I used to think that letting your faucets drip would cause the water to keep moving so it couldn’t freeze. I didn’t know that it would release pressure instead! Thanks TOH!
It's a little bit of both. running water can't freezes as Easly, that's why rivers and streams don't. though if you get the right circumstances bodies of water can freeze.
"It's the pressure that will make the thing go crazy, not the 10% ice expansion on its own" This is crucial to understand why dripping faucet method works. The purpose of dripping faucet is not to prevent ice build up in pipes, but rather to relieve pressure. Great video and saved my house during 2021 Texas freeze. In my case the pipe still froze as almost no water was coming out in the morning even when I left the faucet dripping, but the pipe at least did not burst. Thank you!
@@JM-yx1lm Here in Austin, but originally from NH, these guys have saved me a lot over the years. Best advice as it relates to freezing pipes is right at the end about opening up a faucet or two for dripping to relieve pressure, works like a charm.
@@davidw2174 yes sir, glad yall have made it through the worst without out much issues...finding out today that gas stations here in DFW are all out of fuel everywhere...
Working a job years ago where the people went away for a few weeks ski vacation and the old steam boiler failed to fire one night. Fast forward a few weeks and their regular oil delivery guy noticed the house didn't take any product on scheduled delivery so peeked in the basement window to see LOTS of water. (mostly windows frosted over) Called the customer's neighbor to get inside and found the house had gotten so cold that the boiler and well tank had frozen to the point where the sight glass was broken on both. Spent a day dewatering the basement and put in temporary heaters so we could get the frozen stuff to melt over several days.... then the repairs could start! The biggest problem we faced was waiting for the well tank and boiler itself to defrost, because without water we couldn't heat the rest of the house. The good part was that steam pipes are always empty of water so no damage to them upstairs.
@@xfreeman86 I just turned off my main supply and opened all faucets inside the house not taking any chances any more. Will turn back on in the am. From lake Jackson tx
My solution… I purchased a digital irrigation timer at Lowes that you would normally use on your garden. I have a Orbit brand, Item #604469 Model #24600 about $30 bucks. I attached it to my kitchen sink with a quick disconnect. I set the timer to turn on once per hour around the clock and run for 2 minutes. It was really easy to set and works perfectly. I live in Northern Minnesota in a mobile home. It hasn't failed me yet. My water lines into the house have heat tape but this is my extra insurance….
It's Christmas Eve and the Eastern half of the country is in a deep freeze, all the way from Vermont, where I live, to Florida in the South. I shared this video with my Facebook friends in hopes it will help. Thanks for some great tips.
My Grandson just rented his first house in Burnsville Mississippi and found out he needs to drip his faucets at night when temps hit freezing which is almost every night back there. Great video Rich.
@@pavelow235 … The problem in the south is older homes that were retrofitted with indoor plumbing and almost no insulation, as in your typical (read: low budget) rental home.
My pipes froze before I had a chance to let them drip. I'm glad I watched this, as I have now disconnected from the source. Probably saved me a big disaster!
Do you know now that you mention it I can't remember I'm gonna have to watch it again. When I went searching for this last year they had another video on the subject that was even older maybe I'm remembering that one.
4:35 yeah good advice... A small (controlled) leaking faucet is better than a busted pipe good thing I lived in the tropics... freezing is not my problem; its the humidity and rust.
6996katmom … you have two things going on with a faucet dripping. The first is that moving water takes a lower temp to freeze. This is why a river freezes well after the lakes are frozen. The second is you are constantly allowing the pressure to drop if it does happen to freeze.
I remember back in junior high getting back from Christmas break to discover that a pipe had burst in the locker room. When they first opened the door there must've been about two feet of water and the coach said all of our old gym clothes were just floating around everywhere. They finally got the main shut off and after that all they could really hope for was that the water would drain out through the shower area and urinals. We were all happy as kids though though, because PE was cancelled for a couple days.
My dad always had to climb into the crawl space to heat the pipes up until I told him to let them drip over night. The running water is harder to freeze than water sitting still in a pipe. Never had our pipes freeze since but common knowledge for anyone is to shut the main off before leaving your house for a long time in the winter. Also keep your heat at at least 60.
I'm watching Seals Sub training and the way they are taught to fix minor to severe pipe leaks is unbelievable! Can you show us how to easily fix major pipe leaks?
Govt has completely failed to educate the public on this matter. They should be ashamed. Of course all of us should search the info out like we have here, but many won't and so we have a disaster on our hands.
Thank you. Turn off if pipes burst. Relieve pressure by letting faucet drip is the best tip and clarified why it's done. Open space below kitchen sink to let ANY heat in there.
This is a great, very informative video. I have had pipes freeze so I leave the tap open as advised here. I like to run very hot water periodically to prevent a freeze.
I'm in the north Dallas area and have been using this to explain why the open tap doesn't prevent freezes but instead just stops the pressure buildup, great video!
Worked at a 150 apt retirement community with a 4 story atrium at the very top was a gable peak with windows and there were sprinkler heads... They burst water poured into the atrium for over two hours until we could get someone to figure out how to turn off the main. I was brooming the water out the front doors trying to keep it from spreading to the residential areas. Several thousand gallons poured in, it was raining inside.. craziness
2 years ago when we had a cold winter and my parents weren’t home, a pipe burst. Long story short, we are still fighting with the insurance company 2 years later over all the damages.
Most insurance company don't cover flood damage unless you have flood insurance and a burst pipe would be flood damage/ owners fault for not having heat/insulation/not turning off water good luck winning that battle
We used to live in a small mining town outside of Sudbury, Ontario (Northern Ontario) and we had our main supply pipe freeze one winter. It didnt burst, it just froze. Even though the supply pipe was under at least 2' of ground and by then, covered by 4' of snow, it had frozen solid. It had been a week after our "January thaw" and the cold had penetrated that deep. Once the mine maintainence crew had come around to thaw the pipe that was what we had to do for the rest of the winter and all the following winters that we lived there - leave the tap open in the basement laundry room so that it went drip, drip,....... We never had a problem after that.
Bill Campbell … I have a friend in northern NY who is living in what was once a seasonal house. Pipes to the well are not below the frost line so he adds a few bails of hay along the pipe route outside the house to aid with insulation. I have also seen areas with too much rock to get water lines deep enough. They run the pipe through a sleeve / conduit and allow the air space to do the insulation. That seems to work well and it's certainly cheep enough if the trench is already open.
Had a recent snow storm. Lost power to the house for over 24 hours , temps reached under 30 degrees in the house. Pipes burst after the power came back and the house started to heat up (assuming it had something to do with temperate and expansion too rapidly changing). Was running the faucet slightly the entire time. think the next time the temps drop this low I am just going to turn off the main and drain the lowest point until it heats up again.
Notes: (1) Bursting pipes are not caused by the expansion of ice, even though the ice expands while the pipe contracts at low temperatures; (2) Bursting pipes are caused by high fluid pressure once an earlier section is "plugged" by ice and starts expanding, as such, the fluid pressure builds up very quickly; (3) Allowing an end faucet to drip relieves the fluid pressure, and it may prevent (though not intended) water from freezing.
I used to have a bedroom in a basement and my bed was right below the exterior spigot. There were two different winters when that pipe burst in the middle of the night and gave me a nice cold shower. 🥶🥶🥶
For the last 15 years here in Missouri, I average 2-3 bursts each winter in my house. The first few years I used galvanized and the cheap Chinese made steel would not hold up,even with electric pipe wrap. I switched to PEX and that's just as bad,but easier to fix. I finally bought my own PEX tools as I got tired of renting them at $6 per day and having to wait for the hardware store to be open.
@@seriouslyreally5413 It gets more done each year and had zero when I purchased it. Being built in 1870 and a large home,it's quite the undertaking. The only real solution is to add a large wood furnace, which I had,but gave to my friends to help keep their children warm. Things could always be worse and I'm thankful to have a roof over my head,although it needs that as well. lol
4 года назад
i'm surprised the galvanize breaks on you. I would use some of that spray foam in a can and try to foam the wall so air doesn't blow against the pipes. I'm in Chicago area, so i've had plenty of copper pipes bust on my other properties when I'm not around, it does suck.
