Pipes freeze various reasons: insufficient laying depth, lack of insulation, small volume of transported water, use of the pipeline in frosty conditions. Defrosting the water supply in an accessible place does not cause difficulties. The question of how to defrost a plastic water pipe underground requires attention.
Nowadays, water supply uses pipes made of high-density polyethylene, which does not deteriorate when frozen, has anti-corrosion properties and does not conduct electricity. But heating the water supply is not possible using all available methods.
Defrosting pipes using a heating cable
Before you start defrosting frozen water pipe, find the place where the ice jam has formed. Search methods:
- Visual inspection. When a liquid freezes, it increases in volume and leads to swelling; the place where it freezes feels colder to the touch.
- Internal check. If a full inspection is not possible, use a flexible wire or cable. The area where the cable does not pass further will be the place where the traffic jam occurs.
How to thaw an icy area will depend on the availability of free access to the problem.
Effective ways to solve the problem
It is difficult to heat a water pipe located in the ground. In this case, it is impossible to use external thawing methods. You will have to defrost the system from the inside. Let's look at common ways to remove ice jams.
Hot water application
Prepare a metal-plastic pipe whose cross-section is 2 times smaller than the diameter of the main pipe. Carefully bring it inside the pipe to the frozen area and fill it with boiling water, which will gradually wash away the ice.
When defrosting water pipes using this method, be sure to open the tap so that the pressure in the system remains low.
Heating with a hairdryer
This heating method is suitable for water pipes located in open access. A stream of air is directed onto the icy area. To avoid deformation of the plastic, the temperature of the hair dryer should be set to a minimum level. After heating with hot air, wrap the pipeline section with insulation.
De-icing with electric current
It is possible to combat pipe freezing using a welding machine. But it should only be used to defrost water supply systems made of steel, copper and other metal products.
Metal is a conductor electric current. Electrons and ions under the influence electric field, moving and colliding with each other, form energy. The latter turns into heat.
Plastic does not conduct current. Therefore, use welding machine on plastic products is meaningless and irrational.
Soldier's boiler for plastic pipes
Water is an electrolyte due to its salt content. Therefore, to heat it, you will need a pair of energized electrodes. This method is only suitable for polyethylene water supply systems and is based on the principle of operation of a boiler.
You will need: two-core copper wire and steel wire, tools. The wire strands are stripped and wrapped around the wire. Make sure that the turns do not touch each other, as a short circuit may occur. A plug is attached to the free end of the wire.
Lower the homemade boiler into the pipe near the ice plug and plug it into the mains. After a while, the water supply will warm up and the icing will melt.
How to prevent your system from freezing
To do this, you need to remember the following:
- Lay the pipes at a sufficient depth, below the freezing level of the ground.
- The water supply should not pass near reinforced concrete structures (foundation, beams and supports), since this material has a higher thermal conductivity. If you cannot find another installation location, insulate the pipes.
- It is recommended to insulate those places where the sewage system passes through the walls of the building. polyurethane foam, glass or mineral wool.
- Use pipes with a diameter of at least 50 mm.
- When choosing between polymer products, remember that polyethylene reacts stably to the process of freezing and thawing. Polypropylene may burst after two defrosts.
- If the pipeline does not operate regularly in winter, it is better to drain the water from the system.
If you have the opportunity and finances, you can also lay a heating cable.
Application of heating cable
The cable is used to heat the water supply and prevent freezing of plastic and metal pipes. Nuances of use:
- the operating time of the device does not have to be constant, night time is sufficient;
- It is recommended to use the heating cable immediately when laying a section of the pipeline that is susceptible to freezing;
- The device is divided into 2 types: cable with self-regulating function and simple.
If the conditions for laying the water supply system are observed, you will not have to face the problem of freezing.
The situation when negative temperature Are you familiar with the water supply from the tap outside? This problem occurs in your home with the onset of cold weather, but you don’t know how to quickly fix it? To fight you need to pick up effective method restoration of the water supply network. Do you agree?
We will tell you how to thaw a frozen pipeline and how to prevent a problem situation from occurring in the future. Let's talk about effective ways, allowing you to quickly restore the water supply on a cold winter day for sanitary and hygienic purposes and cooking.
