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What to do if the water in the pipes is frozen: 3 tips for the owner suburban area from the "old lady" of physics

Ice in the pipeline is one of the most significant problems that winter can bring to your dacha. But such a wonderful science as physics makes it easy to solve it. The main thing is to remember something from school and be able to apply your knowledge in practice. I will try to refresh your memory and approach the issue from a more practical side.

Tip #1: “Eliminate in advance the possibility of water crystallization in the pipes”

This is probably not so much a physical recommendation as an everyday one, since rather than “biting your elbows” because of an accident, it is better to prevent it at the stage of laying the pipeline. But still, understanding the laws of thermodynamics is incredibly important here.

In this case, everything rests on three main pillars, which I will now describe in detail:

Soil freezing level

The first thing you should pay attention to is the immersion depth of the water supply. On the one hand, everything is simple here: the deeper you dig, the lower the likelihood that the liquid in it will turn into ice, since the soil will act as a kind of warming “coat”. But in other way excavation– this is a rather labor-intensive task and you don’t want to overdo it.

The ideal option in this situation would be to calculate the depth of freezing of the ground on your site in order to create a trench that goes down under its border. According to current SNiPs, the following factors influence the final value:

• Features of the existing terrain at the pipeline installation site;
• Physical and mechanical indicators of soil;
• Hydrogeological parameters of the surrounding area;
• Seasonal indicators of soil freezing, which can be taken from the following diagram, compiled back in the Soviet Union and still relevant today:

The formula looks like this: h=√M×k, where:

The value of k can be taken from the following table:

And the necessary information for calculating M can be taken from SNiP 01/23/99. Let's look at this using the example of the city of Vologda:

We substitute taking into account the fact that loams predominate in Vologda, and calculate: h = 6.24 × 0.23 = 1.44. That is, in this region, it is best to lay the water supply at a depth of one and a half meters in order to be sure that there is no effect of crystallization of the transported liquid.

Insulation

This process is especially relevant in cases where it is not possible to dig a trench with a depth below the soil freezing level, as well as for those areas that lie in unheated areas of the building.

The point of the idea is to wrap the pipe with a material that has a low thermal conductivity coefficient and can survive “burial” underground. The following options are ideal for this purpose:

• Glass wool. It is most often used in combination with metal-plastic pipes, but has a low density, which requires additional installation outer shell from roofing felt or fiberglass in order to increase the service life. One of the most popular brands is “URSA”, technical specifications I will give his products as an example:

• Basalt insulation. An excellent material, coated with a metal or roofing felt shell, with high density and moisture resistance. But its price is also not low. As an example, I will give the products of the Rockwool company:

• Foamed polyethylene. Very simple instructions operation and low cost have made this material a favorite option when performing water pipes with my own hands. Here, for example, is an offer from the Tepofol brand:

There is also another radical, although at the same time much more expensive heating method, which consists of connecting a heating cable to the pipeline, as shown in the following figure:

A power of 10-20 W per linear meter water supply to completely eliminate the risk of freezing even in the most severe frosts. The whole process is carried out as follows:

1. We wrap the water transporting line in a spiral with foil tape;

1. Now, also in a spiral, but in increments of 100-150 mm, we lay the cable itself;
2. We fix the wire again with foil tape;
3. We install insulating material;
4. We wrap plumbing tape on top of the entire surface of the insulation. This will prevent penetration groundwater;

With this improvement, it will be enough to lower the pipeline half a meter underground, rather than dig a one and a half meter trench.

It is also possible to install the heating cable inside the main line, but this is best done by specialists who will completely eliminate the possibility of a short circuit due to contact of electricity with water.

Maintaining the required slope

This nuance is important for sewer pipes, since they usually operate by gravity. The fact is that if the water does not drain properly, but begins to accumulate inside the line, then, accordingly, it will freeze in it in the event of a “hit” of frost.

For the same reason, if you leave home for a long time in winter, be sure to drain all liquid from the water supply system and turn off the water-lifting equipment. Then there will be nothing to freeze.

But how then to determine the required amount of pipeline inclination? For this it is enough:

1. Take a look at the reference book, where each diameter corresponds to a specific decimal, which indicates the amount of slope in centimeters per meter of highway. Here is a schematic example of some quantities:

1. Multiply the found value by the footage of the entire pipeline. So if, for example, the length of the main line is 15 meters and the diameter is 110, then 15×0.02=0.3, which means it is necessary to maintain a slope of 30 cm.

I do not recommend installing pipes with a diameter of less than 50 mm on the sewer system, since in such a system the risk of liquid freezing increases significantly.

Tip #2: “Use an artificial temperature increase against ice”

Heating a pipeline from freezing with your own hands by increasing its temperature is only possible if it is made of metal. You will only damage the plastic structure. And taking into account the fact that frozen liquid tends to expand, it is advisable to react quickly before the pipes burst.

Whichever you choose from the methods listed below, you should follow some steps: general rules to avoid unpleasant consequences of your activities:

• Before starting work, open the water tap so that the melted water has somewhere to move;
• Do not heat the frozen area from the middle. After all, again, there will be no way out, and no one knows what this will lead to;
• Heat the water supply system from the tap to the riser, and the sewage system, on the contrary, from the riser to the tap. This will also ensure a controlled outflow of melt water;
• First of all, examine the place of freezing, evaluate it and select the optimal warming method.

Boiling water

This elementary and incredibly cheap method is suitable even for plastic products, since they are also the least resistant to high temperatures polypropylene pipes able to withstand heating up to 90-100 degrees Celsius. But it has two important disadvantages:

1. Can only be applied to open areas pipeline. If crystallization occurred, for example, underground, then you simply won’t get there with a kettle;

1. Low efficiency. Frankly speaking, there is little benefit from pouring boiling water over pipes. Unless we are talking about a very small ice plug in a thin product.

Blowtorch or industrial hair dryer

The action plan here is simple:

1. Turn on the device;
2. We methodically move an outgoing stream of hot air or flame over the frozen area, observing all the above precautions.

The efficiency in this case, of course, increases significantly in comparison with the method described above, but access is still limited only to visible gaps in the highway.

Electricity

If you took the trouble to install a heating cable at one time, then to remove ice from the pipeline using electricity you will only need to turn on the appropriate toggle switch. But if you haven’t done this, then you need to get a welding machine somewhere and make the pipe itself heating element. After all, everyone remembers that metal heats up when an electric current passes through it?

