How to defrost an underground water pipe. How to defrost a plastic pipe: an overview of options and some important nuances. Methods for heating frozen pipes

Almost every private house has drainage and sewer pipes through which water and wastewater are supplied and discharged. Since this system is the property of the residents, in the event of any breakdowns or problems, they often have to deal with everything themselves. One of the most pressing and unpleasant situations that one has to face is the freezing of water in pipes in winter period. It is very important to be able to defrost pipes correctly so that the ice does not break them during melting, compromising the integrity of the entire water supply system.

Peculiarities

For water supply in a private home, both metal and plastic pipes can be used, but some and others are not protected from freezing in winter if the installation process was carried out incorrectly. The most main reason The fact that water freezes in a pipe underground in cold weather is due to insufficient deepening of the water supply system. If the installation technology is carried out correctly, then the entire system is located at a level where frost does not reach.

Due to the fact that main pipelines have large diameter, even in winter they do not freeze, because they contain everything time is running movement of water. Home systems are installed using pipes with a diameter of 20 mm or more - 32 mm. It is important to deepen such thin elements well so that frost does not reach them, but this is not always possible, so you need to know what means you can use to insulate pipes to protect them from the cold.

If all the recommendations have been followed, but the water still freezes, then in this case it is necessary to keep the system turned on all the time so that water always flows through the pipes in at least a thin stream. This is quite expensive, considering the cost of water, but you will not need to waste time, effort and money on defrosting the entire system.

In order to avoid having to carry out heating work on water pipes every year, it is important to prevent all possible problems at the stage of laying the entire network.

During installation, it is important to follow these rules:

The depth of the trench should be greater than the level of soil freezing, which is typical for this region. There are relevant SNiP standards that will help you design a water supply system correctly.
When choosing a location for pipes, it is important not to lay them next to reinforced concrete products, because their thermal conductivity is greater than that of the soil.
If the installation is carried out under the foundation, then the pipes are insulated from reinforced concrete using a large layer of thermal insulation, which works best with mineral wool.
When planning a water supply system underground and on its surface, it is best to use pipes with a diameter of 50 mm, because more thin products they freeze much faster.
When choosing a material for pipes, you should give preference to polymer products that can increase the size by several millimeters, which saves them from cracking during freezing and freezing.
To ensure a calm winter, you should lay a heating cable near the pipes that will support optimal temperature and will prevent the system from freezing.
If the house is used only in the summer and is empty in the winter, then it is important to drain all the water from the system so that there is nothing in the pipes during frosts. This will protect them from freezing.

What will you need?

If a pipe that supplies water or discharges wastewater is frozen in a private house, you must first determine the location of the blockage in order to eliminate it and not aggravate the situation. The most simple option The search will be to use an iron cable, which is inserted into the water supply, which was previously shut off and immediately untwisted under the tap at the junction of the structure. It is important to choose the longest cable because problem area may be either at the beginning of the system or at its end.

Once the plug has been discovered, you can excavate the affected area of the pipeline and take all necessary measures for defrosting. If the structure is old and the pipes are metal, then the most in a simple way A current will heat the water inside, for which a welding machine is used. But this method is no longer suitable for a HDPE pipeline. For them, the use of external means brings little results; a different approach needs to be taken.

The most effective, but expensive, would be to use a hydrodynamic machine, which can deliver a stream of water at such a speed that ice and some other substances melt from such an impact. Only a professional can work with the device, because it is important to know the technology and follow the work algorithm. If you need to quickly eliminate the problem, but do not have the necessary skills and equipment, you can simply call a specialist who can easily do everything necessary to restore the water supply.

Another method of heating a pipe involves a steam generator, the operation of which looks like this:

pour 2-3 liters of water into the container;
connect the heat-resistant hose to the place where the safety valve is located;
insert the hose into the pipe to the place where the plug has formed;
turn on the device and wait for the result.

Work should only be carried out in correct sequence and it is better to have assistants with you, because after removing the hose from the pipe where the ice was, a fountain will simply flow. This water must be collected in buckets, which must be prepared in advance. You can prepare more rags.

If you don’t have a steam generator, it doesn’t matter; a boiler will do for defrosting the pipes. To use this option, you need to prepare a wire; it must be copper, two-core and have a cross-section of 0.5 mm, and its length must be equal to the pipe. In addition, you also need steel wire, the diameter of which is 3 mm. Copper wires are stripped to 60 cm, and the second wire to 1 cm from the cut. Separate turns are made on each wire so that there is no contact, otherwise a short circuit will occur.

Copper wires are screwed to steel wires with electrical tape and the whole thing is immersed in the pipe. In this simple way you can build a homemade boiler. It must be connected to the network to warm up the pipe, which will push out the plug from the heat. Once the problem is solved, the boiler is turned off and pulled out, and the pipe is closed. When the system starts again, everything works as it should.

Defrosting of pipes can be done welding inverter. This is a wire that connects to the pipe where there is icing and heats it up. It is important to work with the device correctly and not overheat it by giving different voltages. After just ten minutes of such exposure, the ice turns into liquid and the plug dissolves.

Heating water pipes in case of ice blockage is one of the most effective options. For iron pipe The method of external influence is suitable, and for plastic - internal. The means by which it is convenient to deal with icing can be anything, and everyone chooses what they like and can afford, the main thing is that there is a result, but it is best not to lead to such situations by correctly laying the water supply and insulating it well.

How to warm it up?