@ The galvanized split the easiest, especially on tees and elbows. Even when leaving the faucet trickling,the drain would freeze solid,creating a frozen waterfall all the way to the faucet. I've replaced so many faucets and toilets that have frozen solid and cracked.... It makes me appreciate the daily things we take for granted each day, such as a working toilet/indoor plumbing.
You need to fix the cause of the freezing instead of spending 15 years repairing damage what you spent in repairs in 15 years you could have fixed the cause 10 times for cheaper
Theoretically yes, however you would need one on both sides of the frozen pipe. I don't think it would make much sense to have one on the exterior side of the house. It would be exposed to the same elements that froze the pipe initially.
I freakin' love science and DIY. A pipe fitting popped off at my parents old house while I was at work. When I got home, water poured over the kitchen step on my feet as I let myself into the house. The whole floor was covered in 1/4 inch water in this single level home. I was finally able to get the main shut off, and solder the fitting to close the system to get indoor plumbing working again, but damage was done. Dead of winter, there was nowhere to pull up area rugs and dry them outside, or any chance to open windows to sunlight. Installed carpeting was ruined, and hardwood floors popped their screws, buckling throughout rooms; the crawl space was a bathtub of water and waiting for spring thaw, the house developed black mold. It was a mess. I was wondering if ... is there's a way to install a blind pipe in a water line inside the house to absorb and prevent catastrophic hydrostatic pressure buildup by compressing the dead air inside the blind pipe, instead of pressuring pipe walls elsewhere behind walls? You know, kind of like the blind pipe on drain systems to keep them from banging? Or maybe a pressure relief valve on top of the pipe designed to equalize pressure in the pipe with ice ebb and flow, and catch overflow? It would be useful in northern homes to be sure. If they work, maybe they could be used in branches of plumbing layout to isolate trouble areas so hydrostatic pressure isn't distributed throughout the system. Of course, it wouldn't keep vulnerable pipes from freezing, but it might stop catastrophic cracks in the pipe which are the real problem after defrost. No water for a few hours waiting for defrosting is mere inconvenience compared to actual pipe damage.
Here’s what most people do when they find they have a frozen pipe: They wait to see if it will thaw out because the plumber is expensive. BIG MISTAKE. If you call your plumber soon enough most times he can thaw the pipe before it splits, thaws and floods your house causing a huge insurance claim. Not to mention sentimental things destroyed that can never be replaced.
When it gets well below freezing at night while asleep: * should both the cold and hot water at a sink be left to drip, or only the cold? * should all the sinks and bathtubs in the house be left to drip or just one? During the day, when some of us are home, how often do we need to turn on sinks momentarily to avoid pressure build up and bursting pipes? Temp here in Ohio is supposed to hit 5 degrees F overnight, and below 0 in the coming days!
Both, assuming the hot and cold pipes are subject to potential freezing. How often is subjective, it depends on how well your pipes are protected. I assume code might be different in TX vs WI, which could have an impact on freeze time.
Well done, saw it on my not local PBS station ( in WV can't get WVPBS , Get MPT lol ). days later I thought I should share it with somebody who was having some issues. Coincidently I thought of that just before walking into the basement to find 2" inches of water, And then Life as we know it ended a month later..... Turns out the frostproof hose spigot had a split just after the valve so is soon as I turned it on to water the chickens...... 15 minutes later I went to the basement....... Thankfully I got it all fixed days before everything shutdown, unfortunately other things that happen to me that day are still being dragged out.
it is my understanding that the pressure buildup is from the metal pips contracting when they get cold (which causes the liquid pressure which is difficult to compress) to build up very fast and to high pressure. Is this correct?
pavelow235: well...in all fairness, in some communities city pressure exceeds recommend house pressures - which is why pressure reducing valves (PRV’s) are ofter Installed.
@@USAFTACP ... after I connected to "full city water pressure" and disconnected my well system, I had no issues till I did my first load of laundry and heard every pipe in the house banging as the water went on and off. I knew I had enough hammer arrestors in the house because I did the plumbing myself. What I didn't check right away was the difference between the old well pressure (40 psi) and the new public water.... 100 psi! The following weekend I installed a pressure reducing device and set it to 40 psi.... no more problems.