A welder is not cheap, so in the absence of one, it would be more rational to rent such a unit.

Instructions for defrosting an object in in this case will be more complicated:

1. We connect the terminals to the edges of the proposed ice plug. It is noteworthy that here it is enough to have only some points of the pipeline open, and not the entire freezing zone, which significantly expands the capabilities of the described method;
2. We set the power on the regulator to the minimum;
3. We click the power switch and let the device work for thirty seconds;

1. Then turn it off for a minute to let the equipment “rest.” Burning it down is a simple matter, but very expensive;
2. We repeat the procedure several times. If there is no overheating of the pipe during the process, then the power can be increased;

1. After thawed water begins to drip from the tap, we warm it up a few more times, and then turn off the device completely. It is not at all necessary to completely melt the ice; it is enough to make a gap in it so that the rest can be completed by the water flow;

1. You should not close the tap for a while longer in order to clean the pipeline as best as possible from any remaining icing.

Do not even come close while working welding machine to the pipe itself. Otherwise, you may simply get a strong electric shock.

Tip #3: “Melt the ice, don’t heat the pipe”

What if the water froze plastic pipe? Here the above methods will be useless or even dangerous for the integrity of the pipeline. Therefore, it is worth taking a more careful route, which, by the way, is quite applicable to iron products. Before describing it, I will immediately note its main advantages:

• Absolute safety in relation to the pipes and the health of the person performing the defrosting process;
• High efficiency and clear results. The procedure may take quite a long time, but in the end you are still guaranteed success;
• Minimum financial costs. You may have to buy some things, but you definitely won’t need any expensive equipment;
• Ease of execution. You don’t need to have any special skills; it will be enough to accurately follow the instructions I provided below.

If you are installing a plastic pipeline, I recommend choosing pipes made of low-density polyethylene, as they can withstand freezing and thawing processes without damage.

So, let's move directly to the description of the work:

1. We prepare the necessary accessories:

• Hydraulic level. Price: 130-150 rubles;

• Steel wire with a diameter from 2 to 4 mm. Calculate the length depending on how far the frozen place is from the point at which you penetrate the pipeline;

• Esmarch's irrigator. This is a wonderful device for medical institutions used for the purpose of performing cleansing enemas, and it costs from 150 to 210 rubles.

• A bucket or any other container suitable for collecting melt water;

1. We take one of the ends of the hydraulic level and attach the edge of the wire to it so that the tube protrudes by 10 mm. You can simply wrap steel around the plastic, you can fix it with tape, the main thing is that the connection is strong and there are no sharp fragments sticking out of it that could damage the pipeline from the inside;
2. We connect the other end of the measuring device to the outlet of Esmarch's mug;
3. Now we begin to carefully push the edge that with the wire into the pipeline;

1. A flexible tube of a hydraulic level with a bendable wire will easily bypass all turns and rest against the ice. At this moment, we begin to pour boiling water into Esmarch’s mug, not forgetting, of course, to open the tap, as I wrote above. The approximate consumption will be 5 liters per 50-100 mm of ice formation;



Conclusion

Physics once again proves its superiority over any everyday problems. With its help, you will not only be able to eliminate icing in pipes, but also completely eliminate the possibility of its occurrence. The main thing is to have basic knowledge and follow the instructions given, being extremely careful.



The video in this article will provide additional information that is directly related to all of the above.

If you have additional questions about the material you read, ask them in the comments.

July 25, 2016

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, or ask the author something - add a comment or say thank you!

Ecology of consumption. Estate: If frost damages water pipes and water freezes in them, the problem must be solved immediately. In this article we will tell you how to properly defrost pipes, in addition, you will learn about the most effective ways to localize an accident on plastic or metal pipelines.​​​​​​​

If frost damages water pipes and the water in them freezes, the problem must be solved immediately. In this article we will tell you how to properly defrost pipes, in addition, you will learn about the most effective ways to localize an accident on plastic or metal pipelines.

If water does not flow from the pipe, does not come out and air is not sucked in, and the neighbors on the site do not have such problems, you have to deal with a frozen pipeline. There are several ways to eliminate an accident, but first you need to find a frozen section of the pipeline.

Finding the freezing point

Pipes most often freeze in places with poor thermal protection, usually this is the rise of the pipe from the ground, the place where it enters the house, basements, inspection or metering wells, and places of reduced flow - fittings and connections - are also at risk. There are two main cases where the problem occurs:

1. Frozen main line, feeding the entire system.
2. A local area is frozen (this is easy to check if, in addition to the house, there is a water supply to the garden or outbuildings).

Typically, pipelines running above the freezing depth are at risk, and this is different for all regions.

City line	Average freezing depth
Kaliningrad - Minsk - Kyiv - Rostov-on-Don	0.8 m
Tallinn - Kharkov - Astrakhan	1m
St. Petersburg - Novgorod - Smolensk - Voronezh	1.2 m
Petrozavodsk - Moscow - Saratov	1.4 m
Arkhangelsk - Kazan	1.6 m
Syktyvkar - Ekaterinburg - Orenburg	1.8 m
Naryan-Mar - Kurgan - Petropavlovsk - Omsk - Novosibirsk	2.2-2.4 m
Regions far north	Over 2.4 m

In addition to the climate zone, the level of groundwater rise, the type of soil, and even the size of the snow cap also play an important role (so think about whether it is worth clearing the ground of snow in severe frost).

Once access to potential freezing spots has been opened, thawing can begin. If a long section of pipe is frozen, you do not have to dig it out completely; it is better to dig holes every 4–5 meters. Their size should provide normal access to the pipe for subsequent work with it.

If plastic pipes are frozen

It is not recommended to heat plastic pipes with an open flame, but a hair dryer is perfect. If there is none, wrap the clogged area in burlap and run hot water for 10-30 minutes. In this case, the taps must be open: even the slightest hole in the ice plug will be broken through by high pressure. Then the water itself will do its job; you just need to drain a sufficient amount through the system - about 1–1.5 m3.

Pipes made of polypropylene and polyethylene retain their plasticity even at very low temperatures. Therefore, if you have a new plastic water supply system and a pipe of acceptable quality was used during installation, there is a good chance that it will not burst. Special attention should be paid to the joints: if the plastic was overheated during installation, it may crack and leak.

How to warm up a metal pipe

Metal pipes are not as sensitive to open flames unless the inner wall is coated with zinc. You can even heat them with a blowtorch or a fire built under a pipe, or with an acetylene or propane torch. It is advisable to avoid direct heating of threaded connections with fire, as this will cause them to lose their tightness and will have to be repacked.

The good thing about a metal pipe is that it effectively distributes heat along its entire length; with strong heating, the water inside boils, and the steam slowly but surely thaws the ice plug. This can even work up to 4-5 meters away, so be patient and keep heating.

Warming frozen pipes with electric current

Metal pipe - good guide and must be heated by electric current; if you connect a regular welding transformer to a section of pipe, the pipe will heat up enough to melt the ice inside it. Depending on the power of the device, you can warm up an area from 5 to 30 meters at a time, or even the entire pipe.

Attention! This defrosting method will take several hours and is only suitable for metal pipes that do not have joints or fittings.

There is another way to thaw ice inside a pipe, more labor-intensive, but indispensable for buried pipes. In the house, you will have to disassemble a couple of connections to get one end of the frozen pipe completely open. Through it, a probe made of an electric cable will be inserted into the pipe, having a tip like a “soldier’s boiler”.

Making a “boiler”

We will need a solid copper cable with two single-wire conductors in double insulation, with a cross-section of at least 4 mm 2 several meters longer than the frozen pipe. From one end you need to remove the belt insulation by 10–15 cm, wrap one core in reverse side and press it to the cable, remove the insulation from the second one and wrap it very tightly over the cable with 4-5 turns of core applied to it. The end of the remaining core must also be stripped and wrapped around the cable at a distance of 3–4 cm from the first winding.

Attention! In no case should the insulation be damaged so that the conductors do not have direct contact.

Such a probe heats the water quite strongly, easily moving through the pipe, even passing through bends and turns. The probe can completely melt up to 20–30 meters of pipe (3–3.5 m of pipe in 1 hour). Power can only be supplied to the probe through circuit breaker at 25 A.

Attention! Under no circumstances should you touch a live pipe or wire, which means you will have to push the probe only after turning it off! Before each restart, check the circuit for short circuits with a tester.

Water can be drained from the pipe by inserting a thin silicone hose connected to a pump or car compressor.

This method is suitable for plastic pipes; for metal pipes, the probe will have to be improved to avoid shorting to the metal wall. It is possible, for example, to equip the probe with an insulating case made of a tube of smaller diameter. The probe will not burn through the plastic, since it heats only water, the core itself does not heat up.

"Enema" method of thawing pipes

You will need a large funnel, an Esmarch mug or an enema bag, a thin silicone tube of the appropriate diameter, tightly fitted to the fitting of the container. The task is simple: deliver boiling water to the place of freezing through a thin hose, collect the water coming out of the pipe, boil it again and pour it into the enema. The method really works, although with its help you can only heat 1.5–2 meters of pipe in an hour.

The bag must be located at least 2 meters above the outlet. As the tube thaws, you need to push it until it hits the ice again. This will be much easier to do if the tube is tied to a stiff steel wire with a bent end.

Frozen water in the water supply was eliminated. Further actions

After the blockage in the pipe is cleared, you need to make sure that the pipe has not ruptured due to expanding ice. Drain about 0.5 m 3 of water and turn off all taps. If there is a leak in the system, it will make itself known: after some time, water will begin to collect in the dug holes or trenches; by its volume and direction of inflow, you can determine the location of the breakthrough. The damaged area must be replaced, and the pipe must be insulated or buried deeper so that it does not freeze again.

IN winter time major renovation too difficult task, but there are some measures that will allow you to “overwinter”:

1. Wrap frost-prone areas with a glass wool bandage.
2. Insert a heating cord into the freezing areas.
3. Cover the pipe tightly with pieces of polystyrene foam.
4. Ensure a constant flow of water, at least minimal.
5. Install the drain valve and completely drain the water from the system.

In the future, take into account the shortcomings of your plumbing system and be sure to take time for repairs during the warm season. published

A water pipe can freeze for various reasons. If, when laying the water supply system, the requirements of GOST were violated and the propylene pipes were laid at an insufficient depth. Poor or lack of insulation. When water consumption is low or in the absence of residents, when water consumption is zero and there are abnormal frosts outside. Whatever the reason, frozen water pipes must be warmed up. The heating method will depend on where the ice jam occurred: underground or in the house.

Finding the freezing point

Before you start defrosting the pipe, you need to find the area where the ice plug has formed. You can do this in two ways:

• visually inspect the pipe. When water freezes, it expands, and the ice plug can push the plastic plug. Externally, there will be a visible thickening on the pipe;

First of all, it is necessary to determine the location of the ice jam.

• the second method is used if there is no way to visually inspect the pipeline. In this case, turn off the tap and then dismantle the nearest detachable connection or cut the pipe. Then a metal flexible cable is inserted into the pipe. Using the length of the cable, you can calculate the distance to the freezing point.

The procedure for further action to remove the ice plug will depend on where exactly the ice jam is frozen.

Defrosting water pipes with electric current

Will need copper wire, having two cores with a cross section of 2.5 mm. The wires are separated and pulled apart. Then the end of one core is exposed in such a way that several turns of the exposed wire can be made around the other. The wires must not touch each other to avoid a short circuit. A plug is connected to the opposite end of the wire.

Wire for electric current

The wire is pushed into the water pipe until its ends rest against the ice plug and the plug is plugged into the network. The heating process resembles the operation of a household boiler. The current passes through the water and heats it. This method is safe for the pipe; only water is heated, so melting of the propylene water supply is excluded.

Advice. Before inserting the boiler into the pipe, you should test the device. Dip the end of the bare wire into a bucket of water and plug in the plug. Bubbles and a slight buzz should appear. Do not put your hands into the bucket under any circumstances to avoid electric shock.

We use a steam generator

A steam generator is a special machine that regenerates steam and supplies it under pressure. The fitting is inserted into the water pipe and hot steam melts the ice plug. This is the most effective and quick way eliminating ice jams. There is only one drawback - not every home has such a device. But if you have a double boiler or autoclave, they can also be used for heating. When using them, the procedure is as follows:

You can use a steam generator to defrost the water supply.

1. Pour water into one of the listed units.
2. One end of the heat-resistant hose is connected to the autoclave fitting.
3. We push the other end into the water pipe to the freezing point.
4. Turn on the heating device and wait for the result.
5. We monitor the water level in the autoclave.

Submersible pump and barrel to help

Will need metal barrel, bucket, pump and hose.

Advice. Propylene pipes are connected with fittings that do not narrow the internal diameter of the pipe at the joints, so the process of removing ice plugs is greatly simplified compared to pipes made of other materials.

Internal defrosting using improvised means

This method is similar to the one we described above. But not everyone has an iron barrel with a pump and the ability to make a fire, but Esmarch’s mug (popularly known as an enema) can probably be found in every home. So, for work you will need:

• enema;
• wire;
• a tube.

Scheme: defrosting a water supply using an Esmarch mug

The tube and wire are connected with electrical tape so that the end of the wire is shorter than the end of the tube. Push the tube all the way into the ice. Open the tap on Esmarch's mug, which is pre-filled with hot water. The water flows to the ice plug, and the melted water will pour out into the substituted bucket. As the ice decreases, the wire is pushed further. It should be noted that this method will require a lot of patience and time.

External heating of propylene water supply

External heating of the water supply is quite simple. There are several ways to do this. But first they open the taps so that the melted water and ice can come out.

• Hot water. Any rag that absorbs and retains water well is wound onto the pipe over the freezing area. To avoid damaging the pipe, the water temperature is increased gradually. Any container to collect water is installed under the pipe. It will take more than one cycle of squeezing out the rag and pouring hot water over it again.

If defrosting is necessary small area, you can use a hairdryer

• Hairdryer. A hair dryer can be used as a heat source. This requires great care and skill in working with this power tool, since the propylene pipe can be melted by negligence. Fan heaters and other electric heaters are used, but this method is not effective enough, since a large amount of the heat generated is wasted. For a very small area of ​​freezing, a regular hair dryer will do. Additionally, build a small casing to trap warm air.
• Self-heating electrical cable , it is also used when installing heated floors. The cable is wrapped around the pipe and plugged into the network.

Advice. Do not use a blowtorch wax candles or a fire to heat propylene pipes - they will melt. Such methods can be used for frozen metal water pipes.

• Hydrodynamic machine. If all the methods have been tried, but there is no result, call a specialist. In a matter of minutes they can remove ice jams using a hydrodynamic machine, profile application which involves cleaning water and sewer pipes with water. Water equipment The unit runs on diesel fuel, and the installation itself is powered by the network. The machine creates high pressure hot water and is capable of breaking harder materials than ice, so the use of such equipment requires qualifications and knowledge of safety precautions.

Measures to prevent pipeline freezing

At the first opportunity, when warm weather sets in, it is necessary to take measures to insulate the water supply in order to avoid such a nuisance in the future. Deformed areas will need to be replaced.

But while the frost is crackling outside, not all insulation methods can be used, and it makes no sense to chisel the frozen ground. I can recommend one thing effective action- although this is a violation of safety rules: keep the tap slightly open so that the water flows in a small thin stream, and then the moving water stream will not allow ice to form.

How to warm up a frozen water supply: video

Methods for defrosting water supply: photo

When the water in the pipes freezes, it’s not so bad. But if the water breaks the pipes, then there will really be trouble. It’s not that the water will blow the pipes to pieces, but the fistulas on the pipes will not always be good clamp will help. Therefore, if the water in the pipes is frozen, you need to immediately call the housing office or another organization responsible for the operation of this network. True, the housing office is not Chip and Dale, and is usually not in a hurry to help, in the private sector there are no housing offices at all, and companies involved in defrosting pipes are not available everywhere, and then you yourself have to engage in an unequal battle with the elements. Although, of course, you can wait until spring and completely change the pipes, the reasons for freezing pipes still need to be dealt with and eliminated so that this costume ball occurs as rarely as possible.

First of all, the pipes are heated where there are metal parts: valves, adapters. Since metal conducts heat and cold much better, freezing of water in plastic pipes in such places is most likely. You should also warm up places where there is an obstacle to the flow of water or the flow speed drops: at turns, bends, pipe branches.

From the point of view of physics, everything here is quite simple: to make a phase transition of a certain amount of matter from a solid to a liquid state, you need to expend energy. And to put it in more understandable terms, to melt 1 kg of ice, you need to spend 79.4 KCalories or 334 KJoules or 92.8 Watt hours. All that remains is to choose how to transfer heat to the ice. Most often, pipes are heated from the outside, transferring heat to metal pipes.

There are many ways to heat pipes, I will give only the most common ones:

1. Hot water (boiling water)

The pipes are wrapped with rags or foam rubber and periodically poured with boiling water. Although this is the most affordable way, but it can only be used in the basement, sometimes in the entrance. If the pipe is frozen in the ground, then pouring boiling water on the ground is useless. Defrosting pipes in this way can take from 2 to 10 hours. If you can’t defrost the pipes this way, then you should think about another method.

2. Hot air

The source of hot air can be a hair dryer, various kinds electric heaters with fans (so-called “blowers”) and without fans. This method has many disadvantages: firstly, plastic pipes must be heated very carefully so that the pipes do not melt, and secondly, low efficiency, since most of the heat is wasted for other purposes. Defrosting pipes in this way can take from 2 to 10 hours. If you can’t defrost the pipes this way, then you should think about another method.

3. Thermal conductivity

Special wires are wound onto the pipe in a spiral, which are used to install heated floors, then the wires are connected to electrical network. The disadvantage of this method is that such wires are usually sold in coils or sets and are not cheap, however, there are no simple and cheap ways to defrost pipes. It may take 1-3 hours to defrost the pipes this way. But main drawback The problem is that this method is not suitable for pipes laid underground.

4. From the inside

In order to melt the ice plug in the pipe, hot water is used, but it needs to be somehow delivered to the ice plug or heated, for this you need a good entrance to the pipe.

Hot water can be forced into a pipe under pressure or something like a boiler can be made. These methods are enough, so I won’t repeat them. I will only add that it is possible to warm up pipes using these methods only on flat areas and this can take a lot of time - up to 2-3 days, but there are no other relatively simple and cheap ways to warm up plastic pipes in the ground yet. If all else fails, you will have to call a team with special equipment and they will arrange for you to hydrodynamically flush the pipes.

If water pipes in the ground are frozen, there is only one reason - the pipes are not laid at an insufficient depth, i.e. above the depth of soil freezing, which means that if the pipes are not laid deeper, the water in them will freeze every cold winter. You can determine the depth of soil freezing on the map . Main water pipelines of large diameter, in which water flows constantly, can be laid at a shallower depth, and water pipes with a diameter of 20-32 mm are better laid below the freezing depth or, if this is not possible, a heating system for the water supply system should be laid immediately along with the water supply.

If the water pipes periodically freeze, then to prevent the water in the pipes from stagnating and freezing, you need to turn on the water in the apartment at night, the higher the pressure, the less likely the water in the water supply will freeze, although the higher the bills from the water utility will be, but there is no choice here has to. And if you turn on the water with low pressure, the sewage system may freeze, but this is a slightly different topic.

Causes of freezing pipes
Methods for heating pipes
Do-it-yourself heating of plastic pipes
Heating of metal-plastic pipes

Plastic pipes in last years have become a very common material. Today they are used both when laying pipelines in apartments and when arranging risers and long highways.

Plastic pipes owe their popularity to a considerable number of advantages, among which it is worth noting:

• Good visual qualities;
• Full resistance to corrosion;
• Simple and fairly quick installation;
• Non-conductivity of electric current.

Despite their good performance, plastic pipes can freeze just like any other. A pipeline that has stopped operating due to frost is always a serious problem that needs to be resolved promptly. This article will discuss how to heat water in a plastic pipe.

The main reason why water pipes located in the ground freeze is that the depth of the pipeline is too small. When installing pipes outdoors, you need to calculate their depth so that they are below the freezing level of the soil. If this condition is not met, then the pipes will freeze every year.

An exception to this rule is any main water supply large diameter: in such systems the movement of water is constant, so it cannot freeze. However, such pipes are usually used for laying industrial routes, and in private construction, pipes with a diameter of 20 to 32 mm are used, which must be laid at a greater depth.

In some cases, installing pipes at a sufficient depth is not possible. To avoid freezing, you will have to use active or passive insulation, which will protect the system from exposure to low temperatures.

If the pipeline freezes with noticeable regularity, then to prevent this factor it is worth leaving the system running even at night. A very important nuance is that the increase in pressure in the system is inversely proportional to the probability of its freezing. The desire to save money, for the sake of which the pressure in the system is deliberately reduced, can also lead to its freezing, so you should avoid such situations.

Methods for heating pipes

If the water in a plastic pipe is frozen, you can warm it up in several ways:

1. Heating with heated water. To warm the pipes in this way, you must first wrap them with material such as foam rubber or rags. After this, the pipes must be regularly watered with water heated to boiling water. This method of heating pipes is very simple, but it can only be implemented in a building - plastic pipes located underground will have to be heated for at least ten hours.
2. Hot air heating. To warm the pipes using heated air, you will need a hair dryer or some other good heater. Warming up the pipe will take from 2 to 10 hours, and there are some risks: firstly, uncontrolled heating can lead to softening and deformation of the pipes, and secondly, the efficiency of such heating is too low due to the large dissipation of thermal energy. Read also : “Options for defrosting pipes and rules for preventing freezing.”
3. Warming by conduction. The pipe is wrapped with cables that are used in warm floors. The cables are connected to the power and begin to warm the pipe, which can take about three hours. This method of heating does not allow to lead to working condition pipes laid underground. In addition, heating cables are quite expensive, so it is not profitable to buy them for one-time use.
4. Warming from the inside. Heating the pipe from the inside allows you to completely melt the ice plug formed in the pipe. The main requirement for this method is good access to the pipe so that hot water can be poured into it. Water is supplied either under pressure or using devices similar to a boiler. Such heating of pipes takes a lot of time (up to three days), and there is a limitation - internal heating is only suitable for horizontal sections of the pipeline.

Do-it-yourself heating of plastic pipes

If the pipe that needs to be heated is located underground, and the pipeline itself has turns or bends, then the methods described above for heating the structure will not help. In this case, it will not be possible to break through the ice plug with a wire, because the length of the frozen section of the pipe is unknown.

One of the methods suitable for solving such a problem is folk remedy: The welding machine is connected to the two ends of the pipe and started. There is another effective way to heat pipes, which involves supplying hot water directly to an area where it cannot reach on its own.

The sequence of actions required to heat the pipe with hot water is as follows:

• First you need to take a high-rigidity hose or a metal-plastic pipe with a smaller diameter;
• The hose or pipe is inserted into the frozen pipeline until it hits resistance in the form of an ice plug;
• Hot water or strong brine is poured into the pipe;
• Melting water will gradually flow out of the pipe, so you need to take care in advance of the container in which it will be collected;
• When the ice plug dissolves, it is necessary to run running hot water to completely eliminate the effects of freezing.

Heating of metal-plastic pipes

Before heating a plastic pipe, you need to thoroughly study the algorithm for performing this work, which includes several stages:

1. The first step is to localize the frozen part of the pipeline. To do this, you need to thoroughly examine the pipes located right next to the house. Usually, problem area located tactilely - to the touch it is usually much cooler than the functioning part of the pipe.
2. After localizing the ice plug, the pipe is wrapped with a rag. Next, you need to open all the water taps, having a supply of hot water with you. If it is not there, you can melt the snow.
3. The pipe is watered with water in two stages: first the cold water flows, and after that the hot water flows. A gradual increase in water temperature is necessary to ensure that the pipe is not damaged due to sudden temperature changes.
4. Water that has changed from solid to liquid will come out through open water taps.

To prevent a defrosted pipe from freezing in the future, it is better to immediately take measures to insulate it - then in the future you will not have to think about how to warm up a pipe with water.

If water is frozen in plastic pipes located under a layer of soil or foundation, then to warm them you will need a barrel, a pump and an oxygen hose, using which you need to carry out the following steps:

1. The barrel is filled with hot water, the temperature of which constantly rises.
2. The hose is inserted into the pipeline exactly until it collides with the ice crust.
3. The tap opens and connects to a hose that must be inserted into the barrel. If the barrel itself or the possibility of installing it near the tap is not available, then an ordinary bucket will do.
4. The pump starts, after which the water heated in the barrel is pumped into the plastic pipeline. The hose must be constantly pushed inside the pipe so that it defrosts all the ice in the system. The pump is periodically turned off to drain excess water.
5. When the blockage has cleared, the hose is removed and the water is drained from the pipeline.

Heating a plastic pipe can be done in other ways. For example, you can always use a hydrodynamic machine for these purposes. Its hose is inserted into the pipe, after which the device starts up. In this case, the ice will break using pressure.

A safer option for plastic pipes is a steam generator, which removes ice by turning it into a gaseous state. A pressure gauge and a valve designed for a pressure of 3 atm are attached to the thick-walled pipe of the device. When working with a steam generator, you must strictly follow the instructions to avoid possible troubles.

Conclusion

Questions like “a pipe frozen underground - what to do?” quite common among private home owners. Solving a problem with a frozen pipeline is not so difficult, but the task itself is quite troublesome and time-consuming. It would be much better to design the pipeline in advance so that the water in it does not freeze even in the coldest times.

In the cold season, even slight frost can lead to freezing of water in a plastic pipeline (especially if the pipes are located at a level above the freezing depth of the soil). It is very difficult to dig a trench over a frozen water supply in the event of an ice plug.

To prevent water from freezing in pipes, it is necessary to wrap them with heat-insulating and moisture-resistant material, and, if possible, lay the pipeline at a safe depth that takes into account the climatic conditions of a particular area.

However, if you need to warm up a plastic water supply underground, you can use several methods.

Quick navigation through the article

Heating with hot water

At in a simple way After heating, hot water is supplied inside the pipe to the area with frozen water.

Necessary actions:

• Disconnect the plastic pipe from the taps;
• Heat water in a large container;
• Insert a hose or tube of smaller diameter into the pipe until the end of the hose hits the ice plug;
• Supply hot water from a container into the hose (use a pressure pump to speed up the process);
• Advance the hose as the ice thaws until strong water pressure appears from the pipe, indicating successful defrosting.

Use of electricity

The electrical method is effective, but must be used with strict adherence to safety precautions. The preparation for the process is as follows:

• Take the plug for the socket and the copper two-core wire from which you need to remove upper layer isolation;
• Expose one core of the wire, bend the second in the opposite direction along the wire;
• Make 3-4 turns of the exposed core (bite off the excess with wire cutters);
• Step back 1-2 mm from the last turn and twist the second core with turns (the bare wires should not touch each other to avoid a short circuit);
• Connect the wire to the plug.

  How to warm up a pipe: practical recommendations for restoring system functionality

The functionality of the device can be checked in a bowl with water: bubbles should come from the ends of the wire, and a current should hum. Under no circumstances should you put your hands in the water during the test.

• To warm up, place the wire in a plastic pipe and push it until it reaches a blockage;
• Then plug the plug into the socket and move the wire as the ice melts;
• After passing every 1-1.5 meters, pump out excess water with a pump or compressor.

Technically equipped methods

With special equipment, the process of defrosting a plastic pipeline is significantly simplified.

Easy to use hydrodynamic machine:

• You need to insert the end of the installation hose into the plastic pipe;
• Then turn on the hydrodynamic machine (for a short time the ice will collapse under strong air pressure).

Autoclave Application:

• Pour water into the autoclave and heat it;
• Place a gas welding hose or other durable hose onto the autoclave fitting;
• Push the hose into the plastic pipe as far as possible (when water boils, steam under pressure flows through the hose and melts the ice plug).

Heating using a steam generator:

• The end of the steam generator hose must be inserted into the pipe;
• Turn on the unit (the ice gradually melts under the action of hot, high-pressure steam).

In what cases may it be necessary to defrost pipes?
External heating
Warming up pipes from the inside
Steel pipe attachment
Spraying with hot water
Regular enema or Esmarch mug
Electricity
What to do to prevent pipes from freezing

In winter, quite often people are faced with the fact that water pipes when severe frosts may freeze.

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.

If the pipes are frozen in places where they are quite easy to reach, you can use a regular hairdryer to warm the surface to the desired temperature.

It is somewhat more difficult to defrost water pipes that run underground. Freezing at the entry point can be broken by simply heating the wall of the house, however, often the freezing point is located a few meters from the building. Read also: “How to heat water in a plastic pipe - proven and simple ways from practice."

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 a 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, you can only use electric-type heating devices that produce 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 blockage in sewer pipes, you will have to take into account a number of features. Firstly, such communications, as a rule, have quite large diameter, which allows you to warm up the outside and inside more efficiently.

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 segment metal-plastic pipe, with which we will 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 for removing frozen plugs in pipes is the use of 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 sections with measuring instruments and insertion points.

A prerequisite 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 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 watering hose– it is too soft and will get wet quickly. 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. You need to wind it so that it does not stick out to the sides, and at the end the hydraulic level tube should extend beyond the wire by 1 cm.

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– 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 is about 80 cm (this is very small), and in places where excavation work is not recommended (on the roadway, for example).

To defrost a plastic pipe in this case, you can use a 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 a small section of the wire, the outer insulation is removed and the cores are separated.

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. 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.

Now it's time to delete 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 such a detailed description of the 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.

How to heat water in a plastic water pipe underground

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 additional funds are available 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.

For this you can use traditional ways, 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 unconventional defrosting methods.

In any case, only you can decide exactly how to solve the problem.

THE SEWER IS FROZEN: HOW TO MELT THE ICE IN THE PIPE.

There are two ways to deal with ice blockage in the sewer: thermal and chemical. The first involves the use of electrical devices, which in itself can be a problem, the second allows you to get by with more by simple means, but its effectiveness is worse.

So, if a sewer pipe is frozen: how to melt it thermally.

If the pipes are steel and the place of the plug is localized, then you can pass current from a welding transformer through a section of pipe up to several meters long, connecting the welding and return cables to the ends of the frozen section.

The pipe between the cable connection points will heat up and the plug will melt. Unfortunately, this method is not possible for polyethylene or ceramic pipes. In this case, the heat source must be supplied to the end of the ice plug from the inside. To do this, they often use a U-shaped heating element under voltage, which is pushed through the sewer pipe with a thinner metal-plastic pipe.

To prevent the heating element from resting against the walls of the pipe and melting them, you need to center it along the axis of the pipe using simple spacers, for example, thick wire.

If the plug is in the above-ground part of the sewer, or it is possible to open a trench with a pipe, then it is heated from the outside with fan heaters, construction hair dryers, and blowtorches.

Water has frozen in a plastic pipe - what to do and how to fix the problem?

If this is possible, you can use the services of a local water utility or a specialized company that has a mobile steam generator to which a rigid heat-resistant hose is connected.

In this case, hydrodynamic washing will also be effective, when hot water under pressure is supplied to the hose from a special installation.

The easiest way is to dissolve salt or a reagent for removing ice from asphalt in boiling water, and pour the solution into the hole in the pipe closest to the ice plug.

It is better if the plug is inside the house. Otherwise, there is a risk that the incoming solution will cool before the plug is completely dissolved and will also freeze. If there are no holes in the pipe near the plug, then the hot solution is supplied to it through a flexible metal-plastic pipe.

It is stiff enough to push through crushed ice, but may bend once or twice on sewer bends. The water that has melted from the plug should be taken through a hose, which is filled completely with water, squeezed, pushed all the way and the pressure is removed. The water should flow by gravity.

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Sedykh Ruslan Mikhailovich

Supervisor.

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Astakhov Igor Anatolievich

Specialist plumber Installer of water supply, sewerage and heating.

Sedykh Sergey Mikhailovich

Specialist plumber.

Installer of water supply, heating and sewerage.

In winter, you can observe such an unpleasant phenomenon as freezing of water and drain pipes in private homes. Defrost sewer pipe easier, since during the defrosting process the water will flow into drain hole. Things are more complicated with the water supply system to the house.

Pipes are usually underground, making it very difficult to dig through frozen ground.

In this article we will look at how to thaw a frozen pipe in various ways.

Methods for heating frozen pipes

It is quite difficult to thaw frozen pipes, so you can choose the appropriate method for this depending on where these pipes are located.

The length of the frozen section and the material from which the pipeline is made are also taken into account. Before starting work, you must turn off the water supply and open the tap that is closest to the frozen area.

Heating using hot water

The method is good if the pipe is in the house or the trench in which it is located, can be easily opened.

For example, it is not buried, but is a concrete channel with easy access. The pipeline is assumed to be steel. The frozen area is wrapped in rags and poured with boiling water. In a relatively short period of time it is possible to warm up the desired area.

How to thaw frozen pipes without damaging them? If the fire is too big, the water inside the pipe can turn into steam and cause a rupture of the communications wall.

Areas that do not need to be heated must be covered with thermal insulation, otherwise ice may appear in another place.

Heating with an open flame

This method is applicable only to metal pipes.

For work you will need gas-burner or a blowtorch, although you can get by with an ordinary fire.

The frozen metal is heated by an open flame, and the resulting water gradually flows onto the area. The method is used only when pipes are openly visible.

Warming up a frozen pipe with a hairdryer

A construction hair dryer allows you to deal with ice jams very effectively.

But again, such heating can only be used in cases where the pipes can be easily reached. For example, if they are inside the house. The method is not suitable for plastic pipes, since a hair dryer can produce very high temperatures.

As a result, the plastic may simply melt.

You can simply heat the metal with a hairdryer, but this will take considerable time. A sleeve made of polyethylene or other dense material will speed up the process. The sleeve is put on the desired area, after which a hairdryer is inserted inside it and connected to the network. Gathers in the sleeve warm air, which acts on the pipe, heating it over its entire area.

Defrosting using a welding machine

This method of heating was invented by folk craftsmen.

It consists in the fact that current is supplied to the pipe section from the welding machine. The current can be adjusted by making it more or less. The wires from the welding machine are connected to the ends of the frozen area (wound wire).

After this, the device turns on for 30 seconds.

How to defrost a water pipe - 11 simple and effective ways to deal with ice

After a short pause, the action is repeated. If the pipe does not heat up during such exposure, then increase the current of the device.

Industrial defrosting devices also operate on this principle. The terminals of such a device are connected to the ends of the section that is subject to defrosting.

The device turns on and applies current to the pipe.

For information: a pipe with a diameter of 6 cm and a length of 25 meters is defrosted by such a device in 1 hour.

Therefore, if the communication has a diameter of more than 5-6 cm, then it is better to defrost it separate sections- comes out faster.

Heating with a heating cable

We looked at methods for heating metal communications. How to warm frozen plastic pipes? To do this, you can use hot water or use a heating cable.

If everything is clear with hot water, then many have not even heard of a heating cable. The pipe section is wrapped with metal foil. A special heating cable is wound over the foil.

Attention!

To avoid damage to the cable, its turns should be spaced at intervals of at least 9-10 cm.

A temperature sensor must be installed on the cable, which turns off the cable when the set temperature is reached. The cable is connected to the power supply and heats the required area.

Whatever method you use to defrost pipes, follow certain safety precautions.

It is very important to prevent damage to pipes and not to be left without water in the dead of winter.

Why freeze pipes? The reasons can be very different: the pipes are not installed at an insufficient depth, they are not effectively insulated, they carry too little water, the pipes operate at extremely low temperatures.

It should be noted that if pipe deflection, in accessible places, does not cause any special problems (for example, they can be heated with a regular household hairdryer), and then how to defrost external water pipes in an underground position? “Fortunately”, if the tube freezes at the entry point, in this case you can simply heat the walls. What if the freezer is located a few meters from the building? Is there a solution or should I wait for it to warm up?

Solution to the problem!

If the pipes are metal, the defrosting process is quite simple. To do this, take a simple welding machine and connect it to different ends of the pipes. This simple electrical method eliminates the problem within two to four hours.

How to defrost a water hose - 4 simple and effective ways

The frozen part of the tube is longer and defrosting takes longer.

What to do if it's frozen plastic tube? Currently, water supply networks mainly use polyethylene pipes made of polyethylene high density(HDPE), which can withstand pressures up to 10 atm. They are not subject to corrosion processes and do not degrade during freezing. Due to its properties, polyethylene is not a conductor of electric current, so defrosting using a welding machine is impossible.

Removing the ice plug with a steel rod is also filled, the damaged hose may be damaged. This is the only way to use defrosted water.

The proposed three methods for defrosting polyethylene pipes are the knowledge of folk craftsmen. Despite their eccentricities, they work. Their only drawback is that they are only suitable for small diameter pipes.

Method 1

It should be kept in mind that the ice plug in the tube will not allow hot water to penetrate inside if it is poured.

Therefore, you need to find a way to supply hot water to the frozen area. If you want to do this, you can use a smaller diameter hose or tube. For example, if you need to defrost a water pipe with a diameter of 25 or 30 mm, and the frozen part is flat, then the most efficient use a metal pipe with a diameter of 16 mm is the most effective. First line up the metal plastic hose (m/p pipes usually turn into compartments) and insert it into the frozen tube until it reaches the ice.

Then fill it with a place to freeze as much hot water as possible. Dehydrated cold water leaks through the gap between the water supply and metal plastic pipes. By the way, if you have a limited water supply, you can use melt water: preheat it and re-send it to the freezing point. At the same time, the ice cube will melt and you can push the metal plastic tube further.

What to do if a frozen part of a water pipe has shocks and brakes?

In this case, it will be impossible to use hard metal pipes made of plastic. Is there a solution? In this case, you can use a rigid hose. Be aware that a regular charging hose will not work, it will soften from the hot water and will not be able to push it.

In this situation, they were created efficient pipes and pipes for connection gas cylinders. Such pipes are quite heavy, but nevertheless they can be brought to an entrance of 10-15 meters. In addition, they are quite heavy, and pushing into the pipe is required with great difficulty.

Method 2

How to defrost a water hose if it happened ten meters from the house and the pipeline was rotating and turning?

There is an effective and economical way. To do this, you will need a set of hardened steel wire (2-4 mm), construction hydraulic steps and an Esmara mug (a banal enema). The cost of such a kit is low, and many of them have all its components on the farm.

First, you need to align the hose and the hydraulic level wire, and then tie the end of the wire to the hydraulic level with tape.

To provide more rigidity at the end of the wire, you can use a loop. The stone wire should not be held, and the end of the hydraulic pipe level should be 1cm in front of the wire. After this, the other end of the hydro should be connected to the Esmarch can and the wire should be pushed through the pipe to the pipeline until it stops at the ice cap. Due to the fact that the water hose has a very small diameter and very low weight, it easily moves through the pipeline and overcomes all turns.

Then pour in hot water to “clog” the frozen water line. To collect the melt water under the water pipe, you need to replace the container, because the amount of hot water is poured out, so it is cold poured out. When the ice comes together, keep pressing the wire with the water hose. This pipe defrosting method is quite long, it can thaw up to 1 m of pipeline in about one hour, i.e.

During operation, the icy ice can be released from 5-7 m. In this case, do not worry, before inflating the hose/pipe, you should charge at least 10 liters of hot parts at minimal cost.

Scheme of the process of bending a tube with a wire, water level and Esmarch jug

Method 3

Consider the situation where we have frozen polyethylene water with small diameter (20mm) 50m long with compaction depth up to 80cm.

Please note that this is not the correct depth to lay the water pipe, so it froze. The peculiarity is that the water supply flows under the train. As a rule, passengers in this situation are usually advised to wait for defrosting, but it can be done without them.

We need the following “equipment” of a two-wire copper line (the length and thickness of the cross-section is chosen by the length and diameter of the frozen water tap), with a drain plug, a compressor pipe to blow out the defrosting water.

For example, for a pipe with a diameter of 20 mm, you can take a 2.5-3 mm wire, and for a pipe with a diameter of 8 mm, you can use a regular car compressor (in extreme cases, a pump).

We would like to point out that the use of this method must be especially careful since the work is done using high voltage.

Now everything is needed for the defrosting process.

From a small part of the wire it is necessary to remove the outer insulation, divide it into two wires and one of them is bare (remove the inner insulation), and the remaining wire in the insulation is carefully folded in the opposite direction along the wire. It must be ensured that the insulation is not damaged.

Then, almost near the curvature of the wire, you need to make 3-5 turns of bare wire (as close together as possible) and cut off the rest of the end.

After that - move 2-3mm away from the devices to support the other wire and around it just as well.

The turn of the first and second wires should not touch, otherwise a short circuit will occur in the future.

Connect the plug to the other end of the wire, and the “block” for the pipe outlet is ready. In humans, this device is known as a "bulbulator": if you put it in water and connect it to an electrical system, when a stream passes through the water, a reaction occurs by releasing a lot of heat.

In our case, this device is ideal because only the water is heated and the wires remain cold, for example, the plastic hose is not damaged by accident.

The composite device needs to be checked. To do this, you must put it in a glass of water and combine it with food. If the air bubbles remain in contact and there is a slight noise, the device is working. Again, contact with water during operation of the device may result in an electrical shock.

We continue the process of draining water.

The wire must be carefully pressed into the tube so that it does not bend at the same time. Therefore, it is better to take a wire with a large cross-section. When the wire rests on the ice plug, you need to turn on the lamp and wait one or two minutes.

Now you can try to push the wire forward: the ice has begun to melt. When defrosting with a tube meter, the defrosted water is preferably in the compressor, which is necessary to reduce the volume of heated water and to ensure that the water tube does not freeze again in the thawed area.

If special equipment is available, it is advisable to turn the tube into a hose.

When water enters through the tube, the wire is pulled out of it and the faucet is closed, for example, an underground portion of the defrosting area (such as a basement) will not occur.

To prevent plastic pipes from freezing, please note:

• Pipe installation must be done at a depth below the freezing level in a specific area. In the northern and eastern parts of Ukraine - Lugano, Kharkov, Poltava, Sumy, Kiev, Chernigov - the freezing depth is no more than 100 cm, in the south - (Nikolaev, Odessa, Kherson) - 60 cm, the rest 80 cm .

  It is advisable to place water and wastewater at a depth of at least 120-140 cm.

• Do not place water and sewerage near reinforced concrete structures (beams, girders, foundations, throats) because the thermal conductivity of concrete is much higher than the thermal conductivity of the floor, i.e. T

  The likelihood of soil freezing in reinforced concrete structures increases. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pipes (for example, between the pipeline and reinforced concrete structures extruded polystyrene panel)

• If the product is close to the pipeline, you can place a heating cable.

  They currently produce self-regulating heating cables that activate when needed

• the points of passage of the pipeline through the walls of buildings and structures are preferably insulated with fiberglass, mineral wool and polyurethane foam to prevent direct contact of pipe walls with building walls
• when equipping water pipes in a recreation area, it is advisable to use pipes with a diameter of at least 50 mm, while pipes of smaller diameter are more susceptible to freezing
• When choosing between different polymer water pipes, it should be noted that polyethylene pipes are well tolerated by repeated freezing and thawing, while polypropylene pipes can be started after two or three discharges
• If water or wastewater is not used regularly during the winter, it is preferable for the system to be completely drained.

If all these conditions are met when installing water pipes, you do not need to think about how to defrost the pipes.

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