How to warm the frozen water supply

The water supply system, as a rule, should be laid outside the freezing zone or insulated with special materials. But in practice, some sections of the pipeline remain unprotected from exposure to freezing temperatures and with the arrival of cold weather the water in them freezes. To decide how to warm the frozen water supply, you can apply one of several methods that are used in this situation.

The use of boiling water

If the water pipe is located in an open space, for defrosting it, you can use hot water, brought to a boiling state. This applies to pipes located near the house, in the garage or in the summer kitchen, which does not have a heating system.

• The water is heated to boiling water, poured into a kettle or other container, after which it is poured directly onto the section of pipe that needs to be defrosted.
• The process of warming the plumbing will be more effective if before using hot water a pipe in a certain place is wrapped with as much fabric as possible. This move will allow the water in the fibers of the material to maintain heat for a longer time, so the pipe will defrost more quickly.

If the section of the pipe to be heated is in the thick of the ground, the work on heating can be delayed for a long time. In this case, you must either be patient or use another faster method.

Use hair dryer

If the above method did not come up and the question is how to warm the frozen water supply, then you can try to do this with the help of a building hairdryer, which is distinguished by its capacity. If there is none, you can use an ordinary hair dryer or a fan heater, which is present in many homes.

• This method is no less simple than the previous one. Just to achieve a positive result, it is necessary to apply sufficient time with the hot air of the apparatus to the problem area of ​​the pipe.
• In order not to waste time and speed up the defrosting process, it is advisable to build a small hut over a certain installation site of the water supply system. This structure will keep the warm air within its shape. Due to this, the body of the pipe is likely to warm up and the ice block will thaw.
• Water tends to freeze in the first place on the sections of the water supply system on which the fittings are located. Therefore, due attention during heating should be given to the knees, tees and other places of the pipeline, where water changes direction.

When applying this method, you need to take into account the material of the pipeline. If it is made of plastic, you need to monitor the temperature of the air that affects the surface of the pipe. At high temperatures, the plastic may melt, so you need to work carefully.

Electric shock

The following methods are based on the action of electric current. With their help, you can melt the ice in a metal water pipe, and in plastic.

• To warm the water pipe made of metal, you can use a transformer for welding. Wires with "+" and "-" are mounted on opposite ends of the frozen pipe and a large current is applied to them. This method is suitable for thawing ice in a metal pipe. For defrosting plumbing, made of plastic, this method is not suitable.
• In the case of a plastic pipe, copper wires of 2.5 mm are used.². First you need to make a special product from the wire. Insulation is removed from one side of the cable, and then one of the wires is exposed. After that, the cleaned wire is wound several times (3–5 turns) around the non-stripped wire and wound at the bare base. Surplus wires need to be cut off. On the other hand, wires attach the plug to the electrical outlet. One end of the wire with spirals is inserted into the water supply system, while the coils should be in contact with ice, and the plug is inserted into the socket.

To avoid short-circuiting in the network, care must be taken to ensure that unprotected parts of the wires do not touch.

Tool operation based on water backwater

If the aqueduct has a large number of turns, then to defrost it, you can use a homemade tool, the design of which includes the Esmarch circle, hydro-level tube and wire.

• At the beginning of the manufacture of the instrument, the tube is connected to the wire with electrical tape (tape may also come up). In this case, the wire should be shorter than the tube.
• The product is put into a pipe and hot water is supplied to it, which must reach the ice jam. The ice will gradually thaw, and the water will need to be removed. On the next call, you need to push the tube further and repeat the operation.
• Such work is progressing rather slowly, but since the manufacture of the tool does not require much effort, this method is sufficiently demanded.

Professional assistance

If the situation is such that the frozen water supply system cannot be heated on its own, you can resort to the help of a specialist. With the help of a hydrodynamic unit, he will be able to quickly cope with the problem. During the operation, boiling water will be supplied, which will defrost the water supply in a short time.

If you do not want to spend time and energy on heating the water supply system in the winter, then it is better to take care that the water reaches the sampling point throughout the year.

Video

This video describes how to defrost a water pipe with steam: