Keeping Water Pipes from Freezing?

Posted in keeping pipes from freezing | 13 Comments »

13 Responses

  1. Mulereiner # Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 9:38 am

    What part of the pipe is freezing, if its the part in the ground, then you really need to have that buried at least 36in deep to prevent that.

    If its the part sticking up, my barn owner takes a metal 55 gal drum with both ends cut out, puts that around the spicket and then fills it with horse manure and we never have a problem. But his drain back into the ground also.

    If its your hose, then unhook the hose and just snake it empty after each use. I would never leave a hose on drip, that could cost you so much money in frozen pipes and make you pass out with that bill. Always unhook your hose.
    References :

  2. Eric Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 9:49 am

    If the waterline is buried at least 3′ below the ground, which is usually below the frost line you can use what’s called a frost free hydrant. The valve itself is underground with the handle on top. Works great.

    Check it. http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex641?opendocument
    References :

  3. DeeDee Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 10:36 am

    if you had a freeze proof hydrant there wouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully the water pipes are buried below freeze level. The freeze proof hydrant I have cost about $30.00 and we installed it ourselves, and it works very well.
    References :

  4. mitch stein Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 11:19 am

    At homedepot (or lowes) they sell a device just for this situation, basically it is an electric wire that gets warm, you simply wrap it around the pipe, plug it in and set the temp. I saw a kit that handle up to a 100 foot pipe. I assume you can add two or three maybe more if you need more distance.

    Only other thing you can is let the facet run slightly all winter..
    References :
    http://www.statefarm.com/learning/loss_prevent/learning_lossprevention_frozpipes.asp

  5. workin man Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 11:43 am

    I know that they sell a heated wire that you can wrap around the pipe and it never gets quite hot enogh to cause damage, or drain your energy bill, but it will keep it from freezing.

    I know they sell this at the Home Depot.

    What I did was just take some heating pads I found at a garage sale, hard wired them together (this is just an advanced option), and wraped them around my pipes at the lowest level, and duct taped it in place. I put the switch somewhere more convienent than under the house (this is why I hard-wired thme in, but you can just as easily run an extention cord somewhere and plug it in when needed).

    this has done the trick for me for the past 5 icy cold Detroit winters.
    References :

  6. timothy h Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 11:55 am

    If you have electricity, you can buy electrified pipe tape, it’s not too expensive. You simply wrap it around the pipe, plug it in and it keeps the pipes warm and prevents freezing, if you don’t have electricity, you can buy pipe blanket, it’s a Styrofoam sleeve that you slip on the pipe and tape it closed, it’s used in house trailers and motor homes. It doesn’t work as well as the tape, but it will help.
    References :

  7. mike093068 Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    Insulation and good old heat tape work for me, and we get some days -20 below here
    The hose you use in the barn I set up a pully in the rafters to raise the hose up so the water runs out and doesnt freeze in the hose.
    References :

  8. BLUE M Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    Is it freezing underground?
    If it is freezing at shut off you can rap it in pipe insulators
    from Home depot or lowe’s.
    Do you have a water heater in your tubs? And after using the hose make sure you stritch it out straight and down hill so hose wont be full of frozen water. Talk to the plumbing section at Home depot or lowe’s. They do also have pipe heaters that go on one end of pipe that keep water from freezing in pipes. Sorry spelling is bad on meds for sever kidney infection. Good luck………………..
    References :

  9. Kayla L Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    heat tape to wrap around the exposed pipe, i have also heard of cutting a barrel and putting it around the pipe and filling it will horse manure too
    References :

  10. ravenhk Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    How making a visit to home depot.

    I would wrap the pipes, and bury them in the ground and then leave them dripping.

    I lived up in Tennessee in the mountains and this is what we done that seemed to work pretty good, but I live in Florida now and the only thing that I do is clean my watering out now because I have and automatic water er
    References :
    horse owner for 22 years and I have 7 horses

  11. cnsdubie Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    If the line is freezing underground, the only solution would be to dig it up and put the line deeper, below the frost line. Your local extension agent should be able to give you a recommendation as to how deep.

    We are just now running the waterline out to the barn, about 200 feet of line. So here’s my pointers for a happy water winter.

    1. Dig the trench a foot below the "frost line" for your area.

    2. Run TWO lines from your source to the barn. One "live" that you’ll hook up to your main source and to the barn fixtures, and one "dummy" that you will cap on both ends, and lay alongside the live line. Take a plastic loop fastener and attach it to both ends. It will basically just lay there until you may need it some day. Why? Pipe is CHEAP. Digging line is HARD. 10 or more years down the road, if a leak springs up somewhere in between, we dig down at both ends, hook up the new line and voila.

    3. Use a "frost free" fixture in the barn, make sure it’s installed correctly. Go pick up a ratty old comforter at the thrift store and a plastic trash can. Wrap and cover the fixture when the temperature drops, or use a heat tape.

    4. If you pipe from stall to stall, be sure it’s installed on an angle and leave individual valves open in the cold. (Cut off the water at the main frost free spigot in the barn and let it drain.)
    References :

  12. Starlight 1 Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    We wrap our above ground faucets with heat tape and keep that plugged in all winter, and it works just fine. For the troughs, we use heated floats to keep the water open for drinking.

    I don’t recommend leaving ANY hose on drip, because the water can still freeze inside the hose in really cold weather. Hoses should be drained after each use, and kept in a warm place- a garage or heated crawlspace works well, as does a basement. Hoses left on drip are a huge water waster, and they can create safety hazards for the horses if they drain around a water trough.

    Good luck, I hope this helps.
    References :
    Horse owner ( we have 11 of them on the farm at the moment) horse professional.

  13. where_r_my_peeps Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    i would have the hose drip
    References :

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