See other All is Vanity Articles
Title: Our pipes are frozen this morning...no water
Source:
[None]
URL Source: [None]
Published: Jan 8, 2010
Author: .
Post Date: 2010-01-08 11:27:56 by christine
Keywords: None
Views: 6918
Comments: 170
it's cloudy with no sun to warm us up. the high predicted today is 35. currently it's 26 degrees (feels like 17). could be hours before the pipes unfreeze. i'm going nuts already.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
Comments (1-43) not displayed.
.
.
.
#44. To: christine (#6)
Frozen pipes could be a big problem. If the pipe breaks then you are going to need a plumber pronto. Hope that doens't happen. Try to leave them dripping on cold nights.
God is always good!
Heating cables are cheaper. And they don't snicker. Makes me glad I'm Trailer Trash with a simple distribution system and a short connection to the water main - under the house with easy access. Although we have been as cold as 10 or 11 without any problems. This year is much better than last. Last year at this time it was 20 degrees with a foot and a half of snow. Today it is just raining and 38. I actually did some work on some of my containers for the garden yesterday as it was dry - a rarity this time of year.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
good lord. we just called our plumber and he said he doesn't have any surefire way to thaw our pipes either. :/
Christine, If and when you do get your pipes thawed, if it is to get really cold then you need to trickle the water in the sinks and other areas. What I do is usually trickle both a little from hot and a little from the cold so that both pipes have some water coming through. Make sure to take of the hoses to any outside pipes. I made it all the way through one winter without anything bursting until one of the hose bibs did a number in spring because there was a hose connected and some water up in the bib. Good luck. I hope they do not burst on you. Two winters ago we had a whole bunch of people that happened to.
LOL, that's funny. Hmmm.... could that be a conspiracy against Texas? :-))
What part of the country are you located in? In Idaho I don't worry unless we get down in the low single digits about frozen pipes. But irrigation is usually always taken care of before winter. This winter has been relatively mild. Although it was it the teens at night this week we hardly have had any snow this year. And it is suppose to get back up into the 40's next week.
I think the heat gun (which you can get at an Electronics Repair Supply) or the Gardener's Heat Cable are likely your best bets. Either that or time and crossed fingers that nothing has burst. On the positive side my Ocikitten is snuggled up and warm against my shoulders - and not climbing all over me making it hard to type. ;-) P.S. She is morphing from gray to kind of a cinnamon brown with darker brown/black spots. She's going to be a real "looker" once she finishes getting her adult coloration.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
No, more like a lot of sinning going on in Texas. Especially in and around Austin. Those people need to repent.
Christine and I are in Austin, on the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country. This kind of winter blows through every fifteen years or so. We are definitely not properly geared for it. One other hint, wherever there are faucets in the home leave the cabinet doors open so the warm air gets to the supply lines.
When our pipes first froze after we moved here what I did was hair dryer and I would boil water and put it in the bathtub hoping to warm it enough to melt some of the ice without it expanding. Depending were the pipes are you may try a heat lamp in one area and hair dryer in another. It takes a long time with a hair dryer.
need pics! our little one is getting more and more of the light beige that is his whole undercoat coloring showing.
true, I'm not sure about this far south and I don't recall seeing it here in the Corpus Christi area but they make an electric tape just for pipes I used it in Virginia when I was stationed at Yorktown to keep both my well head and separator tank from freezing. the good thing was all of the plumbing was under the back porch so it was protected from the wind. link for heat tape
the pipes just unthawed and we got water running!!!!! shower time !!!
I turned off the water at the curb, turned off the water heater power, opened the cabinets beneath the sinks, and opened all the taps in the house and am using 1 gal water jugs until Sunday when the temperature gets above freezing. I don't want to have to call a plumber.
_________________________________________________________________________ That would be tough to plan for this kind winter down there. Hope it all goes well for you guys and nothing burst.
I guess I need to break down, grit my teeth in protest, and buy a digital camera. She's still in the middle of the color change so at the moment some of her is still gray but the new fur is growing in kind of a cinnamon brown. It has really become noticeable in the last 2 weeeks. She also has Abyssinian eyes that are just huge gold saucers (one of the ancestral strains in the Ocicat). Sounds like yours is morphing into a cutie too. ;-)
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
Now you know what it feels like on a Navy Ship when they are rationing water. Holiday Showers! P.S. That's why they called the old Diesel Submarines "Pig Boats" because there was never enough water, at sea, to shower in fresh water.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
An Airedale eh? Wooden Ships and Iron Men Forever! Minesweep Sailors do it with Wood!
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
If you have water in the pipes you need to get it trickling or flowing before it warms up. The ice in those pipes expands when it warms up and causes pipes to burst. You need to warm it up somehow.
