....

---

http://www.kttc.com/story/24683160/2...east-rochester

Home catches fire during pipe thawing in southeast Rochester
Posted:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main and
a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so the
homeowner called a service to thaw them out.

During the thawing process, the home next door caught fire just after 5
p.m. Saturday.

The pipe was also connected to the neighbor's home, whose pipes were not
frozen.

According to the Rochester Fire Department, the fire did $2,500 in
damage to the side of the house.

The owner of that home was inside.

He sure has a lot of nerve.

No one was hurt.


Well, the picture shows that the damage was only about 8 feet wide and 4
feet high, if that much, and only the siding, and maybe some insulation
below that. So if he still has the paint, it will look as good as new
when it's repaired. No damage to the inside. That's important, in
case one has a boenheaded neighbor.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main
and a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so
the homeowner called a service to thaw them out.

During the thawing process, the home next door caught fire just after
5 p.m. Saturday.

The pipe was also connected to the neighbor's home, whose pipes were
not frozen.

My guess. They used a welder or something to pass current through the pipe
to thaw it. Maybe disconnected the ground connection from the pipe, and
then passed current though it to ground to warm the pipe. Ground
connection from pipe to ground rods at neighbors house overheated and
started fire.



That movie "Frozen River" had a teenager thaw out his mobile home pipes with
a propane torch and start a fire. It looked like the props department used
some gray spray paint to simulate fire damage.

On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:44:47 -0800, "Stumpy"
wrote:


ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main
and a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so
the homeowner called a service to thaw them out.




That movie "Frozen River" had a teenager thaw out his mobile home pipes with
a propane torch and start a fire. It looked like the props department used
some gray spray paint to simulate fire damage.

Using a torch near a building or any flammable, is not too smart. I
prefer a heat gun. Even those can start a fire, but are much safer.

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:44:47 -0800, "Stumpy"
wrote:


ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- One homeowner in southeast Rochester is
dealing with quite a mess due to his neighbor's frozen pipes.

The Rochester Fire Department says the pipes between the water main
and a home in the 2100 block of 14th Street Southeast were frozen, so
the homeowner called a service to thaw them out.




That movie "Frozen River" had a teenager thaw out his mobile home pipes
with
a propane torch and start a fire. It looked like the props department
used
some gray spray paint to simulate fire damage.

Using a torch near a building or any flammable, is not too smart. I
prefer a heat gun. Even those can start a fire, but are much safer.


It was a very special torch because at the end of the movie he used it to
weld up a large steel carousel.

What Bob F said, a welder is frequently used when the exactlocation of the freeze is underground, but not known where. The welder applies a heavy current to the line and this normally just causes a more or less uniform heating of the pipe until the water flows again. In this case, there was apparently a second sneak path the the current found.