In winter, the cold water pipeline froze. How to heat water in a plastic pipe. Electrocution

If water does not enter your house, and the sewer does not fulfill its direct “duties”, and this happened when the thermometer dropped below the “-30” mark, most likely you fell victim to severe frosts. Most likely, an ice plug has formed somewhere in the pipeline section, which should be eliminated. And now we will tell you how to do it right.

One of the biggest troubles that can happen when wintering in a private house is the lack of water. We are not talking about those cases when it is turned off due to non-payment or for preventive purposes, but about those when “yesterday it was in the tap, but today it is not.” If your home has undergone a sudden “blockade” in the cold, it means that the pipes have frozen and they need to be urgently “reanimated”. Usually, for this it is better to use the services of professionals or wait for warming, but if you need to live in the house right now, you can try to defrost it on your own.

Why does water freeze in pipes?

An unpleasant surprise in the form of a sewer or water pipe tightly clogged with ice can await you in the following cases:

if they are laid underground at a shallow depth. External wiring of water and waste channels must pass below the freezing point. Otherwise, do not be surprised when at -30-35ºC the liquid stops circulating;

pipes are not insulated or the tightness of the insulation is broken;

if an appropriate slope for sewerage is not made at the rate of 20 mm for every 1 m running. With careless laying, drains clog passages and freeze with the onset of cold weather;

insufficient diameter of pipes of both types in particular below 110 mm. In narrow channels, the liquid flows more slowly, becomes viscous and crystallizes;

leaks and cracks in pipes arising from temperature fluctuations or due to the use of low-quality materials. At first, a few drops ooze through the crack, which freeze in the cold. Gradually, the "ice plug" expands and clogs or even breaks thin metal and plastic walls;

mistakes when using a septic tank. When a small amount of water is discharged into the sewer in winter, both its remainder in the channels and part of the septic tank may freeze. Suppose you have the following “composition” installed: a 10-15 m long channel with a revision well, a septic tank made up of several reinforced concrete rings and a filtering well has been removed from the building. If the septic tank is not deep enough (for example, it is at a depth of 1 m), then at first the drain into it, and then the “waste” inside, may freeze, blocking the outlet into the filter well. As a result, the flushing of water in the room will not work.

ON A NOTE! Most often, the cold "attacks" metal and plastic elements of pipes at the joints, as well as where the nozzles come to the surface.

The water in the pipe froze ... but where?

The liquid may freeze in one or more zones, or along the entire length of the structures you have at your disposal. It is quite possible to determine the scale of the disaster "by eye", without special equipment. What to pay attention to first of all:

gently tap on the pipe - where the ice has formed, the sound will be deaf, not sonorous;

remember that most often water stagnates in joints and fittings. Take apart a few of these problem areas and check them for hard, frozen clumps;

check for strong drafts in areas where utilities are on the surface. A strong wind, combined with frost, can freeze a sluggish substance in a few hours;

if, as a result of inspection and warming up of the outer parts, the water did not flow, then the worst thing happened - the pipeline was caught in the soil with ice. If this happens, immediately proceed to "revive" it.

Options for warming up communications

Depending on the severity of the disaster, the material of manufacture of plumbing and plumbing, the nature of their laying, and the required speed of "resuscitation", there are several ways to warm up the pipes.

1. Quick and daring methods

If the matter is urgent, you can use express methods of heating.

Use boiling water. This option is chosen in cases where the water stagnation zone is precisely defined and it is small. Wrap an open frozen "compartment" of the pipe with a rag or rag and pour hot water over them. Turn on the faucet - this will speed up the melting of the ice, and the moistened rags will retain heat for a while and allow the plastic or metal to thaw. At the end of defrosting, “pack” the problem part in a heater to avoid re-freezing.

Advantages method: instant effect, minimal costs, suitable for pipes of any material.

disadvantages: not suitable for underground and hidden parts in walls.

Apply a building hair dryer. You can use any powerful device that generates a stream of warm air. To a greater extent, this technique is suitable for heating small areas, but you can simultaneously "process" fittings, turns and valves. It is better to carry out blowing with an open tap - this way you will speed up the defrosting. Blow the area from all sides, and then "wrap" it with a piece of old fabric or a blanket and tie it to the surface of the pipe to avoid heat loss.

pros this method: “dry and work for half an hour”, the use of improvised equipment, the ability to melt any area.

Minuses: the plastic case can be overheated and melted, it is impossible to heat communications in the ground and in the wall (in the latter case, you can try to use a heat gun, if there is one on the farm).

Use a gas burner or blowtorch. This is the most radical action that allows you to quickly raise the temperature in the channel. Point the flame at the problem areas and move it evenly from all sides until they thaw in the planned place. Why is it effective: instant result, ease of execution. Why is it ineffective: fit only for metal pipes in open spaces. Doing this indoors is dangerous, it can cause a fire!

2. We act carefully and tastefully

This group of life hacks is distinguished by a more gentle approach to plumbing and sewerage. However, all of them have also proven to be effective.

Run hot water through the pipe. If the center of sub-zero temperature is not defined or it “hid” at a depth, the easiest way is to let hot water through the system using a pump. Standard garden hoses will not work for this, it is better to purchase hoses for supplying oxygen or used to connect to gas cylinders. If it is frozen somewhere near the sink or toilet drain, pour a solution of hot table salt into it at the rate of 1 kg of salt per 10 liters of water.