I'll bite. Why? not everyone is comfortable doing their own home plumbing, speaking of which I really need to finish the work on the kids bathroom. just need to finish off sealing in the shower stall and tiling the wall. I installed what is a three walled shower stall but due to room constraints and the window on back wall I only purchased the back wall and floor pan. had a friend weld up a surround from aluminum tubing and plate from the shower curtain it was lot cheaper to have him do it than me buying a tig unit and with the stick and wire welders I already have I don't have room for another welder. heck I can't finish the bathroom without clearing room around the table saw to work the oak side caps I have planned for the shower stall back.
actually I was on the USS Scout MCM 8 for a couple years as in essence the weapons officer and SAMI. straight-stick Mineman.
Especially in and around Austin. Those people need to repent. ''Who DOESN'T want to live in the place an old preacher-lady calls a hotbed of hippies, intellectualism, acceptance and sin!'' "Free Hugs" in Austin, Texas, courtesy of Sonya Sophia and the Austin community. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs0rvVNDXxs (I have never been in Austin, but I have been in Houston for four days, a while back.)
Good deal. If it is going to get cold tonight make sure you trickle the water at a few of the water facets furthest from the in source then you should not freeze up again.
Yours is certainly the best plan to deal with an extended sub-32 situation. Very well done.
Thank you, and keep your fingers crossed.
One of them thar new fangled MCM ships. Well, it was not like the old days ... why I remember the time we were off Norfolk in a Nor' Easter on the old Fidelity ... (Hee, hee). (True story actually.) (Of course since I was on the Commodore's Staff I was mainly a passenger there for training.)
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
yes, will do. thanks, all, for your advice.
Actually, 2x6 construction in a hotter climate is good to have as well (though more expensive) in Summer it keeps the heat out longer too. One can live without an air conditioner, I have never had one.
every boat/ship is a minesweeper...once! a fairy tale starts out, once upon a time; a sea story starts out, this is a no shitter.
Your welcome! I learned the hard way after moving up to Idaho. But thankfully, we never had any pipes other than the one bib and the one area from outside burst. We have been here ten years now. So I am getting to be an old hand at this!
Damn, Christine that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope they don't burst on you. I had that happen a couple of years ago and it's expensive. After that experience I had the plumber wrap all of the pipes with this electric covering that I was able to plug in during the extreme cold. It was probably overkill for the Ozarks, but better that than having to go through that crap again.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976 The purpose of the legal system is to protect the elites from the wrath of those they plunder.- Elliott Jackalope "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
That doesn't always work. When my pipes burst a few years ago I had every faucet in the house trickling, to include the bath tubs. I later found out that there was a section of pipe under the crawl space where the insulation had somehow come off and of course this is where it burst. It was a very expensive lesson to learn. I ended up installing this high speed, low drag insulation that has a heating element in it that I can plug into the wall when it gets super cold. I've also learned that it is important to crawl under the house and check the pipe insulation every fall.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976 The purpose of the legal system is to protect the elites from the wrath of those they plunder.- Elliott Jackalope "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
Well, I guess this'll teach you for being a deadbeat and not sending in your global warming carbon credit tax into Goldman Sachs NYC. All seriousness aside, you NEVER EVER want to let an outside faucet drip in cold weather, it will freeze everytime. Your outside faucets are most likely a freezeproof type, meaning that the actual valve seat is about a foot inside the house. When you shut off the faucet, the water in the outlet pipe needs to be able to drain out, which is why you need to disconnect garden hoses. I'm guessing you have your water meters outside in a box somewhere in your yard and that's where it froze. Here, they're inside the house and all water lines are buried below the frostline. If you have access to the box you might want to look inside it to make sure the pipes or the meter aren't broken. You might want to put a bale or two of straw on top of the box to insulate it. Leaving a little water drip INSIDE the house will keep enough water flowing through the pipe outside to keep it from freezing. It also acts as a pressure relief if the pipes do freeze and may keep the pipes from bursting. Make sure you get those outside faucets flushed out and shut off & check for any water leaks if they broke. I don't think you should have to mess around with heat tape or any thing like that, but if you do, call me. Usually we dont get problems with frozen pipes around here until it gets below zero and stays there a while.
Boy that would be a bummer. But chances are better of not having pipes burst if you trickle your water than if do not. I don't even know if we have what you would call a crawl space under the house.