In order to warm up the metal-plastic water pipe, in which the water froze, Several techniques can be used, including:

Exposure to hot water, for which the structure is wrapped with foam rubber or rags and very hot water, almost boiling water, is poured inside. This option is quite simple, but it is effective for pipes inside the house. In the case of underground ice jams, this method can break through the barrier for up to ten hours.
Using hot air, why you need to have construction hair dryer or heating device. The icing area can be heated by any of the devices for two or more hours, it all depends on the degree of freezing of the water inside. Doing such work is not difficult, but it is important to carry out all activities carefully, because high temperatures can cause the pipes to become deformed, which will further aggravate the problem. Efficiency this method not too large, because with large energy and heat losses, the real result does not come soon.

Heating using thermal conductivity. It consists of winding pipes with cable, which is used in a heated floor system. When everything is ready, the resulting structure is connected to electricity and begins to heat the pipe itself. The work process lasts approximately three hours and allows you to prepare only those pipes that are above ground and in the house. Wires for heated floors are quite expensive, so buying them in order to defrost the system once is unprofitable due to their high cost.
The process of heating the pipes inside can solve the problem quite effectively. For work, it is important to have access to the problem area in order to pour into it hot water using a special device that forces liquid under high pressure, but you can also use a device that looks like a boiler. The work proceeds slowly, the problem is completely resolved in at least three days. It is prohibited to use this option for those sections where the pipes run vertically. The system must be in a horizontal position to ensure functionality.

If you have to deal with plastic pipes, then you can deal with defrosting them yourself, the main thing is to know what exactly needs to be done. For those pipelines that are located underground and the system is a network of turns and various bends, then all the previously listed options will not be able to help. The most the best option in this case there will be a welding machine that needs to be connected to different ends of the pipes and turned on. If you don't have the right equipment, you can just use hot water.

To make an effective means for defrosting pipes, you need:

find a hard hose or plastic pipe small diameter;
place the hose or pipe in the water supply and move until it hits the ice;
pour hot water or brine;
for the water that will form from the ice plug, you need to place a container;
As soon as the problem area is completely eliminated, you need to turn on the hot water in the tap and thoroughly clean the system.

If metal-plastic structures have been laid, then to defrost them you need to do a number of actions:

To find the problem area, simply probe all the pipes. The freezing point will be much colder than the rest of the surface.
The icing area is covered with rags and all water taps are opened. It is necessary to ensure that there is a supply of hot water.
The pipe surface is treated gradually and is used immediately. cold water, that's why it's hot. This is important in order not to damage the structure with a sudden temperature rise.
The melted water will begin to come out of the pipes through the taps that were opened earlier.

If there is no desire to carry out such operations annually, or even several times during the winter, it is worth quickly organizing insulation of the area, which is especially susceptible to freezing.

In cases where water freezing occurs in areas inaccessible to humans, for example, under a foundation, then You can deal with problematic situations using a number of measures:

You need to purchase a barrel, a pump and a hose with oxygen. You need to fill the barrel with hot water, the temperature of which will constantly rise.
Insert the hose into the pipe and push until it hits the ice.
You need to open the tap and connect it to a hose that goes into the barrel. If you don’t have one, you can use a simple bucket.
The pump starts, with the help of which hot water is supplied to the pipes to defrost the ice. From time to time the pump must be turned off to drain the accumulated water.
As soon as the problem goes away, the hose must be removed and the water in the pipeline drained.

If the problem concerns the sewer system, then you can deal with it if you know how. Typically, sewer pipes do not freeze because the water used is usually warmer, but at very severe frosts and it is possible.

To combat ice plugs in the sewer, you can:

Light a fire in the place where the collector is located. This option will be effective if the pipes are not far from the surface. The flame must be maintained for as long as possible in order to be able to heat the ground, and with it the sewer.
Using table salt. Homemade, but very effective method consists of placing a large amount of a solution of concentrated table salt into the sewer pipes, which will not freeze even in severe frost, and the salt will begin to dissolve it upon contact with ice.
You can use an electric cable, which should be run until icing occurs through the toilet or inspection hatch. Once the device is installed, turn it on to the network.
You can use the inspection hatch of the septic tank, where a watering hose is inserted through the outlet garden plants. It needs to be advanced to the place where ice is expected to be present, and then hot water from the water supply must be poured inside. The process must be continued until the ice is completely gone.

In case of severe frosts in winter time and water freezing in pipes, you need to know how to cope with the situation. First of all, it is important to understand what material the pipes you are working with are made of, how deep they are laid and a number of other nuances, after which it will be much easier to choose correct option combating ice jams.

If problems with pipes are discovered in a private house, namely their freezing in winter, then you need to know some secrets in order to prevent such phenomena or skillfully deal with them.

To prevent such phenomena, you should:

Install water supply and sewerage pipes lower than the frost, and this is at least a depth of 120-140 cm. In case of problems with such a deepening, the pipes are carefully insulated.
By using pipes that are large enough in diameter, you can avoid their rapid freezing. The optimal size would be 50 mm.
To avoid stagnation of water in the system when arranging it, it is worthwhile to provide an angle of inclination so that it flows faster into the source.
When laying pipes, you should stay away from beams and foundations, the thermal conductivity of which is higher than that of the ground, which poses a danger to the pipes. It's worth doing if possible good insulation, if there is reinforced concrete nearby.
If the water supply is in non-residential premises where there is no heating, it is important to additionally insulate it, for which you can use mineral wool, glass wool and foam.
Living in regions with very harsh winters, when installing a water supply system, it is better to lay a cable nearby that will heat the pipes. Its advantage is that it itself determines the moment when it needs to turn on and off, but there are also manual models.
When choosing a pipe, you should give preference to polyethylene rather than polypropylene, because they withstand the process of freezing and defrosting of ice well.

There are a number of other tips that will help protect the system from freezing or deal with it more effectively:

To protect the pipeline from freezing it is worth studying temperature regime region and lower the structure a meter below the level where frost usually falls. This will allow you to forget about any problems with water in cold weather.
If pipes freeze where the ground intersects with open space, then a regular hairdryer can help, but especially difficult cases– construction.
If problems with pipes arise every year, then you should set the goal of redoing the system rather than constantly struggling with the consequences.
When the freezing is very serious or difficult to solve on your own, it is best to call a professional who can remove the ice blockage without any problems.
If you manage to deal with ice on your own, but at the same time you have to constantly clean the system by running water, it can be collected in special containers and then used for household needs.

For those who still use metal water or sewer pipes, ice plugs can be dealt with using terminals that are attached to the problem area, after which a current begins to flow, which heats up the pipe and the ice inside begins to melt. If freezing occurs in the pipe leading directly from the toilet, then one of the options may be to heat the water directly in the plumbing, for which you will need a heating element or a boiler. Metal pipes are also heated using a blowtorch, for which you need to make a trench at the location of the sewerage system and heat the pipe with the lamp, going from bottom to top. Work is being carried out from outside cesspool or a septic tank, if there is one, to allow the unhindered release of water after melting.

Winter frosts are a test that not only living beings, but also engineering communications have to withstand.

If the rules for laying pipelines are violated in winter, they often freeze and then full height The problem will arise, how to defrost a water pipe?

Causes of water freezing in pipes

As a rule, the cause of water freezing in pipes is a simple violation of the water supply installation technology. For example, if the pipes were laid without taking into account the depth of soil freezing in a given area.

Or the requirement to insulate the pipes was ignored. It happens that pipes freeze not only in external networks, but also indoors if there is no heating.

How to avoid freezing of pipes?

To avoid the need to defrost water pipes, care should be taken to ensure that the following requirements are met when installing the pipeline:

At underground installation pipeline, ditches should be dug to a depth that exceeds the soil freezing level in the area.
Do not lay the water supply pipeline close to reinforced concrete structures. The fact is that the thermal conductivity coefficient of concrete exceeds that of soil, that is, when laying pipes in close proximity to reinforced concrete elements, the likelihood of water freezing in the pipes increases.
It is advisable to install the pipelines complete with a heating cable.
This, of course, will lead to higher installation costs, but it will eliminate the problem of freezing forever.
In places where the pipeline passes through the wall of a building, glass wool insulation should be used to avoid direct contact of the pipe with the wall.
In small-diameter pipes, water freezes more often, so for water supply it is advisable to use pipes with a diameter of 50 mm or more.
When laying pipelines in unheated rooms and on the streets it is best to use polyethylene pipes. Such pipes withstand freezing and defrosting well, unlike polypropylene pipes, which can become unusable if they freeze once or twice.
If the water supply or sewerage system is intended to be used only periodically (for example, at a dacha), then during downtime it is advisable to completely empty the system of water so that there is nothing to freeze over.

Methods for defrosting metal pipes

There are several ways. They will be described below.

But when choosing any of them, you should adhere to the following general rules:

When heating the pipes, keep the water tap open so that the thawed water can escape.
It is forbidden to suddenly heat a frozen section of pipe, starting from its middle.
Heating is carried out from the water tap towards the riser. But if you need to warm up the sewer pipes, then you need to move in the opposite direction, that is, from the riser to the water intake point.
Warming of the pipe should begin after the location of the frozen area has been assessed. This will help you choose the right defrosting method.

All methods can be divided into two large groups, these are:

Methods based on external influence on the pipe.
Methods with internal way defrosting.

Let's look at how to defrost water pipes using external influence.

This will require the use of some kind of heating device, it could be:

Blowtorch;
Construction hair dryer;
Electric heating device.

When using a blowtorch indoors, fire safety precautions should be taken.

In particular, a metal screen should be installed behind the pipe to protect the walls.

Using any of the listed devices, you should methodically influence the pipe. The success of the measures taken will be indicated by the water that appears from the faucet.

We should not forget that when water freezes, it expands in volume, so there is a high probability that steel pipes will be damaged after freezing.

After the water has been heated, you should carefully inspect the pipeline for leaks.

The safest and most effective way to defrost pipes externally is to use an electric heating tape or heating cable.

In this case, you just need to wind the tape around the frozen area and plug it into the network.

To defrost steel pipes, you can use this method: take a welding machine and connect it to different ends of the frozen section.

As a result, the pipe heats up. When using a welding machine, the entire process takes 2-4 hours, depending on the length of the frozen section.

How to defrost a plastic pipe?

Recently, steel pipes for water supply installations have been used less and less; they have been replaced by plastic pipes. Such pipes are not subject to corrosion and do not collapse if the water in them freezes.

However, if an ice jam occurs in them, almost all methods of external influence cannot be applied to them. Naturally, using an open fire to heat plastic will lead to destruction of the pipe, and the use of a hair dryer often turns out to be ineffective, since plastic does not conduct heat well.

Connecting a welding machine to such pipes is also completely useless, since the pipes do not conduct electric current.

The mechanical method of influence, that is, removing the ice plug by introducing a steel rod inside, can be effective in small area freezing, however, its use creates a serious risk of damaging the pipe.

Thus, if it is necessary to defrost plastic pipes, the only way left is to use hot water poured inside.

Below are several ways to defrost plastic pipes. All of them are quite effective, however, it is advisable to use them only on small-diameter pipelines.

The first defrosting method is to organize the supply of hot water to the freezing point.

This is done like this:

To defrost a plastic pipe, prepare a high-rigidity pipe or hose of smaller diameter.

To remove an ice plug in a pipe with a diameter of 20-30 mm, use a pipe or hose with a diameter of 16 mm.

If the damaged section of the pipeline is straight, then it is more convenient to use a metal-plastic pipe. If the frozen pipeline has bends, the use of a hose is required.

Regular watering hoses are not suitable for this operation. The fact is that they soften greatly under the influence of hot water, so pushing them further will be problematic.

Gas or oxygen hoses should be used for defrosting.

Metal-plastic pipes are usually sold rolled into coils. Therefore, the pipe should first be bent, and then begin to move through the pipeline, pushing the ice plug all the way.
Now you can pour hot water into the pipe, trying to maintain maximum high temperature.
Thawed water will flow out at the pipe connection point, so a collection container should be placed there.
As the ice melts, the plastic pipe will need to be pushed further and further until the problem is completely eliminated.

This defrosting method is good if an ice plug has formed in an area located near the entrance to the pipe. If the pipe is frozen far from the house and there are turns and bends in the pipeline section, then it will not be possible to push the pipe inside the pipeline.

To carry out the work, you will need a hydraulic level, a coil of steel wire with a diameter of 2-4 mm, and an Esmarch mug, that is, a device that is used in medicine for performing cleansing enemas.
We take the hydraulic level tube and wrap it with wire or attach the wire to the tube using tape or tape. This must be done so that the wire does not stick out in different directions, while the tip of the tube should protrude one centimeter.
Now we connect the second end of the hydraulic level tube to the outlet pipe of the Esmarch mug and begin to push our structure into the pipe.
Since the hydraulic level tube has a small diameter and weight, there are no difficulties when pushing, even if there are turns along the route.
Push the tube until the tube hits the ice plug.
Now pour hot water into Esmarch’s mug and open the supply valve.
As the ice plug decreases, you should push the tube further.
To collect the leaking water, a suitable container should be installed at the pipe junction.

This defrosting method is quite effective, but takes time. In one hour of work, you can manage to clear approximately 0.8-1.0 m of pipe from ice.

So, there are several fairly effective ways to help solve the problem of how to defrost water pipes. However, all of them are labor-intensive, so it is more correct to take the necessary measures, for example, to prevent water from freezing in the pipeline.

In winter, quite often people are faced with the fact that water pipes can freeze in severe frosts. In this material we will talk about how to defrost a water pipe without damaging communications and without being left without water for a long time.

In what cases may it be necessary to defrost pipes?

In cases where the water supply pipes were not insulated in time, if the air temperature outside dropped sharply, the water in them could freeze. However, even if such a nuisance happens, you should not panic - everything can be fixed, including on your own.

Among the most common causes of freezing of water pipes is incorrect laying of the main without taking into account the depth of soil freezing or without insulation. Alternatively, this can happen with a water supply that is used at very low temperatures or has too little water flowing through it.

In order to defrost the pipes, you can use equipment such as a hair dryer (if you don’t have one, an ordinary household hair dryer will do), a blowtorch, or an electric heater. Here are some recommendations for defrosting frozen pipes.

When working with steel pipes Defrosting is very easy. To do this, a welding machine is connected from opposite ends of the pipe, which will lead to thawing of the water inside the water supply within 3-4 hours. The duration of the process depends on the length of the pipe. However, recently, plastic pipes that can withstand pressures of up to 10 atmospheres have been actively used in water supply systems.

Although such products do not deform when frozen, it is still impossible to defrost plastic pipes with a welding machine. You should also not use an iron rod to pierce the plug, so as not to spoil the water supply.

There are quite a lot of ways to defrost a water supply or sewer pipe.

External heating

Of course, the need to tear up frozen soil to get to the pipe is significant drawback of this method. However, for those situations where the frozen area is small, this method has a right to exist.

Once the trench is excavated, the type of pipeline material is determined. To work with polymer products, only heating devices can be used. electric type, producing a temperature of no more than 100-100 ℃. To reduce heat loss from the heater and warm up the pipe section faster, the work area is covered with a layer of thermal insulation.

With metal pipes, the process of thawing the plug is faster, because here you can use an open fire source - firewood, a gas burner, a blowtorch or any other device, which, of course, is not applicable to plastic.

Warming up pipes from the inside

To get rid of a traffic jam in sewer pipes ah, you will have to take into account a number of features. Firstly, such communications, as a rule, have a fairly large diameter, which allows for better heating from the outside and inside. However, the amount of ice accumulated in them will be significantly greater, so greater heat consumption by heating devices will be required.

To defrost plastic pipes you will need one simple device. We take a board with rounded edges and attach a U-shaped heating element to it. Only the heater loop should protrude beyond the board. All other parts must not come into contact with the walls of the heating device.

Having determined the thickness of the plug and the distance to it, we attach wires of the appropriate length to the ends of the heating element, and attach the entire structure to a section of metal-plastic pipe, which we will use to push our device into the sewer.

The structure must be inserted into the drain pipe from the receiver side, where the melted liquid will flow. First, the heating element is fully advanced to the place of work, after which it is connected to the network. Moving the device forward as the plug thaws, the device is periodically turned off.

Steel pipe attachment

One of the most effective methods To remove frozen plugs in pipes, use an industrial device. However, it only applies to metal products. To defrost the plug, terminals are attached to the two ends of the frozen pipe through which current is supplied. Gradually heating up, the pipe begins to melt the ice clot inside it.

The duration of defrosting the pipe will depend on its length and diameter. For example, for pipes with a cross-section of up to 6 cm and a length of 23 m, about 1 hour of operation of the device will be required. If the diameter of the pipeline is larger than this indicator, then the spread between the terminals is smaller. This also applies to segments with measuring instruments and insertion points. Required condition in this case is the presence of pressure inside the pipeline.

Along with the generally accepted methods of defrosting water pipes, polyethylene products can be pierced by three more “folk” methods. They are all quite effective, however, only on pipes with a small cross-section.

Spraying with hot water

It’s worth noting right away that you won’t be able to simply pour hot water into the pipe - you’ll have to work hard. To supply hot liquid to the ice plug, you will need a flexible hose or thin tube. For example, if a plug has formed on a straight section of a pipe with a diameter of 25-30 mm, you can use a thin metal-plastic tube with a cross-section of 16 mm.

Having straightened the thin tube, it is gradually pushed into the water supply until it reaches the ice plug. Next, the supply of hot water begins. Melt water will pour out through the gap between the water supply and the working tube. To save money, this water can be reheated and applied to the plug to defrost it.

As the ice thaws, the metal-plastic tube is gradually pushed deeper until the plug is completely pierced. It is worth noting that on winding sections of the water supply you can only use a rigid hose instead of a pipe.

However, you should not use a watering hose - it is too soft and will quickly get wet. Gas or oxygen hoses are ideal in this case. They can be inserted 15 meters deep into the water pipe, however, significant effort will be required to push them due to their heavy weight.

Regular enema or Esmarch mug

This method allows you to get rid of ice in cases where the pipe is frozen quite far from the house, and the water supply has bends and turns. In this case, you will need a strong steel wire, a hydraulic level and a regular enema (Esmarch mug). All of these things are inexpensive and easy to get.

First, you need to align the hydraulic level with the wire, wrapping them with electrical tape. The end of the wire is wrapped in a loop to make it rigid. It must be wound so that it does not stick out to the sides, and at the end the hydraulic level tube should extend 1 cm beyond the wire. The second end of the tube is connected to the Esmarch cup. After this, the tube with the wire is inserted into the water supply until it hits the ice.

Such a device can quite easily and without complications go through all the bends of the pipe and get to the right place. When the hydraulic level has reached the right place, hot water is gradually fed into the enema tube. Under the outlet of the pipe you need to place a container for water that will flow out from there. Gradually, the ice plug will melt, so that the device can be moved further and further.

It is worth noting that this method is quite slow. The average operating speed is 1 meter of pipe per hour, that is, about 5-7 meters of pipe can be defrosted in a working day.

Electricity

There are cases when the thickness of the water supply is only 20 mm, its length is about 50 meters, but the depth of the pipeline is about 80 cm (this is very small), and in places where excavation not recommended (on the roadway, for example). In such situations, utility services recommend waiting for a thaw - but this is not an option.

To defrost a plastic pipe in this case, you can use homemade device. To assemble it you need a plug for the socket, two-wire copper wire, compressor and hose for pumping water. For our example, let's take a wire with a cross-section of 2.5-3 mm, an 8 mm car fuel hose and a car compressor or pump.

Please note that when working with electrical current, strict safety precautions are required to avoid injury. Now you can begin assembling the device for defrosting the water pipe.

On small area The wires remove the outer insulation and separate the cores. First, one of the wires is stripped of insulation, and the remaining insulated piece of wire is carefully bent in the opposite direction along the wire, trying not to damage the sheath. Now, almost at the bend, the wire is screwed with 3-5 tight turns of bare wire. Having retreated 2-3 mm from this place, the same manipulations are performed with the second core. Make sure that the ends of the two wires do not touch each other.

On the other side of the wire, a plug and a “bulbulator” are attached. Such a unit supplies electric current directly to the water, as a result of which a reaction occurs, releasing large quantity heat. What is also ideal in this case is that only the water is heated, while the wires remain cold, which does not threaten accidental burns of polyethylene pipes.

Before launch assembled mechanism should be tested. Place it in a container of water and apply current - everything works correctly if air bubbles are visible in the water and a humming sound is heard. Please note that you cannot touch the water while the device is operating - you will receive an electric shock.

So, we push the wire into the water supply, making sure that it does not bend, until it comes into contact with ice. Next, turn on the device for a couple of minutes and wait until the ice begins to melt. After this, you need to turn off the device and try to move the wire further away. In a similar way, first defrost one meter of water supply.

Now it’s time to remove melt water from the pipe using a compressor to reduce the volume of heated water and avoid re-freezing of the pipe. If you have special equipment, you can weld a faucet onto the pipe, which can be closed as soon as water flows through the pipe. This will allow you to avoid flooding the work area with the plug and not pull the wire out of the pipe.

What to do to prevent pipes from freezing

After so much detailed description options for getting rid of ice jams in water pipes, it would be useful to talk about measures to prevent such an unpleasant phenomenon.

The first thing to remember is that the depth of the water supply pipes should be below the freezing level of the soil in your region. The norm for sewer and water supply lines is considered to be a depth of 1.2-1.4 meters.

It is better not to lay pipelines near reinforced concrete structures, since concrete has a much higher thermal conductivity level than the ground. Consequently, pipes will freeze more near the foundation, beams or grillages than in other places. If it is impossible to bypass them, you should take care of thermal insulation, for example, lay extruded polystyrene foam slabs between the pipe and the foundation.

Alternatively, if available additional funds For construction, a heating cable can be laid near the pipeline. On sale you can find self-regulating cables that begin heating the surface only under certain specified conditions.

Where water and sewer pipes come into contact with the walls of the building, passing through them, it would be useful to insulate the communications with glass wool, mineral wool or foam. The reason lies in the same thermal conductivity of the walls of the building.

If work is carried out in country house, optimal choice there will be water pipes with a cross-section of at least 50 mm, which do not freeze so much in winter.

As for the material for water pipes, there are also differences. For example, polypropylene pipes can withstand no more than 2-3 freezing periods, after which they begin to burst. But polyethylene pipes are practically insensitive to frost and defrost.

Please note that in cases where you do not plan to use sewerage and water supply in the winter, it is worth draining all the water from the system.

So, every resident of a private home may face the problem of water freezing in a water pipe in winter. In this situation, the best thing that can be done is not to waste time, but to immediately begin defrosting the ice plug. To do this, you can use traditional methods, such as external or internal heating, as well as the use of industrial equipment. Or you can take advantage of popular experience and try one of the non- traditional ways defrosting. In any case, only you can decide exactly how to solve the problem.

