I got up this AM and don't get any water from my faucets. I wrapped the exposed outside pipes, but I must have frozen pipes someplace. I don't even get water out of the hot water side of the sink. What do I do?
You have a well? If so how deep are the pipes buried and how cold is it? You might look there. If your house has been kept above freezing then the problem must be outside. Other than that I don't know what to offer. Oh, I asked those questions because my nephew was just over to our house to get water. There pipes are not buried as deep, not to current standards, and with the weather down to about 4 degrees they have that problem.
House was kept at 68 last night, and I had water when I went to bed. I did go out side and where the water comes into the house the pipe comes up out of the ground and enters the garage about 3 feet up, it has a cut off and a faucet I am not getting any water out of the facuet. The water meter is about 10-12 feet away from that inlet to my house, the water meter itself is in a plastic casing that is inset in the ground but not insulated. The pipe from there to the house is probably only buried a foot. I wonder if the water meter is frozen. I checked the attic temp and currently it's around 50. Outside Temp is currently mid 20's. Got down to 18 last night in some area's.
Maybe there is work going on in the area? Does your toilet flush? I have never had the pipes freeze as you describe and I've been in a lot colder temps than that.
I went outside where the water enters the house and took hairdryer to the pipe and got water flowing again, but the flow is not as strong as it should be. I've opened all taps. So clearly that must have been where it froze even though I wrapped it with the Home Depot foam sleeve.
Terry, I just now saw this topic. The exposed pipes would be the first to freeze. If the water is flowing after you used the hairdryer, then you've located the problem. Kepp the hairdryer on the exposed pipes until they break loose completely. Can you build a simple box-type cover with insulation on the inside to prevent a recurrence of the problem? I realize that it's a once-in-a-great-while problem, but the fix would be pretty simple and inexpensive. For future reference, if the temp. is predicted to be below freezing, keep one faucet turned on with a constant drip. I'm no expert, but I've had a lot of experience with frozen pipes over the years.
Good idea Sid, water is flowing strong now. But we are going to get a hard freeze again tonight, predicted to go below 32 at 7pm and get as low as mid 20's.
I just now found this topic as well. For a temporary fix, you can gey any larger box from a grocery store and fill it with any insulating material like an old sheet or such. Prop that up against the house with anything heavy enough to not move with wind.
Another solution would be electric heat tape ,which you wrap around the pipe and plug in to keep the pipe from freezing. However, I'm guessing it's not a normally stocked item in your hardware stores. Any that are stocked may be sold out by now. You might think about it for the future. You probably could find it on the internet if you can't find it locally. P.S. Don't forget to turn on a faucet or two and let them drip through the night.
I did what Sid suggested. But previously I had a foam wrap around the pipe that I got at Home Depot. But obviously not enough.
Frozen ass.... http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/USFL0084?phenomena=WC&significance=W&areaid=FLZ050&office=KTBW&etn=0001
I had no idea that you would have found a heated wrap that quickly. A friend of ours had the same problem a few years back. As a temporary measure, he brought his dog into the garage and propped the bottomless dog hous up on the side of the house with the open bottom against the house and the doggy door down to the ground. He put a mechanic's drop light inside the dog house to add heat. He kept this setup for several days until he found the heated wrap. No, this was not a redneck southern thing. The guy was born and raised in Fishkill New York but now lives in the Austin area after a long 20 year stay in California.
Glad to hear it Terry. Sid, I actually gave him the idea. When I was eight years old, my parents started raising Boston Terriers. I think it was their attempt at sex education for me without having to talk about it. :? We used light bulbs in their shelters for heat during the winter which led to the idea I gave my buddy.
Oh yeah I found out that if you don't have water coming into the house, that you can't get water out of the hot water lines even though there is a full tank of it up there in the attic. Why?
There is no pump to get the water to the faucet. You are relying on incoming pressure to push water out of the tank.
... another point is that the cold water conmes in to the bottom of the tank. Yes it appears that the two pipes are at the top but the incoming pipe comes in from the top and extends all the way to the bottom of the tank. The exit pipe takes water from the top of the tank since hot water rises to the top of the cold water. Given the above, you can not rely on gravity to send anything other than water that is already in the pipe to the faucet.