...and our water is currently in the process of being unfrozen. It's not even technically Winter yet.
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It was 10 degrees (-12C) here last night
- Thread starter ldg
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The easiest and safest way to unthaw pipes is with a blowdryer.
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- #3
It took just a minute or two with a high-heat propane heater. Much more coverage, much higher temp (metal pipe). The problem seems to be in the neck of the pipe where we connect the hose (still). Thought we'd got it with the heat tape and insulation. The water froze - last week? It took Gary half an hour with the hair dryer.
Oh no, hug those kitties and stay warm!
Can you drip the water during the night to keep it flowing? That's what we used to do in Texas when it would freeze (pipes were outside).
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- #5
Technically we're not allowed to. But apart from that, we run into (potential) problems with the tanks - we keep them closed to prevent any freezing from creeping, and we've been showering at night as well so the tank's full of hot water (we figure it helps insulate as well). Even if we opened them, if water is freezing on its way to the sewer, we worry that ice build-up could cause an unattended drip to fill the tank. I doubt that much water runs through the pipe over the course of a night, but a flood is the last thing we need LOL.
Really, I was more complaining about it being so darn cold!
I expect this in January - not early December!
Really, I was more complaining about it being so darn cold!
Originally Posted by SwampWitch
Oh no, hug those kitties and stay warm!Can you drip the water during the night to keep it flowing? That's what we used to do in Texas when it would freeze (pipes were outside).
Laurie, stay warm! Still got what, at least 3 months to go...
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- #7
It can get real cold in parts of Texas!!!Originally Posted by pushylady
the water pipes would freeze in Texas?!!
Laurie, stay warm! Still got what, at least 3 months to go...
And Gary said this was going to be the coldest Winter in decades. Why does he always have to be right?
You betcha, it gets below freezing in Texas. Not a lot of snow where I was in central Texas but ice storms are pretty common. The default is always back to warm/hot, it never stays cold.Originally Posted by pushylady
the water pipes would freeze in Texas?!!
My sister Linda told me the same thing about 3 months ago, saying it would be wetter and colder here = snow.Originally Posted by LDG
It can get real cold in parts of Texas!!!
And Gary said this was going to be the coldest Winter in decades. Why does he always have to be right?
Funny how our daughter's winter clothes are always fashionable, since we have to replace it all every 1-2 years, but my husband and I wear the same stuff every year... they are classic, right?
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You can come to me ...").. been doing the water drip for weeks
We've been dripping the pipes for the last week here in SC. It's been in the high teens and low 20s at night already.
Makes me hopeful for some snow accumulation again this winter
There already were scattered flurries in the area a few days ago.
Makes me hopeful for some snow accumulation again this winter
Oh no, its awful isn't it? Its been -18 some nights here and just horrendous, my friend phoned me last night, all his pipes froze in his bathroom, now its warmed up again rapidly and they have burst and his bathroom ceiling has fell in, its awful. We're expecting the freezing conditions to return again next week. x
I think we are going to be hit hard this year. In London, Ontario they got buried under 170+ cm of snow! Toronto already issued its first winter cold warning (when temperature reaches -15C or lower, without wind chill) in order to get homeless off the streets and into shelter. That's the earliest its been issued.
Like you said, Laurie, we usually see this at the end of January into February. Last year, Toronto really didn't have a winter but I guess this year we are making up for it!
Like you said, Laurie, we usually see this at the end of January into February. Last year, Toronto really didn't have a winter but I guess this year we are making up for it!
I hate winter.
I don't know why I live in such a cold climate.
Yeah I think this year we will be paying for the easy winter we had last time. Oh well, lots of skiing then!
I had know idea that Texas could get so cold; I always imagine a desert type of climate.
Ruth, that sucks how cold it's getting in Britain. You guys just really aren't geared up for it like we are over here. I hope your friend gets his house fixed up OK.
I had know idea that Texas could get so cold; I always imagine a desert type of climate.
Ruth, that sucks how cold it's getting in Britain. You guys just really aren't geared up for it like we are over here. I hope your friend gets his house fixed up OK.
Texas is BIG, so it does have desert, prairies, and plains; but also the hill country, many lakes, piney woods forest, and the Gulf coast.
Google image results for Texas hill country, where I'm from.
Oh my gosh, I'm glad we don't have that problem here in IA! I've never heard of anyone's pipes freezing unless they shut their heat off to go on vacation or something. Why do your pipes freeze in NY NW or SC?
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- #17
Because they're exposed to REALLY cold temperatures! We're in the RV, and the water into the RV is a hose from a pipe fixture at the back of the site. We had the hose wrapped in heat tape, and then foam pipe insulation wrapped around that. We have heat tape wrapped around the filter in the compartment where the hose connects to the piping in the RV.
We also wrapped the water pipe where it comes up out of the ground in heat tape, and that was wrapped in pipe insulation.
Where it froze was somewhere between the bend in the pipe and where it connects to the hose. So we got that today, and wrapped a giant piece of insulation around the whole thing, and wrapped that in a very thick plastic bag (a "contractor" garbage bag) and taped that all up. The problem with this is that Gary's OCD means he likes to turn the water off at the source every time we leave to do anything (even like grocery shopping), and that will be a challenge now LOL. But it's supposed to be heading back to low double-digits at night in a couple of days, so I'm glad we got out and took care of it.
We also got the hose up off the ground onto spaced paver stones, and raked leaves under the whole thing. At this point it'd be nice if it snowed - it would help provide some more insulation against the wind.
We also wrapped the water pipe where it comes up out of the ground in heat tape, and that was wrapped in pipe insulation.
Where it froze was somewhere between the bend in the pipe and where it connects to the hose. So we got that today, and wrapped a giant piece of insulation around the whole thing, and wrapped that in a very thick plastic bag (a "contractor" garbage bag) and taped that all up. The problem with this is that Gary's OCD means he likes to turn the water off at the source every time we leave to do anything (even like grocery shopping), and that will be a challenge now LOL. But it's supposed to be heading back to low double-digits at night in a couple of days, so I'm glad we got out and took care of it.
We also got the hose up off the ground onto spaced paver stones, and raked leaves under the whole thing. At this point it'd be nice if it snowed - it would help provide some more insulation against the wind.
Try hay bales if you can find them. We had to put them around the base of our old farmhouse in the winter to keep the north wind from blowing under the house and freezing our pipes. They insulate better than leaves.
It was 8F here last night and right now it's a balmy 13F. I hate winter.
It was 8F here last night and right now it's a balmy 13F. I hate winter.
LDG - glad you got your water working. Nasty when that happens.
This morning it is a balmy -8°F with a delightful SE breeze bringing a windchill of -26 and the promise of yeat another blizzard over night. Lovely, more snow to push around. Think I will break my record for snow heaps this winter. Expect spring sometime in 2012
This morning it is a balmy -8°F with a delightful SE breeze bringing a windchill of -26 and the promise of yeat another blizzard over night. Lovely, more snow to push around. Think I will break my record for snow heaps this winter. Expect spring sometime in 2012
Mine have frozen once, but there have been pipes that burst in the neighborhood in the past. We always drip ours because the cost to fix burst pipes is more than I want to spend! We forgot to drip it one night earlier this year and woke up to frozen pipes!
In NJ ours were insulated very well, and I think they only ever froze once or twice in the 10 years we lived in the house I recall best.
The weather here cant figure itself out. It was 60F yesterday, going to be 39F tomorrow