At the apartments I work at will still had pipes burst even with dripping. They were all outside in the storage closets where the water heaters and main lines are for each unit. Arkansas has not seen this kind of weather in who knows how long.
People just turn off water but don't drain the system. Come home to find thier place ruined by water damage. If you leave your home turn off water supply, open spigot outside ,then turn on every faucet ,shower or bath and turn off electricity at the panel for your water heater. Your pipes won't break from water trapped in pipes and your water heater won't be destroyed .
You don't need ice to cause a pipe to burst. I own an apartment building and years back a galvanized pipe burst inside a wall from rust. The plumber showed up, the carpet cleaner showed up, the drywall man showed up and the insurance agent showed up. $6,200 dollars later and everything is back up and working. 2020 and $31k later new pipes are inside the walls.
Can pipes burst if they only have a little water left in them or if the pipe has a open end? Asking becuase im worried about my inground pool i think some water got in through the skimmer after i blew out the pipes
I turned my water off at the main and opened all the faucets. Had water off from 14th to 20th. I should have waited one more day as the line to the washer in my garage went. Now waiting on parts to fix.
What confuses me about this demonstration is that water's density continues to drop from room temp all the way to about 40*F. From this point on, it's density starts to increase until it reaches freezing temp where it expands drastically. Given that temperature range, are we to assume that he was able to chill the pipe to near freezing temps to get it to start expanding?
Unfortunately, one of the pipes in my house have exploded due to cold when I was away from home for two weeks. When I got back home, the whole house was filled with water. It is horrible
Good, but doesn't cover that a slow drip, in extended sub-freezing temperatures, is not enough. If it's below freezing for a while the drip will freeze and you now have the same problem. Steady trickle to a stream, and the only way to be sure is check on it every few hours. Extreme temperatures? Then it's best to learn how to cut off the main supply line and drain all the pipes in the house (after filling up your bath tubs). No water, but no busted pipes.
i am surprised that someone has not created a pressure release valve that will release drips as pressure goes above a certain pressure and then stop the release as the pressure drops back down to a certain threshold. and having these valve places to rlease the drips into the drain pipes at strategic places.. like, as he suggested the furthers hot and cold water facet. Wouldn't that make this a self maintaining system? and then perhaps once a year or so.. there could be a way to test it? like his demo, to see if it engaged and disengaged at the proper presures to relieve pressure in the line?
Yes if you put a few 6 bar pressure relief valve on the line furthest and closest the water on hot and cold then the system should be self maintaining. Add pex especially expansion pex and compression fittings and there is zero chance of failure
I still don't understand what is causing the pressure build up. Non-frozen water trying to get past the ice and come out of the faucet? But where he showed there was a pressure build up seemed to be on the faucet side of the freeze. I can't get my head around this.
had a 2 inch main sprinkler line freeze and blow before the backflow preventer few years back in crawlspace at work...i was on call and was there in 10 minutes and the crawl space was already full..id say 20k gallons at the least...had to get water dept to shut off in the street...just wrecked the hallway and luckily did not do to much apartment damage..fire department let me use there pumps and it still took 3 hours to empty the crawl space..fun times lol
A buddy and i were doing some plumbing at a house and he tried soldering a cap on a pipe that had water in it still, and yes you know where this is going the pipe built up pressure and the cap shot off and hit him right in the chest , it sounded like a gunshot never found that cap, luckily it didn't penetrate his chest, but boy did he have one hell of a bruise.
Worked at a 150 apt retirement community with a 4 story atrium at the very top was a gable peak with windows and there were sprinkler heads... They burst water poured into the atrium for over two hours until we could get someone to figure out how to turn off the main. I was brooming the water out the front doors trying to keep it from spreading to the residential areas. Several thousand gallons poured in, it was raining inside.. craziness
Richard; since it is the pressure not the expansion that makes the pipe burst, why does the sewer trap under the sink burst, also when I left my coffee mug outside the next morning it had burst. In both cases there was no pressure only expansion??????