Our article provides a selection the best ways who will help you cope with this trouble on your own. Methods for pipelines from various materials. So that you can better understand the nuances of warming up, we have selected visual photos and thematic videos detailing recommendations for saving a water pipeline from ice captivity.
With the sudden onset of frost, supplemented strong winds, cases of freezing with the formation of ice plugs inside them are not uncommon.
Frozen as a result improper installation or operation of the pipeline, water will, at best, make it impossible to use the system, and at worst, it will force the break to be repaired.
The problem of freezing pipes is more relevant for owners of dachas and private sector houses whose water supply inlets run along the street
There can be several reasons for water freezing in the water supply.
The most important among them:
- extremely low temperatures outside;
- laying pipes to a shallower depth than the soil freezing level;
- insufficient insulation of the pipeline;
- low or even zero water consumption.
At night or for a longer period, when the owners do not use the water supply, the water in the pipes remains motionless. At sub-zero temperatures it freezes quickly.
Not only pipelines can freeze, but also taps that are not turned off in a timely manner that supply water both to an unheated basement and to the yard
The pipe, located in frozen ground, begins to cool after passing warm flows, and after a short period it acquires a low temperature. As it approaches, small portions of water begin to freeze and crystallize, at some point clogging the entire section of the pipe completely.
How to find a problem area?
The most difficult moment in this matter is to determine the location of freezing in an open area. Experienced craftsmen It is advised to focus on temperature sensations when inspecting and palpating the accessible part of the route.
It is not difficult to determine the location of an ice plug in a plastic pipeline by palpation: within the blocked area, when you try to slightly bend the pipe, a characteristic crunch is heard
Water pipes usually freeze in areas where the pipes come close to the ground. Technical wells, unheated, are also vulnerable to frost. basements.
It has been noticed that concrete freezes faster than soil layers. Therefore, if the basement was unreliably insulated or was slightly opened during periods of severe frost, it is quite natural that the pipeline running in it froze.
If the freezing area cannot be determined, it is better to immediately abandon the idea of breaking through the ice jam using mechanical methods.
If it is not possible to “calculate” a specific area, use available methods at several of the most likely places of freezing at once.
Effective solutions to the problem
The water supply can be defrosted using an external thermal effects, or by defrosting from the inside. Each specific case depends on the length of the frozen area and the material from which it is made, and therefore requires the use of different means.
Despite the fact that ice, with the same mass, is more voluminous than water, within its state of aggregation, obeying the laws of physics, it expands before melting.
To reduce the risk of pipes bursting during the thawing of ice plugs, it is necessary to reduce the pressure on the walls of the structure by prudently opening the taps
Before starting work, it is imperative to open the water tap or “dump” after the inlet valve in order to determine the effectiveness of the actions performed by the water flowing out of it.
Method #1 - using hot water
If the system has frozen in an open area at , or inside an unheated basement, the easiest way to warm up a section of the water supply is to treat the outside with boiling water. Hot water saved water pipes from freezing at all times.
To do this, the pipe is wrapped in several layers with rags and pieces of old rags, which absorb moisture well. A wet rag will prolong the time the pipe walls are in contact with water.
The area wrapped in a rag is watered in several approaches. hot water until the fabric gets wet and the ice underneath begins to melt
When warming up a frozen section of the pipeline, it is important not to damage it. Areas of the structure that do not require heating must be covered with heat-insulating material. This will prevent the accumulation of pieces of ice moving through the pipeline along with water.
This method is used only in enclosed spaces and when open method pipeline laying. And this technology is only suitable for steel pipelines. The system located underground will have to be heated with boiling water for at least 12 hours.
Method #2 - heating with a hair dryer
The desired effect can also be achieved using hot air created by a powerful construction hairdryer. The method is used to heat frozen sections of the pipeline in places where it is quite easy to reach them, for example, when the system is laid inside a building.
In order to melt water along the pipeline shell, the surface of the structure is blown from all sides with a stream of hot air directed by a nozzle
To create conditions for ice accumulation to move through the pipe, you need to evenly distribute the flow of hot air, not forgetting to first open all the valves.
