Methods for defrosting pipes. How to defrost a metal-plastic pipe. Hardware ice crushing

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

Peculiarities

For plumbing in a private house, both metal and plastic pipes can be used, but that one and the other are not protected from freezing in winter if the process of laying them was done incorrectly. The main reason that water freezes in a pipe underground in frost is insufficient deepening of the water supply. If the laying technology is performed correctly, then the entire system is located at a level where frost does not reach.

Thanks to main pipelines have a large diameter, even in winter they do not freeze, because they are constantly moving water. Home systems are laid using pipes with a diameter of 20 mm or more - 32 mm. It is important to deepen such thin elements well so that frost does not reach them, but this is not always possible, therefore you need to know how pipes can be insulated to protect them from the cold.

In the event that all the recommendations have been met, and the water is still freezing, then in this case it is necessary to keep the system turned on all the time so that the water always flows through the pipes at least in a thin stream. This is quite expensive, given the cost of water, but it will not be necessary to spend time, effort and money on defrosting the entire system.

In order not to have to carry out work on heating pipes with water annually, it is important to prevent all possible problems still at the stage of laying the entire network.

During installation, it is important to observe the following rules:

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

What will be required?

If in a private house a pipe that supplies water or drains is frozen, the first step is to determine the location of the plug in order to eliminate it and not aggravate the situation. by the most simple option the search will be the use of an iron cable that is inserted into the water supply, which was previously blocked and immediately untwisted under the tap at the junction of the structure. It is important to choose the longest cable, because the problem area can be both at the beginning of the system and at its end.

Once the plug has been found, the affected area of the pipeline can be excavated. and accept everything necessary measures for defrosting. If the structure is old and the pipes are metal, then the most in a simple way to warm the water inside there will be a current, for which a welding machine is used. But for a HDPE pipeline, this method is no longer suitable. For them use external funds brings little result, you need to take a different approach.

The most efficient, but expensive, would be to use a hydrodynamic machine that can jet water at such a speed that ice and some other substances melt from such an impact. Only a professional can work with the device, because it is important to know the technology and follow the work algorithm. If you need to quickly fix the problem, but you don’t have the necessary skills and equipment, you can simply call the master, who will easily do everything necessary to restore the water supply.

Another way to heat the pipe includes a steam generator, which looks like this:

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

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

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

tape copper wires screwed to the steel and all this is immersed in the pipe. In such a simple way it turns out to build a homemade boiler. It must be connected to the network in order to warm up the pipe, which will push the plug out of the heat. As soon as the problem is solved, the boiler is turned off and pulled out, and the pipe is blocked. When the system starts up again, everything works as it should.

Pipe defrosting can be done welding inverter. This is a wire that connects to the pipe at the place of icing and heats it. It is important to work correctly with the device and not overheat it, giving different voltages. After ten minutes of such exposure, the ice turns into a liquid and the cork dissolves.

Heating water pipes in the case of ice plug formation, is one of the most viable option. For an iron pipe, the external influence method is suitable, and for a plastic pipe, the internal one. The means by which it is convenient to deal with icing can be anything, and everyone chooses what he likes and can afford, the main thing is that there is a result, but it is best not to lead to such situations by properly laying the water supply and warming it well.

How to warm up?

In order to warm a metal-plastic water pipe in which water has frozen, Several methods can be used, including:

Exposure to hot water, for which the structure is wrapped with foam rubber or rags and pours very hot water, almost boiling water. This option is quite simple, but it is effective for pipes inside the house. In the case of underground ice plugs, this method can break through an obstacle up to ten hours.
The use of hot air, for which you need to have building hair dryer or heating device. The place of icing is heated by any of the devices for two or more hours, it all depends on the degree of freezing of the water inside. It is not difficult to do such work, but it is important to carry out all activities carefully, because from high temperature pipes can be deformed, which will further exacerbate the problem. Efficiency this method not too large, because with large energy and heat losses real result does not come soon.