On straight lines just insert the hose into the outlet and organize the supply of warm water. For curved parts, you need to make the design more complicated. On the already mentioned elastic hose, fasten a strong wire with a curved tip. The wire will help break the ice block and push through the pieces of ice. Push them all the way (to the "mini-iceberg"), and then start dispensing hot water. You can also use the pump or Esmarch's mug. The final contraption is a type of medical enema that allows the use of water heated to 40°C. In fact, you are "washing" your communications. Do not forget to install a bucket to collect the resulting liquid. Advantages method: only water and simple tools are needed, an environmentally friendly and safe way, even for polypropylene pipes. disadvantages: it will take about 1-1.5 hours to walk one meter of a frozen area, and up to 5-8 liters of boiling water will be needed to melt a 5-10 cm ice layer.

Experience the hydrodynamic machine. This device is often brought with them by professionals from the relevant services for cleaning blockages and as a preventive measure. Compact but powerful hydraulic units inject liquid under high pressure into the pipeline and clean it. For operation, it is enough to connect the unit to a source of water and electricity and follow the instructions. Why is it profitable: reliable cleaning not only from ice, but also blockages, the procedure does not take much time, and one person can handle the device. Why is it expensive: high cost of equipment, dependence on electricity and water supply, as well as the likelihood of damage to pipes by high pressure.

Build a fire over a frozen network underground. This solution is suitable when you have neither water nor electricity, but you need to warm up the pipes located at a depth of 1-1.5 m in the ground. Maintain the flame for several hours (you will also warm yourself at the same time), then hide the coals under the "hut" of slate and leave for 6-8 hours. In addition, by warming up the soil, you can dig out the area and determine what is wrong with the system - maybe the pipes have burst at all. positive: smooth heating of the earth and the elements laid in it without affecting the collectors themselves. negative: you should accurately determine the freezing area, you will have to maintain the flame for a very long time and wait for the results.

Do not forget ! Any work with open fire is dangerous! You do them at your own risk!

3. The situation is heating up - electricity comes to the rescue

Very often, electricity is used to thaw pipes. Advanced site owners do this using the following techniques.

Heating with a step-down transformer. Take a copper wire, remove the insulation from it and wind it around a piece of frozen pipe. First remove the thermal insulation (if any) and paint residues from the pipe. Bring the ends of the wire to the secondary winding of the welding transformer and fasten to them ( the device must be turned off!). Set the unit to the minimum running current. By turning it on, you will melt any ice within a couple of hours, since the high current and low voltage will gradually warm up the case and eliminate ice “congestion”. Advantages: point action on the frozen element and simplicity. disadvantages: you need access to communications, you can only work with metal pipes, and you must have experience with electrical devices.

Bare wires for plastic casings. Take a two-core cable with 2.5 mm cross-section (for example, an installation power cable), strip the outer insulation at a length of 8-10 cm and separate one core from the other. Bend the “blue” core for the time being, strip it to half and twist it in a spiral so that the core does not unwind (as shown in the figure below).

Strip the “red” core almost completely, bend it back and wrap its tip of the cable, grabbing the insulation of the “blue” core. Pass the tip wrapped with wires through the pipe to the first plug, and power the other end from the mains. A discharge will pass through the two resulting windings, which will heat the ice and melt it. As this happens, “drive” the wire, move it forward to the next “checkpoint”, and pump out the melt water with a pump. pros: only ice melts, water supply and sewerage elements, wires do not heat up, so the method can be applied to plastic materials. Minuses: you should carefully handle the "homemade" so as not to get an electric shock and operate the cables only on plastic pipes with similar fittings, taps and locks.

How to prevent pipes from freezing

And yet, it is better to ensure that your communications have enough heat and take care of the safety of drains and water supply parts in advance. You will have to carry out a set of preventive measures and take care of some of them even at the stage of construction and laying of the main systems.

Lay pipes to a depth of at least 1.5-2 m and accurately determine the freezing points of the soil on the site in order to lay communications below these values. Remember that in Belarus frosts at -30°C can last for almost a week and this is also vitally important to consider during construction.

Use pipe insulation. The wiring protected from the cold does not freeze and does not burst. Mineral wool, polystyrene foam, basalt compositions, foamed polyethylene, etc. can be purchased as heaters.

Install additional protection along the entire length of plumbing fixtures in the basement or basement. Concrete cools faster than the ground, so the communications are hidden in a casing of a larger diameter, and the voids are sealed with mounting foam.

Use cable to insulate pipelines. This measure has two indisputable advantages: the system can lie shallow and the heating will be adjustable. The cable is wrapped around the pipe, and the level of its activity is controlled by sensors that respond to the ambient temperature. The only drawback of this type of insulation is the increased consumption of electricity.

Lay larger diameter pipes made of polyethylene. They remain elastic, do not tear due to the constant formation of ice, and a strong flow of water prevents them from freezing.

For the waste subsystem, apply chemicals and reagents that prevent it from freezing. They usually come in the form of a liquid or granules. However, before buying, read the recommendations for use, as not all substances are suitable for plastic elements, for example.