Keep in mind that a hair dryer produces a temperature that can range from 100 to 650°C. Therefore, it cannot be used for pipes made of polymer materials.
Enhance the effect while reducing heat losses, it helps to build an improvised protective casing around the heated area. It will reflect heat, distributing it evenly over the entire surface of the insulated area.
To do this, a small pavilion is temporarily built, the walls of which are made of the same film or metal shields.
Image gallery
Owners of private houses often encounter winter time with a situation when one morning it suddenly turns out that the water from the tap is not flowing: the water supply is frozen. There are several reasons why water in the water supply freezes: the air temperature outside drops to extreme low temperatures, insufficient deepening of pipes (without taking into account the depth of soil freezing), water in the pipe is motionless due to low or zero flow (at night or in the absence of owners), insufficient insulation of pipes. Usually, all of the above reasons taken together lead to freezing of the water supply. What to do, is there a way out of this situation, because without water, as you know, there is no way to go and no way to go? Yes, I have. Let's look at some ways to warm up a frozen water supply, which, however, will require a lot of patience and some skills from you.
Overview of different methods
The water supply can be defrosted different ways external thermal influence on the pipe, or by defrosting it from the inside.
Method 1. Use hot water
If there is a suspicion that the water supply is frozen in an open area - at the entrance to the house, in an unheated basement, etc., boiling water is used to warm it up.
To do this, you must first wrap the pipe with any rag that will absorb water and prolong the time the pipe is in contact with boiling water. Pour hot water until the ice begins to melt. And to speed up the process, the tap must be left open.
The easiest way to warm a frozen pipe is to pour boiling water on it.
This method is used only indoors, because if the pipe is underground, it will take a long time to warm it with boiling water - at least 12 hours.
Method 2. Use a hair dryer
The pipe can be defrosted using hot air, produced by a powerful hair dryer. The surface of the pipe is blown from all sides, and to reduce heat losses it is recommended to erect a small pavilion made of plastic film, for example, over the frozen pipe. If the pipe is plastic, you need to correctly calculate the heating so as not to melt it.
Solving the problem of defrosting a water pipe using a conventional hair dryer, but you can also use a construction tool
If the pipes freeze slightly, you can use a household hair dryer or fan heater to warm it up. If there are turns, narrowings, or entrances to fittings, they also need to be warmed up, as ice pieces can get stuck there. And in this case, do not forget to leave the tap open.
Method 3. Electric current comes to the rescue
How to warm a frozen water pipe using electric current?
Heating a metal water pipe can be done using a welding transformer: the positive wire is connected to one end of the pipe, and the negative wire to the second. So in a simple way the problem can be solved in a few minutes: the ice plug will melt.
The time for heating frozen metal water pipes with a welding transformer is minimal
Heating a plastic pipeline can be done using a two-wire copper wire cross section 2.5 mm. This method is similar to the operating principle of a conventional home boiler. The wire strands are disconnected. One of them is simply bent, and the second is exposed and twisted 3-5 turns around the wire, cutting off the excess end. They do the same with the first core, retreating 2-3 millimeters from the turns of the second core. You need to pay attention so that the wires do not touch, otherwise it will happen short circuit. A plug is connected to the other end of the wire. The wire is pushed into a plastic pipeline and connected to the electrical network. Passing through the water, the current heats it up and the ice begins to melt. The good thing about this method is that only the water heats up, while the wires remain cold and this prevents accidental melting of the plastic pipe. To quickly blow out melt water, you will need an additional compressor.
Method 4. We heat the pipeline from the inside using improvised means
How to heat a water supply system if it has many bends and sections? For such a case, you can build a special device. You will need a wire, a hydraulic level tube, an Esmarch medical mug (in simple terms - an enema), which consists of a rubber container with a rubber hose and a small tap for draining water. The hydraulic level tube is secured to the wire using electrical tape so that the end of the tube is slightly longer than the wire. Push it into the water supply until it stops. Hot water flows from the rubber reservoir into the pipeline. It is necessary to organize the collection of melt water.
