how do pipes not freeze in Winter?

[ShawnD1]

when it snows, and the ground is all frozen, how do pipes not freeze? pipes like the water pipes to houses and sewage pipes out of houses.

[Tick]

By local code they are required to be below the frost line. Depending on where you live and where the frost line is would determin the depth.

Tick

[j.m@talk]

Round my way it's a yard, which is a lot of digging if you don't happen to have a mole! :eek:

[gjimene2]

like Tick said, below the frost line :)

[ukulele]

Originally posted by ShawnD1
when it snows, and the ground is all frozen, how do pipes not freeze? pipes like the water pipes to houses and sewage pipes out of houses.

Sometimes they do, but not around here. :)

[sm8000]

I remember when I was young and living in Ontario, Canada (in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto) and for Christmas my family packed up and drove up to Ottawa to stay with relatives. When we got back a few days later we opened the front door and heard the sound of running water, at high pressure and velocity. One of the pipes in the laundry room had burst and the whole bottom floor of the house was flooded. That kinda sucked.

[Billforce]

One winter ten years ago I lived in southern Oregon, USA. The temp. dropped to 24 deg. below ¨0¨F. My water, well and sewer line all froze solid. Had to thaw out all the pipes with a torch, even my sewer drain line. Cold spell lasted for 5 days, all I did was thaw pipes and place electric heating tapes around all the exposed pipes. That´s why I now live in South America where the coldest ever recorded temp. was 45 deg F. Shirtsleeve weather year around, never cold, never hot.


billforce

[mousepotato2]

...in places where they can..."below frost line" would make sense....but what about Alaska???...permafrost is the next level
below "usable" ground...and then there's Florida...my state:) ..we have wells and above ground captive air tanks and softners...carbon tanks & moble homes all over....the pipeing is above ground in many places..we rarely get freezing temps but when we do we run the water slowly...moveing water won't usualy freeze unless it's VERY cold...and if it's moveing fast enough it still won't freeze....I've caught Salmon in the north Pacific that frosted on the outside because the water was at freezing and the outside temp was about 20...so the water on them froze even though they were flopping...(untill they stopped a second and froze to the rocks...lol)....basic Physics...
...there isn't ROOM here to give details & I'm too tired...lol

...look at the pic....friction=heat...that's why astroids flame up when they hit air....and why a comets tail will always point away from the sun.....solar energy cauzes a "mist" tail from the energy the sun hits it with....even millions of miles away....

...I digress.....

*edit*...I can't spell either...lol

[j.m@talk]

Originally posted by Tick
By local code they are required to be below the frost line. Depending on where you live and where the frost line is would determin the depth.

Tick

How do they get the frost to stick to the code then? :confused:

;)

[Billforce]

HUM! Let´s see if I understand, my sewer drain pipes are under the house in a crawl space, fact is they froze. The code calls for installation below frost line (1 meter) here? Maybe I could dig a large hole, lower the house 1 meter+ to get below the frost line but dam, it would sure be hard to service.:r :r

billforce

[j.m@talk]

Originally posted by Billforce
HUM! Let´s see if I understand, my sewer drain pipes are under the house in a crawl space, fact is they froze. The code calls for installation below frost line (1 meter) here? Maybe I could dig a large hole, lower the house 1 meter+ to get below the frost line but dam, it would sure be hard to service.:r :r

billforce

Eat more curry! ;)

Problem solved.......................... j.m@masterplumber.com :rolleyes:

[gjimene2]

bill, looks to me that you don't have much inclination to your sewer pipes, so they always have some water in them. Therefore is that water freeze, and as every run of water you make, a small portion freezes over it (if it's cold water, or lukewarm water, as it will cool before hitting the frozen water) it will start to sheet ice inside the pipes and clog them :eek::eek: I've worked with them :)

or unless you had a clogg and the sh|t froze, lol.

But honestly, if yuo don't have inclination on your sewer pipes (underneat the house) it will freeze. Otherwise, ony water lines will need insulation or to be buried underground atleast four inches :)

[Billforce]

Plenty of incline (actually decline), at 24 below 0 the water just doesnt run fast enough to keep from freezing a little at a time until it´s clogged.
Better than one student from the University. Cold occured during holidays, school out. He went home for Xmas. Had a Boa Constrictor in a cage, left a rat in the cage for the snake to eat.
When he got back to his apt., his water bed was frozen solid, the snake went dormant due to cold and the rat ate the snake.:r :r :r