Periodic freezing of a water supply or sewerage system is a phenomenon that any owner of a private house faces sooner or later. It is much easier to prevent it at the construction stage than to fight the ice later. However, with our advice, you can return your home “arteries” to their former mobility and be able to enjoy all the benefits of civilization. The main thing - be careful, and best of all - entrust the work to professionals.

Text: Vladimir Marchenko

Used photos from sites: abclocal.go.com, flickr.com, obustroeno.com, propertycasualty360.com, septikvdome.ru, teploizolyaciya-info.ru, tesisatturkiye.com, uniontool.ru

Are you familiar with the situation when, at a negative temperature outside, the water supply from the tap stops? Such a problem occurs in your home with the onset of a cold season, and you do not know how to quickly fix it? To fight, it is required to choose an effective method for resuming the working capacity of the water supply network. Do you agree?

We will tell you how to thaw a frozen pipeline and how to prevent a problem situation in the future. Let's talk about effective ways to quickly restore water supply on a cold winter day for sanitary purposes and cooking.

Our article provides a selection of the best ways to help deal with this trouble on your own. Methods for pipelines made of various materials are considered. So that you can better understand the nuances of warming, we have selected visual photos and thematic videos detailing recommendations for saving water pipes from ice captivity.

With a sharp onset of frost, supplemented by strong winds, cases of freezing with the formation of ice plugs inside them are not uncommon.

Frozen water as a result of improper laying or operation of the pipeline will, at best, make it impossible to use the system, and at worst, force the breakthrough to be eliminated.

The problem of pipe freezing is more relevant for owners of summer cottages and private sector houses, whose water supply inlets pass along the street

There can be several reasons for freezing water in the plumbing.

The most basic among them:

extremely low temperatures outside;
laying pipes to a shallower depth than the level of soil freezing;
insufficient insulation of the pipeline;
low or even zero water consumption.

At night or for a longer period when the owners do not use the water supply, the water in the pipes remains still. At sub-zero temperatures, it freezes quickly.

Not only pipelines can freeze, but also taps that are not shut off in a timely manner, which supply water, both to an unheated basement and to the yard

The pipe, located in the frozen ground, after passing warm streams, begins to cool down, and after a short period it acquires a low temperature. Small portions of water, as they advance, begin to freeze and crystallize, at some point completely clogging the entire section of the pipe.

How to find a problem area?

The most difficult moment in this matter is to determine the place of freezing in an open area. Experienced craftsmen advise, when examining and probing the accessible part of the route, to focus on temperature sensations.

It is not difficult to determine the location of the ice plug in a plastic pipeline when probing: within the blocked area, when trying to slightly bend the pipe, a characteristic crunch is heard

Water pipes usually freeze in areas where the pipes come close to the ground. Vulnerable to frost are also technical wells, unheated basements.

It is noticed that concrete freezes faster than soil layers. Therefore, if the basement was unreliably insulated or ajar during severe frosts, it is quite natural that the pipeline lying in it froze.

If the freezing area cannot be determined, it is better to immediately abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bbreaking through the ice jam by mechanical means

If it is not possible to “calculate” a specific area, use the available methods at once on several of the most probable freezing places.

Effective solutions to the problem

The water supply can be defrosted by external thermal exposure, or by defrosting from the inside. Each specific case depends on the length of the frozen area and the material from which they are made, and therefore requires the use of different means.

Despite the fact that ice with the same mass is more voluminous than water, within its state of aggregation, obeying the laws of physics, it expands before melting.

To reduce the risk of pipe rupture during the period of thawing ice plugs, it is necessary to reduce the pressure on the walls of the structure by prudently opening the taps

Before starting work, it is imperative to open a water tap or “discharge valve” after the valve at the inlet in order to determine the effectiveness of the actions performed by the water flowing from it.

Method #1 - Using Hot Water

If the system is frozen in an open area at, or inside an unheated basement, the easiest way to warm up a section of the water supply is to treat it outside with boiling water. Hot water has saved water pipes from freezing at all times.

To do this, the pipe is wrapped in several layers with rags and cuts of old rags that absorb moisture well. A wet rag will prolong the contact time of the pipe walls with water.

The area wrapped with a rag is poured with hot water in several approaches until the cloth gets wet and the ice under it begins to melt

When warming up a frozen section of the pipeline, it is important not to damage it. Areas of the structure that do not require heating must be covered with heat-insulating material. This will prevent the accumulation of pieces of ice moving along the pipeline along with water.

This method is used only in enclosed spaces and with an open method of laying pipelines. And this technology is suitable only for steel pipelines. The system located underground will have to be heated with boiling water for at least 12 hours.

Method # 2 - heating with a building hair dryer

You can also achieve the desired effect with the help of hot air created by a powerful building hair dryer. The method is used to heat frozen sections of the pipeline in places where it is quite easy to get to them, for example, when the system is laid inside the building.

In order to melt the water along the pipeline shell, the surface of the structure is blown from all sides with a stream of hot air directed by the nozzle.

In order to create conditions for the movement of ice accumulation through the pipe, it is necessary to evenly distribute the flow of hot air, without forgetting to open all the valves first.