Heating by conduction. It is a winding of pipes with a cable that is used in the underfloor heating system. When everything is ready, the resulting structure is connected to electricity and begins to heat the pipe itself. The workflow lasts approximately three hours and allows you to alert only those pipes that are above the ground and in the house. Wires for underfloor heating are quite expensive, so buying them in order to defrost the system once is unprofitable due to the high cost.
The process of heating the pipes inside allows you to solve the problem quite effectively. For work, it is important to have access to the problem area in order to pour hot water into it using a special device that drives liquid under high pressure, but you can also use an apparatus that looks like a boiler. The work is slow, the problem is completely solved in at least three days. It is forbidden to use this option for those sections where the pipes run vertically. The system must be in a horizontal position to ensure operability.

If you have to deal with plastic pipes, then you can handle defrosting them with your own hands, the main thing is to know what exactly needs to be done. For those pipelines that are located underground and the system is a network of turns and various bends, then all the previously listed options will not be able to help. by the most the best option in this case, there will be a welding machine that needs to be connected to different ends of the pipes and turned on. If there is no suitable equipment, you can use just hot water.

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

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

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

Find a problematic place, for which it is enough just to probe all the pipes. The freezing point will be much colder than the rest of the surface.
The place of icing is wrapped up with rags and all the taps of the water supply are opened. Make sure you have a supply of hot water.
Pipe surface treatment is gradual, immediately used cold water so it's hot. This is important in order not to damage the structure with a sharp jump in temperature.
The melted water will begin to exit the pipes through those taps that were opened earlier.

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

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

You need to purchase a barrel, a pump and a hose with oxygen. It is necessary to draw hot water into the barrel, the temperature of which will constantly increase.
Insert the hose into the pipe and push until it rests on the ice.
You need to open the tap and connect it to the hose that goes into the barrel. If there is none, you can use a simple bucket.
The pump starts, with the help of which hot water is supplied to the pipes for defrosting ice. From time to time, the pump must be turned off to drain the resulting water.
As soon as the problem goes away, the hose must be removed and the water in the pipeline drained.

If the problem has touched the sewer, then you can deal with it if you know how. Usually, sewer pipes do not freeze, because the used water is usually warmer, but in very severe frosts this is possible.

To combat ice blockages in the sewer, you can:

Build a fire in the place where the collector is located. This option will be effective if the pipes are not far from the surface. The flame must be maintained as long as possible in order to be able to warm the earth, and with it the sewer.
The use of table salt. A home-made, but very effective method is to place a large number of a solution of concentrated table salt, which will not freeze even in severe frost, and salt, upon contact with ice, will begin to dissolve it.
You can use an electrical cable that you can lead until the moment of icing through the toilet or inspection hatch. Once the device is installed, plug it into the network.
You can use the inspection hatch of the septic tank, where a hose for irrigation is inserted through the outlet garden plants. It must be advanced to the place where the presence of ice is expected, and then pour hot water from the water supply inside. Continue the process until the ice is completely gone.

When severe frosts in winter time and freezing water in the pipes you need to know how you can deal with the situation. First of all, it is important to understand what material the pipes to work with are made of, how deep they are laid and a number of other nuances, after which it will be much easier to choose correct option dealing with ice blockages.

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

To prevent similar phenomena, follows:

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

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

To protect the pipeline from freezing, it is worth studying temperature regime region and lower the structure a meter below the mark where frost usually falls. This will allow you to forget about any problems with water in cold weather.
If the pipes freeze at the intersection of the ground with open space, then an ordinary hair dryer can help, and in particular difficult cases- construction.
If problems with pipes occur annually, then it is worth setting a goal to redo the system than constantly dealing with the consequences.
When the frost is very serious or difficult to solve on your own, it is best to call a professional who will remove the ice plug without any problems.
If you manage to deal with ice on your own, but you have to constantly clean the system by running water, it can be collected in special containers and then used for household needs.

Those who still use metal water or sewer pipes can deal with ice plugs with the help of terminals that are attached to the problem area, after which the current begins to flow, which heats up the pipe and the ice inside begins to melt. If freezing occurred in a pipe leading directly from the toilet, then one of the options may be to heat the water directly in the plumbing, for which you need a heating element or a boiler. Metal pipes are also heated with a blowtorch, for which you need to make a trench at the location of the sewer and heat the pipe with a lamp, going from bottom to top. Work is being done from cesspool or a septic tank, if there is one, to allow the unhindered exit of water after thawing.