Schematic representation of the warming process using wire and enema
As the ice thaws, the tube with the wire is pushed further. The process of heating a frozen water pipe using improvised means is quite labor-intensive and requires a lot of patience and time (about 1 hour per meter of frozen pipe), but the costs are minimal.
Method 5. Call specialists
You can also warm up a water pipe from the inside using special equipment - a hydrodynamic unit, the direct purpose of which is preventive flushing of water and sewer pipes.
Hot water with a temperature of 150 degrees is supplied under high pressure(90-100 atm) along the sleeve. The water boiler of the installation runs on diesel fuel, and the unit is powered by an electrical network with a power of at least 7 kW and a voltage of 380V. This method requires calling specialists, so this method is not suitable for everyone.
How to prevent pipeline freezing?
First of all, pipes must be laid taking into account the type of soil and the depth of its freezing. To avoid freezing, it is best to lay the pipe at a depth of at least 2 m. Well, if this is impossible, then you need to make high-quality thermal insulation pipeline or think about using a special heating self-regulating electric cable, which is turned on when necessary. In addition, all leaks must be repaired.
Pipe freezing can be avoided by using a special heating electric cable
It is important to know! Water freezes more often in small-diameter pipelines, so it is recommended to use pipes with a diameter of more than 50 mm for water supply.
Water can freeze in plumbing where it passes through a basement or basement because concrete freezes faster than soil. In such places, it is recommended to place the pipe in a sleeve (pipe with large diameter), and inject polyurethane foam into the formed voids.
Protect from freezing underground water supply You can also use glass wool, mineral wool, or strips of polystyrene foam, filling all the voids with polyurethane foam.
High-quality insulation of water pipes will protect them from freezing
There is another option, which one of the specialists will tell you about:
If not all of the above measures have been taken, and there is severe frost outside, one thing remains - contrary to safety regulations, leaving the tap open at night and when no one is at home - the movement of water will prevent the formation of ice.
In that climatic zone, in which you and I live, temperature changes often occur, with low readings, bringing with it various troubles. One of them is associated with freezing of pipes in the water supply system. For the most part, private homeowners deal with this problem. This is caused, first of all, due to poor insulation of pipes that are located on an open plot of land. Also, freezing of the water supply can occur due to the fact that the pipes were laid poorly, in which the distance to the depth of soil freezing was not taken into account correctly.
If the water supply system freezes, then this phenomenon may cause the taps that are turned off at the wrong time and serve to supply water to the site or to houses with heating to freeze. This happens regularly when the movement of water in the pipeline is quite small or when its use is low.
Hairdryer
If the water supply in a private house is frozen, then when solving this problem it will be more effective method, it turns out to be using a technical hair dryer with high power. If you do not have this equipment, you can use a household fan heater. This method is quite easy and fast. To achieve a positive result, you should install a so-called polyethylene tent near the frozen section of the pipe. As a result of this experiment, you will create a comfortable temperature, due to which hot air will accumulate there. The area will warm up very quickly and freezing will pass. You need to know that when using this heating method, you can easily melt the pipes if they are plastic. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, be sure to control the temperature of the heated air. You should also warm up all existing bends and bends in the pipe. Small pieces of ice often remain in these areas, which can cause new frost to occur.
Electricity
Let's discuss a method for heating a frozen section of pipe using electricity. The selected method is used to defrost a metal water pipe. Therefore, if the water supply is frozen due to frost, then this method will come in handy. To heat frozen metal water pipes, they resort to using welding transformer. It promotes transformation high voltage online in low.
A wire with a positive charge is installed on the pipe section on one side, and a negative one on the other. The method is very effective and quickly helps to warm up frozen water pipes. But this method Applicable only to metal pipes. If you need to defrost a plastic pipe, then, as a rule, you should choose 3mm thick copper wires for this.