Keep in mind that a building hair dryer produces a temperature range that can reach from 100 to 650 ° C. Therefore, it cannot be used for pipes made of polymeric materials.

The construction of an improvised protective casing around the heated area helps to enhance the effect, while reducing heat losses. It will reflect heat, evenly distributing it over the entire surface of the insulated area.

To do this, a small pavilion is temporarily built, the walls of which are made of the same film or metal shields.

Image gallery

They bring a lot of trouble. It was during this period that the owners of private houses, and the residents of multi-apartment buildings, had more frequent problems with plumbing. This is mainly due to a number of reasons, among which low temperatures, insufficient insulation of pipes, their deepening or low water consumption should be noted.

In most cases, pipes begin to freeze in the area where they protrude from the ground to the surface. In order to find the area of \u200b\u200bthe plastic pipe that needs to be heated, you need to bend it slightly. If there is an ice plug in this place, a slight crackle will be heard.

Warming metal plumbing

In order to warm the water supply directly at the entrance to the house, you can use improvised means. The easiest way to do this is with a hair dryer: building or ordinary household, you can also use a fan heater.

Most often, it is very difficult to find a freezing point, especially if the water supply is underground. A hair dryer won't help here. For this, the folk method has long been used. With the help of a welding machine connected to different ends of the pipe, you can quickly get rid of ice in metal pipes.

Warming plastic plumbing

In order to warm plastic plumbing, it is strictly forbidden to use a welding machine. Breaking ice with wire is also not an option, because the size of the ice plug is unknown. If it is possible to break through the ice in this way, then of course it is possible, but if not, then you can use hot water. Water should be supplied directly to the congestion. This can be done in two ways: heat the water in the pipe or fill it with hot water.

It also happens that the plumbing in the house is frozen. To eliminate this situation, you need to stock up on a metal-plastic pipe or a rigid hose of a smaller diameter. Insert one end of the rescue device into the pipe until it stops (ice plug), and introduce hot water through the other. It is more efficient to use strong brine instead of water. This is a very labor intensive job.

In the process of heating the water supply, quite a lot of water will flow out, this should be foreseen and stocked up with the necessary containers to collect it.

If the frozen pipe has turns, then using metal-plastic is inappropriate. You can use an oxygen hose, but you will have to tinker with it a lot. Due to its large weight, it can be pushed a maximum of 15 meters, and even this requires a lot of effort.

There are several options for how to warm up a frozen water supply using homemade devices, the number of which increases every winter. Now on the Internet you can find many instructions for making them, but not all of them are safe and effective. Most of these devices are provided in order to warm the ground water supply. It will be much more difficult or even impossible to “warm up” pipes underground in this way.

Underground heating

In order to quickly and efficiently heat the water supply in winter, it is best to use steam generators or hydrodynamic installations. These devices can be purchased at any specialized store, or you can build yourself. Of course, a self-made design will be far from ideal, but it will work in the same way. This method of resuming the watercourse is complex and dangerous. For the construction of the above mechanisms, certain skills and knowledge are needed. The simplest analogue of a hydrological installation can be made using a metal barrel, a pump and an oxygen hose.

All of the above methods of resuming water supply are relatively cheap, but, unfortunately, not always effective. Some of them require significant physical effort and special skills that the average person does not possess. Today, in order to quickly and efficiently warm the water supply, you can use the services of a specialist. You will have to spend money on the work of the master, but the result will not keep you waiting.

The best way to warm up is to prevent freezing, as they say: the best medicine is prevention. In order not to suffer in winter, you just need to insulate water pipes in the warm season. It's both easier and cheaper.

To prevent freezing underground, it is advisable to lay pipes at a depth of at least two meters.

It is often impossible to do this, so experts recommend using special heating or the same thermal insulation. For prevention, it is also recommended to periodically examine the water supply. If the system is old, it is best to replace it.

Here is another way to thaw frozen pipes:

Video

We bring to your attention another way to defrost pipes.

If you do not want to deal with defrosting the water supply yourself, then you should use the services of a plumber. Thankfully now you can call plumbing at home at any time, there would be only money.

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

Plastic pipes have become a very common material in recent years. To date, they are used both for laying pipelines in apartments, and for 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;
Complete resistance to corrosion;
Simple and fairly quick installation;
Conductivity of electric current.

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

The main reason for the freezing of water pipes located in the ground is the too small depth of the pipeline. When installing pipes on the street, it is necessary to calculate the depth of their occurrence so that they are below the freezing level of the soil. If this condition is not met, then the pipes will freeze annually.

An exception to this rule is any large-diameter main water supply: 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, installation of 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 pressure increase 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 the plastic pipe is frozen, there are several ways to warm it up:

Heating with hot water. To warm the pipes in this way, they must first be wrapped with a material like foam rubber or rags. After that, the pipes should be regularly watered with water heated to a state of 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.
Heating with hot air. To warm the pipes with hot air, you need a building hair dryer or some good heater. It will take from 2 to 10 hours to warm up the pipe, 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."
Heating by conduction. The pipe is wrapped with cables that are used in underfloor heating. The cables are connected to power and begin to warm the pipe, which can take about three hours. This method of heating does not allow pipes laid underground to be brought into working condition. In addition, heating cables are quite expensive, so buying them for a one-time use is unprofitable.
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 there. The water supply is carried out either under pressure, or using devices similar to a boiler. It takes a lot of time for such heating of pipes (up to three days), and there is a limitation - internal heating is suitable only for horizontal sections of the pipeline.