Uninsulated pipeline - sewerage, heating system or drinking water- with a high degree of probability, it can freeze together with the contents in winter, that is, speaking professional language- unfreeze. Such a situation - defrosting of heating pipes or other routes - often happens if local climatic realities were not taken into account when laying the route, or the conditions for laying pipes were simply grossly violated.

Causes of pipeline freezing

So, without thermal insulation of any communication pipes, they can defrost in severe frosts. This applies to both underground and surface communications with liquid. There is only one conclusion - it is necessary to insulate the tracks in time. But what to do if the route is already frozen and the pipeline needs to be thawed? Life experience gives quite a few do-it-yourself pipe thawing methods, both cheap and expensive, but always effective.

Firstly, there may be little liquid in some pipes, which creates conditions for its faster freezing, for example, in incomplete sewers;
Secondly, pipes can be incorrectly calculated in diameter, and this is a direct path to freezing water;
Thirdly, critically low regional temperatures may not be taken into account, and even correctly, but insufficiently insulated pipes in severe frosts can freeze.

Reliable defrosting of pipelines occurs on accessible or open sections of the route - for this it is often enough to use a powerful stream of hot air, for example, from a building hair dryer. But here comes the thaw underground utilities- the question is much more complicated, and sometimes very original technologies have been developed here, for example, the Esmarch mug, which will be discussed below.

The main methods for defrosting heating or plumbing pipes consist in using common improvised tools and materials: a blowtorch, hot water flow, blowing with a building or household hair dryer, etc. Some points need to be clarified here:

It is easier to defrost steel pipes if you use a welding machine: the cables are connected to the ends of the pipe, this segment is heated under the influence of current for 2-4 hours;
Polyethylene pipes high pressure now they are mounted everywhere, and welding is not an option for them. It is also forbidden to clean them from internal ice with a crowbar or a rod so as not to damage the walls.

Based on these limitations, consider traditional technologies defrosting heating mains and other pipelines.

External pipe heating

Since the defrosting methods open pipes heating, sewer systems or water pipes are clear to us, we are considering the external defrosting of underground routes, which is immediately complicated by the fact that the pipes will need to be excavated. The technology depends on the diameter of the pipe and the length of the frozen section - you can dig it out manually, or you may have to rent an excavator.

After digging a trench and opening a pipe, determine how the pipeline was insulated - the technology for defrosting it will depend on this: for example, polyethylene pipes can't warm up open flame or power supply. The temperature of the jet of hot air from a hair dryer or fan heater should not be more than 100-110 0 С, so that the water in the pipe does not boil and break it.

Steel or cast iron pipes can be heated with a blowtorch or gas burner, fire or other sources open fire.

Internal heating plastic pipe

Defrosting sewer pipes, unlike heating or plumbing, has some features. Big PVC diameter pipes allows you to warm them from the inside, and this is a plus. But pipes can be clogged not only with frozen water, but also with debris, and this is a minus. Therefore, the defrosted sewer must not only be warmed up, but also cleaned.

To defrost from the inside of a plastic sewer, they collect the simplest homemade device: to a U-shaped heating element with a bend diameter slightly smaller than the pipe diameter, connect the cable and attach it to the metal plastic pipeØ ½ ‘’ desired length. Most often, the distance to the place of the frozen area is known, so it will not be difficult to calculate the length of the cable and the length of the MP guide tube even visually. After that, connect the device to the network and push it into the sewer, as shown in the figure:

It is necessary to start advancing the heater from the side of the wastewater receiver so that the melt water can drain unhindered. In the same way, it is possible to warm and large-diameter water pipes.

Defrosting of iron pipes

It will be most effective to defrost from steel or cast iron pipes using a special industrial equipment. The principle of operation of this device is as follows: terminals are connected along the edges of the defrosted pipe, through which voltage is supplied, the pipe heats up under the influence of current, and the water thaws.

For example, the following data can be given: a steel pipe with a length of 25 m and Ø< 6 см оттает за 40-60 минут. Если диаметр трубы больше, то клеммы подсоединяют на более коротких участках, при этом нужно следить, чтобы в трубе находилась вода под некоторым давлением – это касается разморозки отопительной и plumbing systems.

Non-traditional technologies

The use of hot water implies one feature of the behavior of ice: an ice plug will not let hot water into the pipe if you simply pour it from above. Therefore, hot water is supplied inside the frozen area using a smaller diameter hose or pipe. For example, when defrosting a straight section of a water pipe Ø 25-30 mm, it will be effective to use a piece of metal-plastic tube Ø 16 mm.

The inner tube must be straight so that it can be pushed into the water supply to the depth of freezing. As soon as the tube hits the ice, hot water can be poured into it. The flow of melt water will pour out through the gap between the pipes, while increasing the gap. The ice will melt from all sides of the cork, making room for further advancement of the metal-plastic tube further. If the frozen area has bends and turns, then a flexible but rigid hose is used instead of a tube.

The garden hose for irrigation is not suitable for defrosting - it will become soft from the high temperature of the water, and it will not be possible to push it further. An oxygen or gas hose is best suited for this purpose, which are connected to cylinders with gas or oxygen. Practice shows that even softened hoses can be pushed up to a distance of 15 meters. It will be a certain difficulty that the hose remains solid.

But so far we have considered mild cases - defrosting in straight and short sections. But what to do if the pipe froze a few tens of meters from the dwelling, and at the same time the route is still difficult - with turns and bends horizontally or vertically?

Such difficult problems are solved by using the Esmarch mug complete with a building hydraulic level and a coil of hard steel wire. You can buy all these components without problems, their cost is low, and the effect of the application is one hundred percent.

The wire and tube of the water level are aligned and connected with their ends on one side of the device. For greater rigidity and patency inside the pipe, the wire is bent at the end, making a small loop. The hydraulic level tube should be 1-2 cm ahead of the wire loop. The other end of the water level tube is connected to Esmarch's mug, and the tube with wire is pushed all the way into the pipeline.

Further, it is necessary to pour water into the water level tube - a kind of hot "enema". Do not forget, if you are thawing a pipe indoors, place some kind of container under it to collect melted water. It is easy to determine the volume of the container - how much hot water you pour into the device, the same amount will pour out of the cold liquid pipe.

As the ice melts, the tube is pushed further - until the ice plug completely disappears. This technology takes a lot of time (1 linear meter per hour), but is very effective and inexpensive.

How to prevent pipes from freezing

In order not to apply all of the above methods, you need to do prevention to prevent freezing of pipes with water:

Pipe laying should be carried out at a depth exceeding the level of soil freezing in the region. Sewerage and water supply systems are recommended to be installed at a depth of ≥ 1200-1400 mm;
It is not recommended to install iron pipes sewerage, heating or water supply in direct proximity to concrete surfaces- ceilings, walls, grillages and foundations, since the thermal conductivity of reinforced concrete is several times higher than that of the soil, and the risk of soil freezing from reinforced concrete objects increases many times over. If this cannot be avoided, then the pipes must be insulated, and it is advisable to do this with solid heat-insulating materials - extruded polystyrene foam, bulk substances;
Additional protection against freezing of pipes will be the laying of a heating self-regulating cable next to the pipes;

It is recommended to insulate the places where pipes are laid through walls or ceilings with soft heat insulators - mounting foam, mineral wool (basalt, fiberglass, stone), ecowool or other loose materials so that there is no contact between pipes and walls;
When arranging the pipeline on your land plot it is recommended to take pipes Ø≥ 50 mm, as small pipes freeze faster;
When choosing synthetic pipes, remember that PPU (foam) pipes can crack after several cycles of freezing and thawing, and PPE (polyethylene) pipes will last as long as you need;
If sewerage, heating and plumbing are not used in winter, then the water from the pipes must be drained.

Since in winter the owners of private housing constructions and apartments are sometimes faced with the need to defrost water pipes, you need to remember that the faster you react and take the necessary steps to thaw the pipeline for any purpose, the smaller section of the route will fail. For defrosting pipelines, all methods are good - both traditional and invented out of vital necessity - your comfortable further living in the house depends on this.

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 of resuming working capacity. water supply network. Do you agree?

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

Our article contains a selection better ways which will help to cope with this trouble on their 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 feature videos detailing recommendations for rescuing water lines from ice captivity.

With a sharp onset of frost, supplemented 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 repaired.

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 she 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 on open area. Experienced craftsmen when examining and probing the accessible part of the route, it is advised to focus on temperature sensations.

Determine the location of the ice block in plastic pipeline when probing it is not difficult: within the stalled 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 available ways at once on several most probable places of freezing.

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 in without fail need to open water faucet or a “reset” after the inlet valve 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 watered in several approaches hot water until the fabric gets wet and the ice underneath starts 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 heat-insulating material. This will prevent the accumulation of pieces of ice moving along the pipeline along with water.

This method is used only indoors and when open method pipeline laying. And this technology is suitable only for steel pipes wires. 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 polymer materials.

Enhance the effect while reducing heat loss, the construction of an improvised protective casing around the heated area helps. 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

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

The need to defrost pipes

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

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

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that defrosting pipes that are laid in accessible places does not cause any particular difficulties (for example, they just need to be warmed up using an ordinary household hair dryer), but with pipe defrosting at underground laying some difficulties may arise. Pretty good if the pipes are frozen at the point of entry, as you can simply heat the walls. But often the freezing point is a few meters from the building.

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

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

They are not destroyed by freezing and are not subject to corrosion processes. Polyethylene, by its properties, does not act as a conductor electric current, and this indicates that it is impossible to defrost using welding machine. Removing ice plugs with a steel rod is also fraught with damage to the pipe.

Traditional pipe defrosting methods

To date, there are a lot of ways to defrost, so it does not great work the process of removing ice from sewer or water pipes.

outdoor heating

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

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

For metal pipes apply the method of using open flames through equipment such as gas burners, blowtorches, wood, as well as any flame sources with a long burning time. From such influences, plastic can simply melt.

Internal heating

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

Before plastic pipes are thawed from the inside, it is necessary to make not very complex device: on a board with rounded edges, fix the U-shaped heating element. At the same time, it is required that the bend protrude beyond the front edge of the plank, other parts of the heating element should not protrude beyond it so that there is no contact with the walls of the heater pipe.

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

From the side of the wastewater receivers, the entire structure is thrust in, because the sewerage slope is made in this direction, there is simply nowhere for the melted water to drain from above. At the same time, the heating element is turned on in the network only after it is placed inside the pipe, and with each movement, as the plugs melt, it turns off, respectively.

Machine for metal pipes

by the most effective tool water pipe deicer is an industrial pipe defrosting machine. But such a device is intended only for metal pipes, for plastic pipes this technique does not apply. The principle of operation of the device is quite simple and understandable. Terminals are attached to the edges of the required section of the pipe that needs to be thawed, then current is applied. After that, the pipe heats up and begins to thaw the frozen place.

When using an apparatus for defrosting metal pipes, the following data should be analyzed: a pipe up to 23 meters long and up to 6 centimeters in diameter is thawed for up to 60 minutes. With a larger pipe diameter, it is necessary to install the terminals to a shorter length, and especially in the area of various tie-ins and measuring instruments. When defrosting water pipes or sewer pipes, you need to have water pressure in the system.

Unconventional ways to defrost pipes

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

Hot water

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

To start metal-plastic pipe we straighten it, and then we slide it into the frozen pipe until it touches the ice. After that, hot water is supplied through the pipe to the place of freezing. The thawed water will pour out through the gap between the metal-plastic pipe and the water pipe. If your water supply is limited, then you can use the thawed water in the second circle, that is, heat it up and send it back to the freezing point.

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

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

Esmarch's irrigator

And now it’s worth figuring out how to unfreeze the pipe if ice has accumulated tens of meters from your house, and the pipeline itself has turns and bends. Still, there is an economical and effective way: for such purposes, you will need a set of building hydraulic levels, Esmarch's mug (banal enema) and hardened steel wire. Such a set has a low cost, and many of all its components are in the household.