Winter is a time of year that not only brings unforgettable and joyful experiences from New Year's Eve or skiing. Winter is a severe test, both for living beings and for all kinds of engineering systems, which are created by man to improve his life. Low temperature tests apply directly to the water supply. In cold weather, it happens that water pipes freeze. Therefore, knowledge of how to defrost pipes in winter and not be left without water during this time will be quite useful.

The need to defrost pipes

If you have not insulated your water pipes in a timely manner, a situation may occur when the water in the pipes freezes. If you paid attention in time to the occurrence of tap water force majeure, then this is not a reason to panic at all. There are many ways, including “folk” ones, how to defrost a water pipe with your own hands.

For trivial reasons, water pipes freeze: incorrect pipe laying technology (for a given area, the freezing depth is not taken into account or the pipes are not insulated), as well as the lack of heating in the room. Also, the reasons for freezing of the system may be as follows: very small volumes of water are transported through the pipes, or the pipes are operated at very low temperatures.

It should be taken into account that defrosting pipes that are laid in accessible places does not cause any particular difficulties (for example, they just need to be warmed up using an ordinary household hair dryer), but some difficulties may arise with defrosting pipes when laid underground. It’s quite good if the pipes are frozen at the entry point, since you can simply heat up the walls. But often the freezing point is a few meters from the building.

The issue of defrosting pipes is solved with the help of improvised means that are available in every home: a blowtorch, an electric heater, a professional hair dryer (you can also use a hair dryer). But before you consider options for defrosting water pipes, you need to understand a few useful tips.

The defrosting process is quite simple if the pipes are metal. For this purpose, we take a regular welding machine and connect it to different ends of the pipe. This simple method eliminates this problem within 3 - 4 hours. The longer the frozen section of the pipe, the longer it takes to defrost. But today, mainly PE pipes are used in water supply networks, which are made of high-density polyethylene and can withstand pressures of up to 10 atmospheres.

They do not collapse when frozen and are not subject to corrosion processes. Due to its properties, polyethylene does not act as a conductor of electric current, and this means that it is impossible to carry out defrosting using a welding machine. Removing ice plugs with a steel rod is also fraught with danger and can damage the pipe.

Traditional methods of defrosting pipes

Today there are a lot of defrosting methods, so the process of removing ice from sewer or water pipes is not very difficult.

External heating

External defrosting of pipes has a very important drawback - it is necessary to open the trench in which the sewerage system is laid. Digging the frozen soil itself (and this is what it is if ice has formed in the pipe), it is clear that this is not the most pleasant task. But still, if the size of the cork is not particularly large, then this method may be worth using.

After you have opened the trench, you need to look at the material from which the pipe is made. There is a difference in how to defrost polyethylene or metal pipes. In the first case, you need to use electric heaters so that the temperature is not very high - up to 100-110 degrees. With all this, it also makes sense to cover the additionally excavated area with a decent layer of thermal insulation during the heating process, so the back side of the device will not heat the street, and the pipes will warm up faster.

For metal pipes we apply the method of using open fire through equipment such as gas burners, blowtorches, firewood, as well as any flame sources with for a long time combustion. From such influences, the plastic may simply melt.

Internal heating

Defrosting sewer pipes, compared to water pipes, has certain nuances. On the one hand, the large diameter of such pipes provides significant advantages for internal heating. On the other hand, these pipes provide a fairly large volume of accumulated ice with frozen soil, and therefore large area contact, which will lead to increased heat transfer from both external and internal heaters.

Before you defrost plastic pipes from the inside, you need to make a not very complicated device: attach a U-shaped heating element to a board with rounded edges. At the same time, it is required that the bend protrudes beyond the front edge of the board; other parts of the heating element should not protrude beyond it, so that there is no contact with the walls of the heater pipe.

Since its dimensions and distance to the plug are known, to defrost plastic pipes it is also necessary to attach a wire of the appropriate length to the contacts of the heating element, and attach a small piece of metal-plastic pipe to the board itself, which will serve as a pusher.

The entire structure is pushed in from the side of the wastewater receivers, because the slope of the sewerage system is made in this particular direction; there is simply nowhere for the melted water to flow from above. In this case, the heating element is turned on in the network only after it is placed inside the pipe, and with each movement as the plugs melt, it is accordingly turned off.

Metal pipe machine

The most effective means Removing ice from water pipes is an industrial device for defrosting pipes. But such a device is intended only for metal pipes, for plastic pipes this technique does not apply. The operating principle of the device is quite simple and understandable. Terminals are attached to the edges of the required section of the pipe that needs to be defrosted, and then current is supplied. After this, the pipe heats up and begins to thaw the frozen area.

When using an apparatus for defrosting metal pipes, the following data should be analyzed: a pipe up to 23 meters long and with a diameter of up to 6 centimeters defrosts in up to 60 minutes. At larger diameter pipes, clamps need to be installed at shorter lengths, especially in the area of various tie-ins and measuring instruments. When defrosting water or sewer pipes, there must be water pressure in the system.

Unconventional methods of defrosting pipes

In addition to traditional methods of heating pipes, we can offer you three defrosting methods for polyethylene pipes, which are the “know-how” of our craftsmen. Regardless of some eccentricity, they still work. Their only drawback is that they are only suitable for pipelines that have a small diameter.

Hot water

When using this method, it is necessary to take into account that the ice plug will not allow hot water to get inside if you just pour it in. This means it is necessary to find a way to supply hot water to the frozen zone. You can defrost a pipe by using a pipe or hose with a smaller diameter. For example, if it is necessary to defrost a water pipe with a diameter of 25 or 30 millimeters, and the frozen section is straight, then the use of metal-plastic pipes with a diameter of 16 millimeters will be more effective.

To begin with, we straighten the metal-plastic pipe, and then push it into the frozen pipe until it touches the ice. After this, we supply hot water through the pipe to the freezing point. Thawed water will pour out through the gap between the metal-plastic pipe and the water pipe. If your water supply is limited, then you can use the thawed water in a second circle, that is, heat it up and again direct it to the place of freezing.

At the same time, the ice plug will melt, and it will be possible to continue manual defrosting of the pipe and push the small metal-plastic pipe further. But if the section of the pipe that is frozen has turns and bends, it will not be possible to use a rigid metal-plastic pipe in this case. But you can take a hard hose.

It should be noted that an ordinary watering hose is not suitable for this; it will simply soften from hot water and will be impossible to push through. In such a situation, hoses for connecting a gas cylinder and oxygen hoses turned out to be effective. These hoses are quite rigid, but you can still push them no more than 15 meters from the input. In addition, such hoses are quite heavy and must be pushed through the pipe with great effort.

Esmarch's irrigator

Now it’s worth figuring out how to defrost a pipe if ice has accumulated tens of meters from your home, and the pipeline itself has turns and bends. Still, there is an economical and effective method: for such purposes you will need a set of construction hydraulic level, Esmarch mugs (banal enema) and hardened steel wire. This set is inexpensive, and households have many of its components.

First you need to align the wire and the hydraulic level tube, and then screw the end of the wire to the hydraulic level with electrical tape. In order to provide greater hardness at the end of the wire, it is necessary to make a loop. The wire itself should not stick out, and the end of the hydraulic level tube should protrude one centimeter in front of the wire. The other end of the hydraulic level must then be connected to Esmarch’s mug, and then the wire and tube must be pushed into the water supply until it stops.

Due to the fact that the hydraulic level tube has a small diameter and light weight, it moves quite easily through the pipeline, while overcoming all turns quite easily. After this, pour hot water, making an “enema” frozen water pipe. It is necessary to place a container under the water pipe to collect the thawed water, because as much hot water is poured in, the same amount of cold water will be poured out.

Then we push the wire with the hydraulic level tube gradually as the ice melts. This method of defrosting pipes is very time-consuming, that is, you can only defrost up to one meter of pipeline in an hour. This means that during working hours you can defrost 5-7 meters of pipe from ice.

Current Usage

Consider the following situation, when you have a frozen polyethylene water supply system 50 meters long, with a diameter of 20 millimeters, and a laying depth of up to 80 centimeters. It should be noted that this depth for laying a water supply system is insufficient, which is why the water supply system froze. Another distinctive feature is that the water supply is located under the roadway. In this case, utility workers usually advise waiting until the thaw sets in, but there is still a way when you can do without it.

You will need the following equipment: a plug for the socket, a two-core copper wire (we select the thickness and length of the cross-section according to the diameter and length of the frozen water supply), a hose and a compressor for pumping out thawed water. Let's say, for a pipe with a diameter of 20 millimeters, you can take a wire of 2.5-3 millimeters and a car fuel hose with a diameter of 8 millimeters, as well as a regular car compressor (you can, in extreme cases, use a pump).

We warn you that when using this method of self-defrosting pipes, you need to be extremely careful, because the work is carried out using high voltage. Now we need to prepare all this for thawing of the pipes. Required with small area remove the outer insulation from the wire, divide it into two wires, remove the insulation from one of them, and carefully bend the remaining wire in the insulation into the opposite side along the water pipeline. In this case, care must be taken to ensure that the insulation is not damaged.

Next, almost near the bend of the wire, you should make 3-5 turns of bare wire (as close to each other as possible) and cut off its remaining end. After this, you need to retreat 2-3 millimeters from the made turns, then expose the second wire and wrap it around the wire in the same way. The turns of the first and second wires should not touch.

And to the other end of the wire we connect the “unit” and the plug (such a device is popularly called a “bulbulator”). If you place it in water and connect it to the electrical network, then when current passes through the water, a corresponding reaction occurs, in which a large release of heat occurs. Such a device is ideal in this case, because only the water is heated, and the wires themselves remain cold, that is, the plastic pipes are not even accidentally scorched.

This assembled device must be checked. For this purpose, it is recommended to place the device in a jar of water and connect it to the power supply. If a slight hum is felt and bubbles leave the contacts, then the unit is working. We remind you once again: while the device is working, contact with water may cause an electric shock.

We continue to defrost the pipe ourselves. The wire must be pushed carefully into the pipe so that it does not bend. Therefore, it is necessary to take a wire of a larger cross-section. When the wire hits the ice plug, you need to turn on the “bulbulator” and wait one or two minutes. After this, you need to try to push the wire further, because the ice has begun to melt.

When about a meter of pipe is thawed, the melted water must be blown out using a compressor; this is necessary to reduce the volume of heated water and to prevent the water supply from freezing again in already thawed areas. If you have special equipment, it is advisable to weld a tap onto the pipe. When water flows through the pipe, do not pull the wire out of it, but close the tap, this way the place where the defrosting procedure is being carried out will not flood.