Do-it-yourself heating of plastic pipes

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

One of the methods suitable for solving such a problem is a 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 is to supply hot water directly to the area where it cannot get 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 pushed 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 of the container in which it will be collected in advance;
When the ice plug resolves, it is necessary to run running hot water in order to completely eliminate the effects of freezing.

Heating of metal-plastic pipes

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

The first step is to localize the frozen part of the pipeline. To do this, you need to carefully examine the pipes located right next to the house. As a rule, the problem area is tactile - it is usually much colder to the touch than the functioning part of the pipe.
After the localization of the ice plug, the pipe is wrapped with a rag. Next, you need to open all the taps of the water supply, having a supply of hot water with you. If not, you can melt the snow.
The pipe is poured with water in two stages: first it is cold, and after it - hot. A gradual increase in water temperature is necessary so that the pipe is not damaged due to sudden temperature changes.
Water that has changed from solid to liquid will exit through open taps.

So that the defrosted pipe does not freeze 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 the pipe with water.

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

The barrel is filled with hot water, the temperature of which is constantly rising.
The hose is inserted into the pipeline exactly until it hits the ice crust.
The tap opens and connects to the hose, which must be brought 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.
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 periodically turns off to drain excess water.
When the blockage has resolved, the hose is removed and the water is drained from the pipeline.

Heating a plastic pipe can be done in other ways. For example, a hydrodynamic machine can always be used for these purposes. Her hose is launched into the pipe, after which the device starts. The ice in this case will break with the help of pressure.

A safer option for plastic pipes is a steam generator, which eliminates 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 in order to avoid possible troubles.

Conclusion

Questions like “a pipe froze underground - what to do?” quite common among owners of private houses. Solving the 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 a 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 freezing of water 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, taking into account the climatic conditions of a particular area.

However, if it is necessary to warm the plastic plumbing underground, you can use several methods.

Quick article navigation

Heating with hot water

With a simple method of 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 rests against 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 a strong water pressure from the pipe appears, indicating successful defrosting.

Use of electricity

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

Take a plug for an outlet and a copper two-core wire from which you need to remove the top layer of insulation;
Strip one core of the wire, bend the second in the opposite direction along the wire;
Make 3-4 turns of a bare core (bite off the excess with wire cutters);
Step back 1-2 mm from the last turn and twist the second core in turns (the bare cores 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 performance

The performance of the device can be checked in a bowl of water: bubbles should go from the ends of the wire, a current should buzz. In no case should you put your hands in the water during the test.

To warm up, place the wire in a plastic pipe and push until it reaches the congestion;
Then plug the plug into the outlet and advance 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 noticeably simplified.

It is easy to use hydrodynamic machine:

Insert the end of the installation hose into the plastic pipe;
Then turn on the hydrodynamic machine (in a short time, the ice will collapse under strong air pressure).

Autoclave application:

It is necessary to pour water into the autoclave and heat;
Put a gas welding hose or other durable hose on the autoclave fitting;
Move the hose into the plastic pipe as far as possible (when water boils, pressurized steam flows through the hose and melts the ice plug).

Heating with a steam generator:

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

In what cases may it be necessary to defrost pipes
External heating
Heating pipes from the inside
Fixture for steel pipes
Hot water pouring
Ordinary enema or Esmarch's mug
Electricity
What to do so that the pipes do not freeze

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

In this material, we will talk about how to defrost a pipe with water without damaging communications and without staying without water for a long time.

In what cases may it be necessary to defrost pipes

In cases where water supply pipes were not insulated in time, with a sharp decrease in air temperature outside, the water in them may freeze.

However, even if such a nuisance happened, you should not panic - everything can be fixed, including on your own.

Among the most common causes of freezing of water pipes are incorrect laying of the main line without taking into account the depth of freezing of the soil or without insulation.

Alternatively, this can happen with plumbing that is used at very low temperatures or that has too little water flowing through it.

If the pipes are frozen in places where they are fairly easy to reach, you can use a regular hair dryer, warming 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 through by simply heating the wall of the house, however, often the freezing point is located a few meters from the building. See also: “How to warm water in a plastic pipe - proven and simple methods from practice.”

In order to defrost the pipes, you can use equipment such as a building hair dryer (if it is not available, an ordinary household one will do), a blowtorch, an electric heater. Here are some tips for defrosting frozen pipes.

When working with steel pipes, defrosting is very simple. To do this, a welding machine is connected from opposite ends of the pipe, which will thaw the water inside the water supply for 3-4 hours.

The duration of the process depends on the length of the pipe. Recently, however, plastic pipes have been actively used in water supply systems that can withstand pressures up to 10 atmospheres.

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 punch a cork, so as not to spoil the plumbing.

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

External heating

Of course, the need to break the frozen ground to get to the pipe is a significant disadvantage of this method.

However, for those situations where the frozen area is small, this method has the right to exist.

When the trench is excavated, the type of pipeline material is established.

To work with polymer products, only electric-type heating devices can be used, giving out a temperature of no more than 100-100 ℃. To reduce the heat loss of the heater and warm up the pipe section faster, the place of work is covered with a layer of thermal insulation.

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

Heating pipes from the inside

To get rid of the plug in the sewer pipes, you will have to take into account a number of features. Firstly, such communications, as a rule, have a rather large diameter, which allows for better heating from the outside and from the inside.

However, the amount of accumulated ice in them will be significantly greater, so that more heat will be required by the heating devices.

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

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

It is necessary to introduce the structure into the sewer pipe from the side of the receiver, where the melted liquid will drain. First, the heating element is fully promoted to the place of work, after which it is connected to the network.

Moving the device forward as the cork thaws, the device is periodically turned off.

Fixture for steel pipes

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 cork, 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 the defrosting of 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 greater than this indicator, then the run-up between the terminals is made smaller. This also applies to segments with measuring instruments and tie-in 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 in three more "folk" ways. They are all quite effective, however, only on pipes with a small cross section.

Hot water pouring

Here it is worth noting right away that you will not be able to simply pour hot water into the pipe - you will have to work hard.

A flexible hose or thin tube is required to supply hot liquid to the place of the ice plug. For example, if a plug 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 a thin tube, it is gradually pushed into the water supply until it reaches the ice plug. Next, the hot water supply starts. 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 fed to the cork to thaw it.

As the ice thaws, the metal-plastic tube is gradually pushed inward until the cork 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. Optimally in this case, gas or oxygen hoses are suitable. They can be pushed 15 meters deep into the water supply, however, significant efforts will be required to push them through due to the large weight.

Ordinary enema or Esmarch's 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 system has bends and turns.

In this case, you will need a strong steel wire, a hydro level and a regular enema (Esmarch's mug). All these things are inexpensive and easy to get.

First, the hydraulic level must be combined with the wire, wrapped with electrical tape. The end of the wire is wrapped in a loop so that it gets stiff. 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 1 cm beyond the wire.

The second end of the tube is connected to the Esmarch cup. After that, the tube with wire is pushed into the water supply until it rests on the ice.

Such a device can 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 tube from the enema. Under the outlet of the pipe you need to substitute a container for water, which will flow out from there.

Gradually, the ice plug will melt, so that the device can be moved further and further.

It should be noted that this method is rather slow. The average speed of work is 1 meter of pipe per hour, that is, about 5-7 meters of pipe can be thawed per 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 passage is about 80 cm (this is very small), and in places where excavation 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 an outlet, a two-core copper wire, a compressor and a 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 electric current, strict safety precautions are required to avoid injury.

Now you can start assembling the fixture for defrosting the water pipe.

On a small section of the wire, the outer insulation is removed, the cores are separated.

First, one of the cores is stripped of insulation, and the remaining insulated piece of wire is carefully, trying not to damage the sheath, bent in the opposite direction along the wire. Now, almost at the bend, the wire is screwed with 3-5 tight turns of bare wire.

Departing from this place 2-3 mm, the same manipulations are performed with the second vein. Make sure that the ends of the two strands 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 with the release of a large amount of heat.

In this case, it is also ideal that only water is heated, while the wires remain cold, which does not threaten accidental burns of polyethylene pipes.

Before starting the assembled mechanism should be tested. Dip it in a container of water and apply current - everything works correctly if air bubbles are visible in the water and a buzz 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, before contact with ice.

Now it's time to remove the 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, a faucet can be welded onto the pipe, which can be closed as soon as water flows through the pipe.

This will avoid flooding the place of work with the cork and not pulling the wire out of the pipe.

What to do so that the pipes do not freeze

After such a detailed description of the options for getting rid of ice plugs in water pipes, it would be useful to talk about preventive measures for such an unpleasant phenomenon.

The first thing to remember is that the depth of the water pipes should be below the freezing level of the soil in your area.

The norm for sewer and water communications is a depth of 1.2-1.4 meters.

It is better not to lay pipelines near reinforced concrete structures, since the level of thermal conductivity of concrete is much higher than that of the ground.

How to warm water in a plastic water pipe underground

Consequently, near the foundation, beams or grillages, pipes will freeze more than in other places. If it is impossible to bypass them, it is worth taking care of thermal insulation, for example, laying plates of extruded polystyrene foam between the pipe and the foundation.

As an option, if there are additional funds for construction, a heating cable can be laid near the pipeline. On sale you can find self-regulating cables that start 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 will be useful to insulate communications with glass wool, mineral wool or foam.

The reason lies in the same thermal conductivity of the walls of the building.

If the work is carried out in a country house, the best choice would 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, after which they begin to burst. But pipes made of polyethylene are practically not sensitive to frost and defrosting.

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

So, every resident of a private house can face the problem of freezing water in a water pipe in winter. In this situation, the best thing to do is not to waste time, but immediately start defrosting the ice plug.

For this, traditional methods can be used, such as external or internal heating, as well as the use of industrial equipment. Or you can take advantage of folk experience and try one of the non-traditional methods of defrosting.

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

SEWER FROZEN: HOW TO MELTE THE ICE IN THE PIPE.

There are two ways to deal with an 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 simpler means, but its efficiency is worse.

So, if a sewer pipe is frozen: how to melt years in a thermal way.

If the pipes are steel and the place of the plug is localized, then it is possible to pass current from the welding transformer through a pipe section up to several meters long, connecting with 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 brought 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.

So that the heating element does not rest against the walls of the pipe and does not melt them, it is necessary to center it along the axis of the pipe using simple spacers, for example, from thick wire.

If the plug is in the 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, building hair dryers, blowtorches.

Frozen water in a plastic pipe - what to do and how to fix the problem?

If 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 flushing will also be effective, when hot water under pressure is supplied to the hose from the special installation.

The easiest way is to dissolve salt or a reagent for cleaning 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 cork is inside the house. Otherwise, there is a risk that the incoming solution will cool down before the cork is completely dissolved and will also freeze. If there are no holes in the pipe near the plug, then a hot solution is supplied to it through a flexible metal-plastic pipe.

It is rigid enough to push it through the ice chips, and at the same time it can bend once or twice at the bends of the sewer. The water that has melted from the cork should be taken through a hose, which is completely filled with water, squeezed, pushed through to the stop and the squeeze is removed. The water must go by itself.

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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

Plumbing specialist.

Installer of water supply, heating and sewerage.

In winter, one can observe such an unpleasant phenomenon as the freezing of water and drain pipes in private homes. It is easier to defrost the sewer pipe, since during the thawing process the water will drain into the drain pit. The situation is more complicated with the water supply system to the house.

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

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

Ways to warm up 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, turn off the water supply and open the tap that is closest to the frozen area.

Heating with 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 quick access. It is assumed that the pipeline is steel. The frozen area is wrapped with rags and poured with boiling water. In a relatively short period of time, it is possible to warm the right place.

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

Areas that do not need to be thawed should be covered with thermal insulation, otherwise ice may appear elsewhere.

Heating with an open flame

This method is applicable only to metal pipes.

To work, you will need a 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 down to the site. The method is used only with open visibility of the pipes.

Heating a frozen pipe with a hair dryer

The building 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. For plastic pipes, the method is not suitable, since a building hair dryer is capable of producing a very high temperature.

Plastic, as a result, can simply melt.

You can simply heat the metal with a hairdryer, but this will take a considerable amount of 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 hair dryer is inserted into it and connected to the network. Warm air is collected in the sleeve, which acts on the pipe, heating it over the entire area.

Defrosting with a welding machine

This method of heating was invented by 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 section (they are wound wire).

After that, 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 an impact, then the current of the apparatus is increased.

Industrial defrosting machines also work according to this principle. The terminals of such an apparatus are connected to the ends of the section to be defrosted.

The device turns on and acts on the pipe with a current.

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 in separate sections - it comes out faster.

heating with heating cable

We considered ways of heating metal communications. And how to thaw 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 must be spaced at least 9-10 cm apart.

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 mains and heats up the required area.

Whatever method of defrosting pipes you use, follow certain safety measures.

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

Why freeze pipes? The reasons can be very different: pipes are installed at insufficient depth, inefficiently insulated, they carry too little water, pipes operate at extremely low temperatures.

It should be noted that if pipe deflection, in accessible places, does not cause any particular problems (for example, they can be heated with an ordinary household hair dryer), and then how to defrost outdoor water pipes in an underground position? "Fortunately" if the tube freezes at the entry point - in this case, you can simply warm up the walls. And if the freezer is located a few meters from the building? Is there a solution or should we wait?

Solution!

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 fixes the problem within two to four hours.

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

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

What to do if it's frozen plastic tube? Currently, water supply networks mainly use high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polyethylene pipes that can withstand pressures up to 10 atm. They do not corrode and do not degrade during freezing. According to its properties, polyethylene is not a conductor of electric current, so defrosting with a welding machine is not possible.

Removing the ice plug with a steel stick is also full, a 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 artisans. Despite their eccentricity, they work. Their only drawback is that they are only suitable for small diameter pipes.

Method 1

It should be borne in mind that the ice plug in the tube will not allow hot water to enter 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 a 25mm or 30mm water pipe needs to be thawed, and the frozen part is flat, then the most efficient use of a 16mm diameter metal pipe is the most efficient. Line up the metal plastic hose first (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 flows through the gap between the water pipe and metal plastic pipes. By the way, if you have a limited water supply, you can use melted water: preheat and re-send to the freezing point. At the same time, the ice cube will melt and you can press the metal plastic tube further.

What if the frozen part of the water pipe has bumps and brakes?

In this case, it will not be possible to use rigid metal pipes made of plastic. Is there a solution? In this case, you can use a rigid hose. Keep in mind that a regular charging hose won't fit, it will soften from the hot water and won't be able to push it.

In this situation, effective pipes and pipes for connecting gas cylinders were created. Such pipes are quite heavy, but nevertheless they can be brought to the entrance of 10-15 meters. In addition, they are quite heavy, and a push in the pipe is necessary with great difficulty.

Method 2

How to defrost a water hose if it happened ten meters from the house, and the pipeline turned and turned?

There is an efficient and economical way. To do this, you will need a set of hardened steel wire (2-4 mm), building hydraulic steps and Esmar's mug (banal enema). The cost of such a set is small, 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 1 cm ahead of the wire. After that, the other end of the hydroelectric plant must be connected to the Esmarch can, and the wire must be pushed through the pipe to the pipeline until it stops in 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 so that the frozen water line is "clogged". In order 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 cold is poured out. When the ice comes together, keep pushing the wire with the water hose. This pipe defrosting method is quite long, it can thaw up to 1m of pipeline in about one hour, i.e.

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

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

Method 3

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

Please note that this is an inappropriate depth of laying the plumbing, so it froze. Feature - water runs under the train. As a rule, passengers in this situation are usually advised to wait for defrosting, but without them it can be done.

We need the following "equipment" of a two-wire copper line (the length and thickness of the cross section choose the length and diameter of the frozen water tap), with a drain plug, a compressor pipe to purge the defrosting water.

For example, for a pipe with a diameter of 20 mm, you can take a wire of 2.5-3 mm, and a pipe for an automobile tube with a diameter of 8 mm can be taken from a conventional automobile 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 carried out 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 neatly 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 must 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 the current passes through the water, the 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 accidentally damaged.

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 while operating the device may result in electrical shock.

We continue the process of water drainage.

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 started to melt. When defrosting with a pipe counter, the defrosted water is preferably located in the compressor, which is necessary to reduce the volume of heated water and to ensure that the water pipe 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, the underground section of the defrost area (for example, the basement) will not occur.

To prevent plastic pipes from freezing, please note:

Pipe installation must be carried out at a depth below the freezing level in a certain area. In the northern and eastern parts of Ukraine - Lugano, Kharkov, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv - the freezing depth is not 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 sewage near reinforced concrete structures (beams, beams, foundations, throats), because the thermal conductivity of concrete is much higher than that of the floor, i.e. T
The probability of soil freezing of reinforced concrete structures increases. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pipes (for example, between the pipeline and the reinforced concrete structures of the 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 are activated 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 the pipe walls with the walls of the buildings
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 a smaller diameter are more susceptible to freezing
in choosing between different polymeric water pipes, it should be noted that pipes made of polyethylene are well tolerated by repeated freezing and thawing, while pipes made of polypropylene after two or three discharges can start
If the water or waste water is not regularly used during the winter, it is preferable that the water from the system 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.

If frosts have damaged water pipes and water has frozen in them, the problem must be solved immediately. In this article, we will tell you how to properly thaw 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, air does not come out and is not sucked in, while the neighbors in the area do not have such problems, you have to deal with a frozen pipeline. There are several ways to eliminate the accident, but first you need to find a frozen section of the pipeline.

Finding a freezing point

Pipes most often freeze in places with poor thermal protection, usually it is the rise of a pipe from the ground, entry points into the house, basements, revision or accounting wells, and places of reduced flow - fittings and connections - are also at risk. There are two main cases where the problem occurs:

The main line that feeds the entire system froze.
A local area has frozen (this is easy to check if, in addition to the house, there is a water supply to the garden or outbuildings).

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

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

After access to potential freezing centers is open, thawing can begin. If a pipe section of a large length is frozen, you can not 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

Plastic pipes are not recommended to be heated with an open flame, but a building hair dryer is perfect. If it is not available, wrap the clogged area with burlap and pour hot water for 10-30 minutes. At the same time, 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 m 3.

Pipes made of polypropylene and polyethylene retain plasticity even at very low temperatures. Therefore, if you have a new plastic plumbing and an acceptable quality pipe was used during laying, there is a good chance that it will not break through. Special attention should be paid to the places of adhesions: if the plastic was overheated during installation, it can crack and leak.

How to heat a metal pipe

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

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

Heating frozen pipes with electric current

A metal pipe is a good conductor and should be heated by the action of an electric current, if you connect a conventional welding transformer to a section of the pipe, the pipe will heat up enough to melt the ice inside it. Depending on the power of the device, it is possible to heat up a section from 5 to 30 meters at a time, or even the entire pipe.

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

There is another way to thaw ice inside a pipe, more laborious, but indispensable for buried pipes. The house will have to disassemble a couple of connections to get one end of the frozen pipe completely open. Through it, a probe from an electric cable will be inserted into the pipe, having a tip like a "soldier's boiler".

Making a "boiler"

We need a solid copper cable with two single-wire cores 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 the opposite direction and press it against the cable, remove the insulation from the second and wrap it very tightly over the cable with a core of 4-5 turns superimposed on 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 cores do not have direct contact.

Such a probe heats the water quite strongly, easily moving along 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). The probe can only be powered through a 25 A circuit breaker.

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

Water can be drained from the pipe by inserting a thin silicone hose into it 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 a short circuit 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 only heats the 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 put on the container fitting. 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 an enema. The method really works, although with its help it will only be possible to warm up 1.5-2 meters of pipe per hour.

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

Eliminate frozen water in the plumbing. Further actions

After the blockage in the pipe is cleared, you need to make sure that the pipe has not broken from the expanded 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 felt: after some time, water will begin to collect in dug holes or trenches, and the location of the breakthrough can be determined by its volume and direction of inflow. The damaged area must be replaced, and the pipe must be insulated or buried deeper so that it does not freeze again.

In winter, a major overhaul is too difficult a task, but there are some measures that will allow you to "overwinter":