First you need to separate the internal parts of the wire, exposing them and bending them away from each other. Then they are twisted together in several turns, and unnecessary sections are cut off. Be sure to check that the resulting turns do not touch each other. If this happens, a short circuit will occur in the network. The remaining free end of the wire is equipped with an electrical plug. The resulting wire is placed in the water supply to the frozen area and the electric saw is plugged into the network. Icing on the areas of the tube you need begins to quickly move away from the ice that has formed there. But when heating the water supply, it is necessary to monitor the accumulation of water in the pipes and periodically pump it out.
Medical enema
A medical enema is well used when carrying out sanitary work, since it is better suited than all others for defrosting a pipeline that has all kinds of bends and turns. To heat the pipe from the inside, you need to get an Esmark mug, wire and a hydraulic level.
So, we connect the hydraulic level and the wire to each other using a regular insulating tape. The resulting tube should be longer, unlike the wire. This device is placed in a pipe. From the tip of the medical enema, heated water begins to flow into the tube, gradually reaching the frozen section of this pipe. The accumulated water should be removed and the tube moved further, repeating this action several times. This method quite complicated and takes a lot of time. To defrost small area pipes, you should spend more than two hours. Therefore, find free time in your daily routine for such work.
Specialist help
If you don’t know how to thaw frozen water pipes underground, then the help of a professional will help you. Indeed, you should seek the help of a specialist if you are unsure of own strength, and you are afraid that you will not be able to defrost the water supply on your own.
A plumber, as a rule, uses a hydrodynamic installation, thanks to which the process of restoring the water supply system is very effective. This method is used to clean the pipeline from various debris or for preventive purposes. This happens in the following way: boiling water is supplied through the hose under high pressure, thereby quickly defrosting all sections of the water supply.
Finally
Finally, we note that before tackling the problem of water supply defrosting, the causes of this situation should be prevented. Before you start laying pipes, you need to consider the following factors:
- Correctly calculate the freezing distance of the existing soil.
- Provide good thermal insulation to all sections of your pipe.
- Make sure that there is no leakage of water through the water supply.
- Lay pipes that have large diameter, since freezing very rarely occurs in them.
- Don't forget to leave open tap before severe frosts are forecast.
Instructions
The possibility of heating a water pipeline is largely related to the features of its design - in particular, the depth of installation. It is easier to heat the water supply in the house, since its owner usually knows exactly where the pipes run and in which places they are most sensitive to frost.
As a rule, the water supply freezes at open areas exposed to strong winds. This condition may be one of the keys to finding a section of water supply that needs to be heated. Usually, an ice plug forms first in the most problematic area: if it is melted in time, the water supply can be restored. The more time passes from the moment the water supply stops, the larger the section of the pipe will freeze, and the more difficult it will be to resume the water supply.
Locate the area where you think the water supply may have frozen. Clear the area of snow and build a fire there. Be prepared for the fact that it will take more than one hour to maintain the fire. The earth will warm up quite slowly, and the ice plug will melt just as slowly. The fact that your efforts are not in vain will be announced by the appearance of a thin stream of water from the tap. Open all the taps and let the water flow, this will help the ice plug melt.
IN rural houses having autonomous water supply, can freeze sections of the water supply near a pump, well or borehole. As a rule, for the convenience of prevention - for example, to remove deep well pump, part of the water supply may not be covered with earth, but covered with light heat-insulating materials. In severe frost with wind, such protection may not be enough, and the pipe will freeze.
To heat the water supply in this case, you will need one or two kettles of boiling water. Remove insulation to gain access to frozen pipes. Place rags under them - for example, bags, any old unnecessary clothes, etc. After this, pour boiling water over the frozen pipes. After pouring out all the boiling water, wrap the pipes in wet hot rags, then cover them with thermal insulation. As a rule, this procedure is enough to melt the ice in the pipes.
If it's caught in the frost installed nearby with a well, a centrifugal pump, boiling water will also help you. Remove the thermal insulation and tuck rags under the pump where possible. Then start the pump body with the impeller (but not the electric motor!), the outlet pipe with a section of pipe, and the pipe that carries the water to the pump. These measures may be enough to get the water supply running again.
To prevent water pipes from freezing in very coldy It is impossible to stop the water supply to the house for a long time. It’s better to get up one more time at night and turn on the water for a while than to find out in the morning with annoyance that the water supply is frozen.