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

Due to the fact that the hydraulic level tube has a small diameter and low weight, it moves quite easily through the pipeline, while overcoming all the turns quite simply. After that, pour hot water, making an "enema" frozen plumbing. Under the water pipe to collect thawed water, it is necessary to substitute a container, because how much hot water is poured in, the same amount will be poured out cold.

Then we push the wire with the hydraulic level tube gradually as the ice melts. This method of defrosting pipes is very long, that is, only up to one meter of the pipeline can be thawed per hour. This means that during the working time it is possible to defrost from ice 5-7 meters of the pipe.

Current use

Consider the following situation, when you have a frozen polyethylene water pipe 50 meters long, 20 millimeters in diameter, and the laying depth is up to 80 centimeters. It should be noted that such a depth for laying a water pipe is insufficient, so the water pipe froze. Another distinguishing feature is that the water supply is located under the roadway. In this case, utilities usually advise you to wait until the thaw comes, but still there is a way when you can do without it.

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

We warn you that when using this method of self-defrosting pipes, you need to be extra careful, because work is being done using high voltage. And now you need to prepare all this for thawing pipes. It is necessary to remove the outer insulation from a small section of the wire, divide it into two wires, remove the insulation from one of them, and gently bend the remaining wire in the insulation into opposite side along the pipeline. When doing this, care must be taken not to damage the insulation.

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

And on the other end of the wire we connect the “unit” and the plug (such a device is popularly called the “bulbulator”). If it is placed in water and connected to the mains, then when the current passes through the water, a corresponding reaction occurs, in which a large release of heat occurs. In this case, such a device is ideal, because only water is heated, and the wires themselves remain cold, that is, plastic pipes do not even accidentally get burned.

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

We continue to defrost the pipe on our own. The wire must be pushed gently into the pipe so that it does not bend. Therefore, it is necessary to take a wire of a larger cross section. When the wire rests against the ice plug, you must turn on the “bulbulator” and wait one or two minutes. After that, you need to try to push the wire further, because the ice began to melt.

When about a meter of the pipe is defrosted, the melt water must be blown out with a compressor, this is necessary to reduce the volume of heated water and so that the water supply system does not freeze again in already thawed areas. If there is special equipment, then it is advisable to weld a crane onto the pipe. When water flows through the pipe, the wire is not pulled out of it, but the tap is closed, so the place where the defrosting procedure is carried out will not be flooded.

How to prevent pipes from freezing

You have already figured out how to deal with ice in water pipes. But you can prevent it if you try. In order not to freeze plastic pipes, you must remember:

Pipes should be laid at a depth that exceeds the freezing level of the soil in your area. It is desirable to lay sewer and water pipes at a depth of at least 120-140 centimeters.
No need to lay sewer and water pipes near reinforced concrete structures(beams, supports, grillage, foundation) due to the fact that the thermal conductivity of concrete is much greater than the thermal conductivity of the soil, that is, the risk of soil freezing from the side of reinforced concrete structures increases. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pipes (for example, place slabs of special extruded polystyrene foam between reinforced concrete structures and the pipeline).
If finances allow, then a heating cable should be laid next to the pipeline. The production of self-regulating heating cables, which are switched on only when necessary, has already been mastered.
It is advisable to insulate the places where pipelines pass through the walls of structures and buildings with mineral wool, foam and glass wool to avoid direct contact of the building walls with the pipe walls.
When arranging for suburban area plumbing, it is best to use pipes that have a diameter of at least 50 millimeters, because pipes of a smaller diameter are more prone to freezing.
Choosing between a variety of taps polymer pipes you need to know that polypropylene pipes can burst after 2-3 defrosting, and polyethylene pipes perfectly tolerate the repeated process of defrosting and freezing.
If in winter the sewerage and water pipes are not regularly used, then the best option would be to completely drain the water from the system.

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

There are both external and internal methods of influencing a frozen area. Naturally, the efficiency and laboriousness of each of the methods is different, as well as the time to achieve positive result. When preparing for defrosting plastic pipes, one should be prepared for the fact that the length of the frozen area inside the building, as a rule, is no more than 3-5 m, and underground can reach more than 20-30 m.

How to defrost a plastic water pipe underground? You can also use the hot water method to defrost underground plumbing. Only for its implementation in field conditions, you will probably need a longer tube.

More effective option How to warm a plastic pipe in the ground is heating water to a state of steam and supplying it under pressure to the place of freezing. To heat the liquid, you need to use a sealed vessel with a nozzle at the top. A flexible and durable oxygen hose or a hydraulic level tube is suitable as a supply tube.

How to warm up a plastic pipe of an internal polymeric water supply system? From the outside, it may seem surprising that the pipes inside the room froze. The situation might look like this. A branch of a water supply without sufficient thermal insulation passes inside an unheated room and, with a sharp, significant drop in temperature, it froze. It can also happen at the entrance of the pipeline to the house if the pipeline is not insulated and comes into contact with concrete or brick structures foundation or walls.

We note right away that most of the methods for heating steel pipes cannot be used. Below we will show how to defrost water in a plastic pipe without traditional torches and a welding machine.
In our arsenal of tools, there are several answers to how to defrost a plastic water pipe. But first you need to determine the place with the formed ice plug and, preferably, its length.

If the frozen area does not have a collapsible junction, a tap, or it is far away, you can try to apply the external exposure method by pouring hot water on the pipe. In general, this method of defrosting plastic water pipes is ineffective due to the low thermal conductivity of the pipeline itself, but can help with its small diameter and a small frozen area.

The other method will also require hot water. Its essence is to supply the coolant inside, directly to the place of freezing. Implementation will require flexible pipes of small diameter, a funnel and a container for collecting thawed water. If the area to be defrosted is without bends, a metal-plastic pipe can be used. The step-by-step process of how to defrost a plastic pipe in the ground is as follows:

to enter the pipeline, you can use a crane, if it is not there, we disassemble the nearest junction;
next to it we put a container for collecting water;
we place the tube inside the frozen pipeline;
we move it to the place of the ice plug;
pour hot water through the funnel;
as it thaws, the water will come out, and the pipe must be pushed further.

This method is more effective than the previous one, but for its successful implementation you need to have constant access to hot water.
If water froze in a plastic pipe, what should I do? You can try to warm it up with a self-heating cable. With any pipe diameter, spiral winding will eventually give desired effect. And taking into account the fact that this material can be purchased both in a bay and as a finished product with a fork, the laboriousness of the process is minimal.

Heating plastic pipe for sewerage

How to defrost sewer plastic pipe? There is an opinion that a properly installed gravity sewer pipe, even without thermal insulation, cannot freeze due to its slope, large diameter and elevated drain temperature. And if this happens, it should be checked for blockages, damage due to subsidence of the soil, etc.

Fundamentally, how to warm up a frozen plastic sewer pipe is not much different from defrosting a water pipe. Here, external heating is used with the opening of the trench, electric heating pipes and subsequent laying of a heat insulator. The most commonly used method is to heat the liquid inside the system. Why assemble a device from a flexible metal-plastic pipe and a water-heating heating element.

How to heat a plastic pipe with electricity

Another means of heating a plastic pipe underground is electricity. This original method at the same time simple, effective and extremely dangerous, because as a result of carelessness, you can cause a short circuit and get an electric shock. When carrying out preparatory and basic work, do not forget about the means personal protection and compliance with safety regulations. The material will require a copper two-wire wire, as well as a compressor or pump for pumping out the thawed liquid.

First you need to prepare the wire:

from a segment of 70-100 mm we remove the upper insulator;
we bend one of the internal wiring at the place where the insulation is cut and press it to the main wire;
completely clean the second posting;
we also press it to the main wire and at the very edge, on top of the first we make 2-3 tight turns, cut off the excess;
retreating from the created turns, we expose the pressed first wire and also make several turns in parallel, without touching the turns of the second wire;
install an electrical plug on the other end of the wire.

In this design, it is important to ensure the immobility of the bare wires. During its operation, the wire is inserted into the pipe to the stop with a frozen section and electricity is supplied, under the influence of which the ice quickly melts. As you move, the thawed water must be removed, and the wire should be pushed further.

But what if none of the suggested methods work for you? What to do with frozen water in a plastic pipe? The answer is simple. Call a team of specialists who, with the help of industrial steam generator restore the operability of the pipeline, regardless of its purpose.