There is no doubt that it is better to trickle water than not. I did not mean to imply otherwise. Even after we put the new insulation on and had it plugged in we tricked the water. It did suck. Mainly because in the town we lived in there was only one plumber and it took him three days to get to us. I hate going without water. We now live in a different town and rent out house, so I definitely turn the water on. However, to be safe, instead of a trickle, I keep all the faucets on at the lowest steady flow that I can get it. Especially tonight when they say it's supposed to get to -7.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976 The purpose of the legal system is to protect the elites from the wrath of those they plunder.- Elliott Jackalope "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
Pikers. The HVAC guys around here charge that much to change a furnace filter (filter not included). If you want a serviceman to even think about seeing you in these parts, you'd better have at least $10,000 in The Ye Olde Sock.
In texas your water supply and meter are on the outside of the house, above ground? Must be nice to be that certain it would never get cold enough to freeze. If this is really the case, then some standard plumbing heat wrap would do the trick to thaw it now and keep it from freezing again in the future. Most of the heat wrap kits have a built in thermostat in the plug so that it only comes on when temps dip below 35 degrees. I'm not sure if you'll be able to get one locally though, since pipes never freeze in Texas. :P However, I'd try calling hardware stores, just in case.
Some of the pictures I've seen of southern water meters are like a plastic box in the ground with the top of the box flush with the ground. Access to the meter is by removing the top of the box. You certainly wouldn't get by with that here in NE Indiana.
my supply line is no more than 16 inches under ground at the deepest which is next to the house and less than 6 at the meter. there is about 20 inches of the supply line exposed to air before it goes into the wall and up to the attic. heck even out main breakers are outside here.
It used to be that the frostline here in Fort Wayne was three feet. I'm thinkin' that with all this global warming, 42" should be the new minimum. Maybe 48".
Comments (84 - 170) not displayed.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#45. To: Cynicom (#43)
#46. To: Cynicom, All (#43)
My last foray a year ago was $1100.
#47. To: christine (#0)
#48. To: randge (#23)
...spent much of the time thinkin' how nice it would be to get back to sunny texas shoot, it's warmer in frankfurt today than it is in houston!!
#49. To: Lod (#40)
#50. To: christine (#46)
(Edited)
#51. To: sushigirl (#48)
LOL, that's funny. Hmmm.... could that be a conspiracy against Texas? :-))
#52. To: MiracleRose7, christine, all (#49)
#53. To: christine (#46)
#54. To: Original_Intent (#50)
#55. To: Original_Intent, christine (#34)
The best gun to have, is the gun you have, when you need a gun.
#56. To: All, YIPPEE (#54)
#57. To: christine (#0)
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?”
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#58. To: Lod (#52)
#59. To: christine (#54)
#60. To: christine (#56)
#61. To: IRTorqued (#55)
#62. To: X-15 (#57)
#63. To: Original_Intent (#36)
Actually, here when our pipes freeze, we call the banker first and plumber second.
The best gun to have, is the gun you have, when you need a gun.
#64. To: Original_Intent (#61)
(Edited)
The best gun to have, is the gun you have, when you need a gun.
#65. To: Cynicom (#51)
(Edited)
No, more like a lot of sinning going on in Texas.
#66. To: christine (#56)
#67. To: X-15 (#57)
#68. To: MiracleRose7 (#58)
Hope it all goes well for you guys and nothing burst.
#69. To: IRTorqued (#64)
actually I was on the USS Scout MCM 8 for a couple years as in essence the weapons officer and SAMI. straight-stick Mineman.
#70. To: MiracleRose7, all (#66)
#71. To: Original_Intent (#41)
That is the nice thing about living in the cold zone - so far as this stuff goes - 2 x 6 construction is pretty much standard any more and required by code - as is extra insulation and pipe wraps.
#72. To: Original_Intent (#69)
(Edited)
The best gun to have, is the gun you have, when you need a gun.
#73. To: christine (#70)
#74. To: christine (#0)
#75. To: MiracleRose7 (#66)
Good deal. If it is going to get cold tonight make sure you trickle the water at a few of the water facets furthest from the in source then you should not freeze up again.
#76. To: christine, Lod (#0)
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#77. To: F.A. Hayek Fan (#75)
#78. To: MiracleRose7 (#77)
Boy that would be a bummer. But chances are better of not having pipes burst if you trickle your water than if do not. I don't even know if we have what you would call a crawl space under the house.
#79. To: Cynicom (#43)
My last foray a year ago was $1100.
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#80. To: christine (#0)
The only real restraint on gummints is people who say "live free or die" ... and mean it. - Enderby
#81. To: Critter (#80)
In texas your water supply and meter are on the outside of the house, above ground?
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#82. To: Esso, Critter (#81)
The best gun to have, is the gun you have, when you need a gun.
#83. To: IRTorqued (#82)
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
.
.
.