How to prevent pipes from freezing

You have already figured out how to deal with ice in water pipes. But you can prevent this if you try. To prevent plastic pipes from freezing, you must remember:

Pipes should be laid at a depth that exceeds the freezing level of the soil in your region. It is advisable to lay sewer and water pipes at a depth of at least 120-140 centimeters.
There is no need to lay sewer and water pipes next to reinforced concrete structures (beams, supports, grillages, foundations) due to the fact that the thermal conductivity of concrete is much greater than the thermal conductivity of the soil, that is, the risk of soil freezing from reinforced concrete structures increases. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pipes (for example, place slabs of special extruded polystyrene foam between the reinforced concrete structures and the pipeline).
If finances allow, then a heating cable should be laid next to the pipeline. The production of heating self-regulating cables, which are switched on only when necessary, has already been mastered.
It is advisable to insulate places where pipelines pass through the walls of structures and buildings with mineral wool, foam and glass wool to avoid direct contact of the walls of the building with the walls of the pipe.
When settling in summer cottage For plumbing, it is best to use pipes that have a diameter of at least 50 millimeters, because pipes with a smaller diameter are more susceptible to freezing.
Choosing between a variety of water supplies polymer pipes you need to know that polypropylene pipes can burst after 2-3 defrosts, and polyethylene pipes They tolerate the repeated process of defrosting and freezing very well.
If in winter the sewerage system and water supply are used irregularly, then the best option would be to completely drain the water from the system.

Thus, in winter, owners of private houses often encounter water in their water supply freezing. In this situation, the main thing is to react in time and take the necessary measures. To defrost a water pipe, you can use traditional defrosting methods using a special pipe defrosting machine and using internal and external heating. Also, along with this, there are effective alternative ways, verified folk craftsmen on practice.

In winter, a common problem is freezing water supply and heating pipes. This can happen if the required standards were not met when laying the pipeline and technological standards were violated. Regardless of the root cause of the problem, the question arises: how to defrost a water pipe?

Let's look at some of the causes of ice jams in the water supply:

the water supply is laid at insufficient depth;
incorrectly performed pipe insulation work;
the pipe diameter is selected incorrectly;
worn pipes.

How to prevent water pipes from freezing

when laying water supply pipes, it is necessary to take into account the depth of soil freezing in a given area and dig a trench below this level;
The pipeline should be placed away from concrete and reinforced concrete structures, as they are subject to freezing stronger than the soil;
Where pipes enter the building, good thermal insulation should be done; most often, mineral and glass wool are used;
it is better if the diameter of the outer pipes is more than 50 mm - than more water in the pipe, the longer it will freeze;
pipeline laying can be done with electric cable, which will heat pipes at dangerously low temperatures.

If it was not possible to prevent freezing, you should begin defrosting the water supply.

This can be done in several ways, all of them can be divided into two categories:

Exposure from outside.
Heating from the inside.

Regardless of the choice of method for defrosting pipes, several rules must be followed:

it is necessary to determine as accurately as possible the frozen section of the pipe and its length;
all shut-off valves must be open so that the thawed water has an outlet;
you need to start heating the pipe open tap and further to the riser;
Sewer pipes, on the contrary, are heated from the riser towards the septic tank.

Methods for defrosting a water supply through exposure to the outside

In such cases, prolonged heating of the surface of the pipe and further heat exchange between the pipe itself and the ice inside are carried out.

Boiling water or just hot water. The frozen section of the pipe is wrapped with foam rubber or rags that absorb water, and poured with boiling water, constantly maintaining a high temperature of the rags or foam rubber, and, accordingly, the pipe. This method is used on open areas pipelines: in basements, at the entrance to the building, etc. Well suited for metal pipes, since metal is an excellent heat conductor.

Construction hairdryer. The pipe heats up under the influence of hot air. The pipe must be blown from all sides. In order not to lose heat, you can make something like a pavilion around the pipe, for example, from plastic film. When heating a plastic pipe using this method, it is important to carefully monitor the heating process so that the pipeline does not melt. If the area where the pipe freezes is small, a regular fan heater or household hair dryer will do. If the pipe has bends, narrowings, or entrances to fittings, they also need to be heated.

Blowtorch or gas-burner . This method requires special attention by virtue of high danger occurrence of a fire.

Electric heating cable or electric heating tape. The safest and no less effective way to defrost pipes. The cable must be wound around the pipe in a spiral and connected to a power source. This method is only suitable for open pipes.

Defrosting unit or welding transformer. Two wires, positive and negative, are connected to different ends of the frozen section of the metal pipe, the electric current heats the water and the ice plug melts. The time spent heating metal water pipes using a welding transformer is minimal.

Methods for defrosting a water supply through exposure from the inside

All the methods described above are good for metal pipes, but are not very suitable for plastic. That's why there are methods from within. The most important thing is to find the nearest plug connection to disconnect the frozen section from the remaining line.

Two-core copper wire. The operating principle is similar to a boiler. The wire strands are separated and exposed. Then each one must be twisted into a small spiral (from 3 to 5 turns), it is better to make one core a little shorter so that the spirals do not touch, and it will not work short circuit. Next, you need to insert the wire into the pipe and plug the plug into the socket. Electricity, passing through the water, warms it up well.

Hot water. A labor-intensive process that requires patience, but with minimal costs. The hose should be thinner than the pipe. It is inserted into the disconnected pipe until it stops at the ice plug and is filled hot water. As the ice melts, the hose moves forward. A container for defrosted water is a must. For straight sections of the pipeline, it is better to use a metal-plastic tube; for bends, a flexible hose is more suitable: gas or oxygen.

“Esmarch's mug” is popularly known as an enema. In addition to it, there is a rigid wire and a hose from the hydraulic level. The wire is attached to the tube (with tape, tape, whatever), the Esmarch mug is connected to the hydraulic level tube on one side, and the other is pushed into the water pipe until the ice plug. Next, the mug is raised higher and hot water is poured into it. As the ice thaws, the hydraulic level hose must be advanced further until it is completely defrosted. This method is suitable for underground pipes.

Special equipment for preventive flushing of water and sewer pipes. Utility services have them; you can call specialists to your home.

All methods of defrosting pipes have their own advantages and disadvantages and take a lot of time. To avoid possible problems with water supply, it is better to adhere to all technological standards for laying pipes in advance.

Video

This video shows how pipes are defrosted with a burner:

See how you can defrost a water pipe with steam: