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How to defrost a water pipe - 11 simple and effective ways to deal with ice

With the onset of winter and the onset of severe prolonged frosts, the risk of such an unpleasant phenomenon as freezing of water in the pipelines of water heating, cold and hot water supply or in the domestic sewerage system increases significantly.

This problem is especially relevant for residents of private houses, since their communications are less protected from frost, but, despite this, not every owner of suburban housing knows how to defrost a pipe underground, inside walls or other hidden cavities, without having to her approach and direct access.

For those who are not in the know, I must remind you that the resulting ice plug leads to a complete blockage of the internal lumen of the pipe, and thereby prevents the passage and free circulation of fluid. However, the main danger of this phenomenon lies in the fact that during the formation of ice, in the process of crystallization, water slightly increases in volume, which, in conditions of limited space, often leads to ruptures and cracks in the outer walls of pipelines.

How to prevent pipes from freezing

The preventive solution to this problem is to initially prevent the formation of ice plugs throughout the water pipelines. To do this, during the laying and installation of utilities, I advise you not to ignore the requirements of the Building Regulations and Rules, and follow the elementary tips and recommendations set out in the regulatory and technical documents and prompted by experienced builders.

1. The minimum depth for laying a water or sewer pipeline should be located below the greatest depth of soil freezing for your region, in accordance with the requirements of SNiP II-G.3-62 “Water supply. Design standards”;

1. When laying outdoor or underground utilities, water pipes with a diameter of 48 mm or more should be usedbecause thinner pipes are subject to rapid freezing throughout their entire thickness;
2. If possible, I advise using pipes and fittings made of polymeric materials (polyethylene, polypropylene) for these purposes, since they are more elastic, which allows them to stretch slightly in case of deformation, and in addition, these materials have a lower thermal conductivity;
3. Also, I do not recommend laying a pipeline in the ground, close to brick and monolithic building structures, since their thermal conductivity is much higher than the thermal conductivity of dry soil;

1. To protect external and underground pipelines from the cold, it is necessary to use heat-insulating sleeves or segmental linings made of polypropylene foam, polyurethane foam or pressed mineral wool, and in those places where the pipe passes through a concrete foundation or brick wall, it is necessary to impose a double layer of heat-insulating material on it;
2. In unheated private houses of seasonal residence, it is impossible to leave water for the winter inside pipelines and other communications, therefore, with the onset of the first cold weather, it must be completely drained.

If these measures were not enough, or they were taken out of time, and the water in the pipes still froze, in order to minimize the likelihood of unpleasant consequences in the form of burst pipes, shut-off valves or fittings, then the reader will be offered a simple instruction in which I offer a few simple ways to eliminate ice plugs in pipes with water.

In order to guarantee frost protection, in regions with cold climates, I advise the use of an electric heating cable, which must be laid along the entire length along the pipe and stop valves, under the thermal insulation lining.

How to defrost an open pipeline

If the frozen section of the water pipeline is located in an open area, in a zone of direct reach, the solution to the problem of thawing an ice plug is greatly simplified, since external heating of the pipe can be used for this.

As a heat source for external heating of metal-plastic, polyethylene or polypropylene pipes, it is allowed to use only electric heating devices, for example, a building or household hair dryer, an electric heating pad or a heating cable. To warm up bare metal pipes without external heat and waterproofing, in addition to the devices presented, you can also use an open flame from gas burner, blowtorch or homemade makeshift torch.

1. First of all, you need to determine the location of the icy area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe water supply, and open the tap of the nearest plumbing fixture halfway to ensure the free discharge of thawed water;

1. Before defrosting the heating pipes, you need to turn off the heating boiler, make sure that there is no water pressure in the system, start circulation pump and slightly open the tap for draining the coolant from the heating circuit;
2. Connect a heating device to the network, or light a gas burner flame, and from a safe distance begin to warm the frozen section of the pipe, gradually moving the tool from the drain tap towards the supply riser;

1. When using an electric heating pad or heating cable, wrap it evenly around the frozen section of the pipe and plug it into the network. To enhance the effect, I advise you to wrap a thick fabric or an old blanket over it;
2. After some time, as the temperature rises, a thin stream of water will appear from the half-open tap, which indicates a gradual thawing of ice, and after the pressure increases sharply, you can turn off the heating devices.

If the icy area is located in the apartment, you can use hot water to warm it up, pouring water on a pipe or battery from a kettle, after wrapping it with a thick cloth, and substituting a wide bowl or basin under it. Also in the house, instead of a hair dryer, you can use a medical lamp with a deflector, or a household electric heater.

How to remove an ice blockage in the sewer

In private houses permanent residence, freezing sewer pipes- the phenomenon is quite rare, because with the continuous use of sewage, a positive temperature is naturally maintained in the drain system, due to the own heat of the wastewater.

However, if for some reason this nevertheless happened, then I will talk about how to defrost a sewer pipe in a private house using simple and affordable, but at the same time effective methods.

1. In cases where the drain collector lies at a shallow depth, if conditions on the ground allow personal plot, over the alleged place of freezing of the soil, you need to light a fire, and keep the fire going until this piece of land is completely warmed up;
2. If the ice plug is located near a sink or toilet drain, I recommend pouring a saturated hot solution down the drain table salt(1 kg of salt per 10 liters of water). The resulting brine has enough low temperature melting (below -22°C), so the ice, upon contact with it, reacts and begins to actively melt;

1. If the plug is located far away, you can take a plumbing cable and tape a flexible rubber hose to it with electrical tape in several places. After that, bring the free end of the cable with the hose into the sewer pipe until it hits the ice blockage, and then, using a wide funnel, pour hot salt water into the hose;
2. With a significant removal of the septic tank from the house, an ice plug can form at the end of the drain manifold. In this case, you need to open the inspection hatch of the receiving chamber of the septic tank, insert a flexible rubber hose all the way into the sewer pipe, and supply water from the hot water supply system to it until the ice is completely melted.

If a piece of electric heating cable of sufficient length remains in the house, it must, as far as possible, be brought into the drain hole of the sink or toilet bowl and connected to the mains (the drain system must be filled with water).

Defrosting hidden plastic pipes

Currently, pipes made of polymeric materials (polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, metal-plastic) are widely used for supplying cold water to the house from a well or a centralized water supply, as well as to perform intra-house wiring. Freezing of intra-apartment communications is rare, however, if a pipe with water is laid underground, laid inside a wall, or passes through an uninsulated underground space, upon the onset of prolonged severe frosts she might freeze.

The methods described above will not work in this case, so next I will tell you how to defrost polypropylene pipes in the event that they are not in sight, and there is no direct access to them.

1. First of all, you need to purchase a bay of a two-core electric cable of sufficient length, with monolithic copper conductors. At one time I used a power installation cable NYM 2x1.5 mm² for these purposes, costing 20-35 rubles / m.p., but you can take its domestic analogue VVG 2x1.5 mm², the price of which is 16-25 rubles per linear meter;

1. One of the free ends of the cable must be cut as shown in the figure below. On a section 80-100 mm long, you need to completely remove the top insulation, then completely strip one copper core. Strip the second core to half, bend it back, and make a few turns of the bare wire around;
2. Also turn the completely stripped core back, and, trying not to damage the insulation, wind it with several turns at the very end of the cable;

1. Lead the prepared end of the cable into plastic pipe, and push it forward until it hits the ice plug. After that, connect the free end of the cable to the electrical network;
2. When passing electric current between two copper windings at the end of the cable through the water in the pipe, it will begin to heat up and gradually melt the ice;
3. At the same time, the shut-off valve at the entrance to the house must be kept half-open, and a bucket or bowl should be placed under the free end of the pipe, because after a while thawed water will begin to flow out of it.

Once again, I want to remind you that this method can only be used on plastic pipelines with plastic valves, because even if a steel pipe or metal fitting is installed in some area, this can lead to a short circuit.

Defrosting a hidden metal pipeline

Despite the widespread use in modern construction polymer materials, metal pipes are currently no less popular. Since the technology described in the previous section cannot be used to thaw metal pipes, I invite the reader to familiarize themselves with two more similar methods that can be used to thaw metal utilities hidden underground or in a wall.

1. The first of these methods resembles the previous one, however, instead of an electric cable, in this case a thin flexible hose is used, into which hot water or saline is supplied directly to the place where the ice plug forms;

1. In order for the hose not to break, not get stuck or bend as it moves inside the pipe, it must be wrapped with electrical tape to a thin but rigid steel wire in several places, approximately every 600-800 mm, and so that the wire does not cling to bends and turns , it needs to be bent with a small hook inside the hose;
2. After one end of the hose reaches the ice plug, any suitable container should be attached to the other end, preferably with a tap, into which brine or clean hot water should be gradually poured;
3. As a container for water, I advise you to use Esmarch's medical mug, or, more simply, a regular enema. All other actions must be performed similarly to the previous method using an electrical cable;

The second method, in my opinion, is much simpler, since it does not require partial disassembly of the pipeline and dismantling of the shut-off valves with your own hands, moreover, it can be performed without further human intervention, but it is quite energy-intensive, and besides, a welding machine is required for operation.

1. First of all, you need to approximately determine the section of the pipe on which the ice jam has formed, after which, on both sides of this section, remove a small part of the thermal insulation and clean the metal of the pipe to a shine;

1. Connect the electrical cables connected to the secondary winding of the welding transformer to the cleaned places, while it is important to ensure a high-quality electrical connection;
2. Set the welding machine to the minimum value of the working current, and connect it to the mains. When passing low voltage with high current through metal pipes, they will begin to heat up along the entire length of the connected section, which will lead to gradual thawing of ice;
3. Heating can take up to several hours, and during this time it is important that the water tap of the nearest plumbing fixture is open in the house.

When working with a welding machine, it should be borne in mind that it is allowed to connect and disconnect the electric cables of the secondary winding to the pipe only when the transformer is turned off, otherwise, at the moment of breaking the circuit, electric arc, which can cause burns to hands and eyes, and even burn through the walls of a steel pipe.

Conclusion

Summing up, from my own experience, I can say that each of the methods described here, in one case or another, is quite effective, however, in any case, you need to understand that the process of defrosting pipes can take a lot of time and effort. Therefore, I believe that it is always better to warn any problem in advance than later in winter, suddenly being left for an indefinite period without water supply, heating or sewerage.

In more detail, all the described pipe defrosting methods can be viewed in the attached video in this article, and if the reader has questions after watching, I will always be happy to answer them in the comments below.

July 22, 2016

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This article will talk about what to do when water froze in a plastic pipe - how and why freezing occurs and how to deal with it.

Recently, plastic pipes are becoming more common not only in the installation of water pipes in apartments, but also in the installation of water pipes and laying water networks due to a number of advantages:

• Attractive appearance;
• Resistance to corrosion;
• Ease of installation with a special soldering iron;
• They do not conduct electric current, which in particular does not allow you to unwind the meter by installing grounding on them, etc.

However, if installed incorrectly, plastic pipes freeze in the same way. In the case of a pipe in the basement or entrance, it is quite easy to warm it up, but what to do when water freezes in plastic pipes laid underground, where a welding machine or other similar equipment is unusable?

Causes of freezing pipes and its prevention

The main cause of freezing of water pipes in the ground is their laying at an insufficient depth, less than the depth at which the soil freezes.

Therefore, if the pipes are laid at this depth, they will freeze every year during the cold winter.

Important: you can find out the depth of freezing in your area using the map.

The exception is main water pipelines with large pipe diameters. Water is constantly moving in them, so they can be laid to a shallower depth, and in the case of plastic water pipes with a diameter of 20-32 mm, the laying depth should exceed the freezing depth.

Important: if it is not possible to lay plastic water pipes to a great depth, when laying the water supply, the heating system should also be laid.

In case of periodic freezing of water pipes, in order to avoid stagnation and freezing of water, it is recommended to leave the water turned on overnight. At the same time, the pressure power directly affects the likelihood that the pipes will not freeze.

Important: Although a higher pressure will result in higher water charges, too little pressure can also cause sewer pipes to freeze.

Methods for heating pipes

In the case when plastic pipes are frozen, there are several options for warming them up:

1. Using hot water (boiling water). The pipes are wrapped with foam rubber or rags and periodically poured with boiling water.
   This method is the most affordable, but can only be used indoors - if a metal-plastic pipe is frozen underground, it can be poured with boiling water for 10 hours.
2. With hot air, the source of which can be a building hair dryer, various heaters equipped with fans ("dukes") or without them.
   This method requires from two to ten hours and has a number of disadvantages:

• Incorrectly calculated heating can melt pipes;
• This method is not effective enough, since the heat is mainly spent for other purposes.

1. Due to thermal conductivity: wrap the pipe in a spiral with wires used in underfloor heating systems, and then connect the wires to the network.
   If the plastic pipe is frozen, it may take up to 3 hours to warm it up. This method is not suitable for heating pipes underground, in addition, wires are sold in sets or coils, which makes this method quite expensive.
2. Warming from the inside by melting the ice plug hot water.
   This requires ensuring a good entrance to the pipe through which water will be delivered to the plug:

• Hot water can be supplied into the pipe either under pressure or using a device like a boiler;
• Such methods can only be used on a flat area and take a lot of time (up to 3 days).

Self-heating plastic plumbing

In the case when the metal-plastic pipe is frozen underground, and there are turns in the frozen section, the methods of heating the metal pipes do not help, and breaking through the ice with wire is excluded, since the size of the frozen section of the pipe is unknown and another method is needed.

For such situations, there folk way its heating with the help of a welding machine connected at different ends of the pipe.

In addition, plastic plumbing is heated with hot water, which must be supplied directly to the gate, where water cannot flow by gravity. In this case, you have to either pour hot water into the pipe, or heat it directly inside the pipe.

Consider briefly the method with pouring hot water:

• You can warm the water supply in the house with a fairly rigid hose or a metal-plastic pipe of a smaller diameter;
• The end of the hose or pipe is pushed into the frozen pipe until it hits the ice plug;
• Next, hot water is poured into the pipe, or better, strong brine;
• Since the melted water will flow out of the pipe, containers should be prepared in advance to collect melted water;
• After a sufficient amount of melted water has flowed out, it is possible to organize a continuous supply of hot water.

Instructions for heating pipes made of metal-plastic

Consider the main stages of warming a frozen plastic pipe with your own hands:

1. Find a place where, by examining pipes in the basement near the entrance to the house.

Important: to detect a frozen area, you can simply touch the pipes - in freezing places they will be colder.

1. In the place of freezing, wrap the pipe with a rag. open in the house water taps by preparing hot water in advance.

Useful: in the absence of a supply of water in the house, you can melt the snow from the street for this purpose.

1. The pipe is poured first with cold water, then with hot water. To avoid damage to the water supply, the water temperature is increased gradually.
2. The water taps are left open for several hours, making it possible for all the accumulated ice to come out.

Important: in order to avoid re-freezing of the pipe subsequently, it is recommended to immediately insulate it.

In case of freezing of plastic pipes in the soil or under the foundation, they can be warmed up using a barrel, a domestic pump and an oxygen hose:

1. Hot water is poured into the barrel, constantly heating it (for example, with a blowtorch or a fire).
2. The hose is pushed into the water pipe so that it rests on the ice.
3. Open the tap, put a rubber hose on it and lower it into the barrel.

Important: in the case when it is not possible to place a barrel next to the tap, you can substitute a bucket under the tap.

1. Turn on the pump and pump hot water into the pipe from the barrel. At the same time, the hose is pushed inside as the ice plug thaws.
   The pump is turned off from time to time to drain the water from the bucket into the barrel.
2. After breaking through the ice plug, the hose is removed from the pipe, after which water will flow from the pipe with a powerful stream under pressure.

If possible, metal-plastic pipes can be heated using special equipment, such as a steam generator or a hydrodynamic machine:

• When heating with a hydrodynamic machine, it is enough to stick the end of the hose into the pipe and turn on the device, after which the machine will create pressure, which will break the ice plug;
• When using a steam generator, the pipe is heated by steam. When defrosting the water supply using this method, a thick-walled pipe (diameter - 50 cm) is used, to which a pressure gauge and a safety valve are welded, set to a pressure of 3 atmospheres.
  The water from which steam will be produced will be heated in a barrel.

Important: when using the steam generator, strictly follow the operating instructions.

That's all I wanted to talk about freezing and. Summing up, I would like to note once again that you can avoid such an unpleasant situation by correctly designing and installing the pipeline at the early stages of construction, including designing a house.

One of the unpleasant consequences of prolonged severe frosts is the freezing of water in the heating pipeline, hot and cold water supply or the domestic sewer system, so the owners of private houses need to know how to defrost the pipe underground, preventing it from being damaged by the formed ice crystals. Indeed, in addition to the formation of an ice plug, which completely covers the internal lumen of the pipe, the crystallization of water is accompanied by an increase in the volume of frozen ice in a limited space, which can lead to a rupture of the outer walls of the pipeline.

To prevent freezing of water, external pipes must be carefully insulated., but if for some reason this nevertheless happened, they must be correctly thawed using the technologies described below.

Defrosting water and sewer pipes

In order to consider this issue in detail, this article will describe several ways to combat this dangerous phenomenon, applied using conventional household tools and affordable household chemicals.

In addition, the reader will be presented detailed instructions and useful advice for the installation of water pipes, the implementation of which will avoid the occurrence of unpleasant consequences.

What to do so that the pipes do not freeze

Most often, the main cause of freezing of water in pipes is a violation of the technology for laying an external or underground pipeline and non-compliance with the rules for using water supply in winter period time. In order not to have to face the solution of such a problem in the future, it is enough to follow the simple rules for the installation and operation of the supply or drain pipeline in the cold season.

1. The bottom of the trench for laying the pipeline should be located below the maximum depth of soil freezing for this region, in accordance with the requirements of SNiP II-G.3-62 “Water supply. Design standards".
2. It is not allowed to lay pipes in the ground near structures made of monolithic reinforced concrete., since its thermal conductivity is significantly higher than the thermal conductivity of the soil. About that, I advise you to read in the previous article on our website.
3. When the pipeline passes through the foundation, walls and other building construction, it is necessary to provide thermal insulation from monolithic concrete with a thick layer of mineral wool.

1. For laying underground or external water supply lines, pipes with a diameter of at least 50 mm should be used, since reducing the diameter of the pipe contributes to faster freezing.
2. If possible, pipes made of polymeric materials should be used for these purposes, since they have moderate elasticity and do not collapse when an ice plug forms, but only slightly increase in volume.
3. For guaranteed frost protection, one or two lines of heating cable should be laid parallel to the pipe, which, regardless of the frost, will constantly maintain a positive temperature.
4. In unheated residential buildings of seasonal residence, before the onset of the cold season, it is necessary to completely drain the water from all water supply networks, including water supply, heating and sewerage.

In any case, when equipping an external or underground water supply, it should be remembered that the price of thorough thermal insulation will be much lower than the cost of repair work to replace the damaged section of the pipeline in the winter.

Note!

Advice! To completely remove water from all engineering communications, their pipes should be located at an inclination of 1-2 ° to the horizon, towards the lowest point of the plumbing, sewer or heating system.

Pipe defrosting technology

Option 1: defrosting steel plumbing

In practice, two methods are used to thaw frozen pipes. They differ from each other in the way of thermal exposure - internal and external heating:

• For metal pipelines, both the first and second methods can be used., however, outdoor heating is usually more efficient, since it allows you to heat the surface immediately over a large area.
• An external heat source can be electrical heating devices or an open flame source, such as a heating cable, heat gun, blowtorch, or gas burner. During heating steel pipes using these tools, the following rules must be observed:

1. First of all, you need to determine the location of the formation of an ice plug and provide free access to the pipe, after which open the nearest water faucet for the free flow of thawed water.
2. Connect a heat source or light a gas burner flame and gradually begin to warm up the frozen area, slowly moving the tool from the faucet to the inlet riser.

1. As the temperature rises, water will begin to appear from the tap, which indicates the gradual thawing of the ice plug.
2. It is safer and no less effective to use a household heating pad or a heating electric cable, which must be evenly wound around a frozen section of the pipe, and then plugged into electrical network. To speed up the process, I suggest wrapping the heating cable with a thick cloth or an old blanket.
3. To warm a long section of a metal pipe that is located on the street or in a wall, you can use a welding machine. To do this, you need to connect the leads of the low-voltage winding of the transformer using thick cables to different ends of the frozen section.

Note!

Advice! When using an open flame, be sure to follow the fire safety rules. This method is not allowed to be used for heating pipes that are wrapped with roofing material or covered with a layer of bituminous waterproofing.

Option 2: defrosting plastic pipes

Metal-plastic water pipes, as a rule, are used to perform intra-apartment or intra-house wiring of the water supply system, so they can freeze if they are filled with water for a long time in an unheated room with a negative temperature.

1. In most cases, to eliminate the ice plug, it is enough to turn on the heating system in the house and warm the air in the room to above zero temperature.
2. If a plug has formed in the heating system, you can put an electric heater or a medical lamp with a deflector next to the radiator or battery.
3. open metal-plastic pipe in the house you can warm it with your own hands, if you wrap it with several layers of thick cloth and pour hot water over it, after substituting a bucket or bowl under it.
4. For metal-plastic pipes, the use of a heating pad or an electric heating cable is also effective, but the use of open fire in this case is strictly not permissible.

Note!

Advice! Beforehow to defrost heating pipes, you need to check the water level in the expansion tank, and make sure that no air enters the autonomous heating system during operation.

Option 3: defrosting plastic plumbing

Plastic water pipes made of polypropylene or polyethylene pipes are most often used to supply water to a house from a well with an autonomous water supply system or to connect to a centralized water supply system. It is also often used to perform internal wiring for hot and cold water supply in many apartments and residential buildings.

Most often, freezing of water networks occurs at the entrance to a residential building or at the exit from the water metering unit., and this area is usually located underground. In this case, the methods described above will not work, so you need to use the internal heating method. To do this, you need Esmarch's medical mug and a thin long hose.

1. Before you unfreeze polypropylene pipes underground, you need to roughly determine the place where the ice plug forms and disassemble part of the water supply to provide free access to the supply pipe.

1. To the free end of the flexible rubber hose, attach the end of the elastic steel wire so that it protrudes 10 mm in front of the end of the hose.
2. Insert the hose with a fixed wire inside the supply pipe and gradually push it inward, adjusting its progress with the help of a wire.
3. Having reached the place of the alleged ice plug, connect the free end of the hose to the outlet of Esmarch's mug, and pour hot water into it.
4. After that, you need to raise it as high as possible and open the drain valve, directing the heated water to the place of ice formation.
5. As it warms up, thawed water will flow out of the end of the inlet pipe, so you need to substitute a bowl or bucket under it.

The diagram shows how to defrost a pipe using an Esmarch mug.

Note!

Advice! In order to prevent flooding of the house as a result of a sudden supply of water after the removal of the ice plug, you must first, slightly close the inlet valve, which is located between the metering unit and the main pipeline.

Option 4: removing the ice plug in the sewer

Freezing of the sewer is rare, because, as a rule, it receives heated waste water from the drain holes of plumbing fixtures located in the house or apartment. If this nevertheless happened, then several methods will be presented that describe in detail how to defrost a sewer pipe in a private house when an ice plug forms.

1. With a small depth of the underground drain collector, above the place where it is located, you need to build a fire and keep it burning until the entire layer of the earth warms up.
2. Pour down the drain a large number of concentrated salt solution. Such a solution has a very low melting point, so it will not freeze, and the salt included in its composition will slowly dissolve the ice plug.
3. Through the drain hole of the toilet bowl or the window of the inspection hatch, lead the electric heating cable into the sewerage system until it stops against the ice obstacle, and connect it to the mains.
4. Open the inspection hatch of the septic tank, and through the outlet of the drain pipe, bring a flexible garden hose into it. Having reached the place of the alleged ice plug, supply hot water from the water supply system to the hose until the ice is completely thawed.

Conclusion

After reading this article, it is easy to conclude that there are a large number of simple and effective ways that allow you to independently eliminate the effects of water freezing in any pipeline of a private house.

For more information on this issue, you can get if you watch the video in this article, or read similar materials on our website. All your questions and suggestions can be left in the comment form.

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 only need to be heated with an ordinary household hair dryer), but with defrosting pipes when 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 are mainly used in water supply networks, which are made of high-density polyethylene and can 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 of electric current, and this indicates that it is impossible to defrost using a 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 defrosting methods, so the process of removing ice from sewer or water pipes is not difficult.

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 plastic or metal pipes. In the first case, you need to use such 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, the method of using open fire is applicable through equipment such as gas burners, blowtorches, wood, as well as any flame sources with long time burning. 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. And on the other hand, these pipes provide a rather large volume of accumulated ice with frozen soil, and therefore a large contact area, which will lead to increased heat transfer from both external and internal heaters.

Before plastic pipes are thawed from the inside, it is necessary to make a not very complicated device: fix a U-shaped heating element on a board with rounded edges. 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 an apparatus is intended only for metal pipes, this technique does not apply to plastic pipes. 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 or sewer pipes, water pressure must be present 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 begin with, we straighten the metal-plastic pipe, 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. However, there is an economical effective method: 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 using this method of self-defrosting pipes, you need to be extra careful, because the work is 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 in the opposite direction along the water pipe. 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 is assembled fixture definitely needs to 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 pipe is defrosted, melt water it is necessary to blow it 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 defrosted 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

Have you 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:

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. If finances allow, then a heating cable should be laid next to the pipeline. The production of heating self-regulating cables, which are switched on only when necessary, has already been mastered.
4. Places where pipelines pass through the walls of structures and buildings, it is desirable to insulate mineral wool, foam and glass wool to avoid direct contact of the walls of the building with the walls of the pipe.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. If in winter time sewerage and water pipes are used irregularly, then the best option will completely drain water from the system.

Thus, in winter, owners of private houses often face the fact that the water in the water supply system 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 traditional methods defrosting, using a special apparatus for defrosting pipes and applying internal and external heating. Also, along with this, there are effective alternative ways, tested by craftsmen in practice.

In winter, it is not uncommon for water pipes to freeze in private homes. If pipelines are laid underground, then most often the reasons are insufficient deepening and insulation of pipelines in combination with stagnation in pipes. If pipes located in the walls freeze, then this phenomenon can occur due to very severe frosts. In any case, the owner of the house needs to know how to defrost the water pipes in a private house. Below we will look at how to eliminate ice plugs in metal and plastic lines.

It is not enough to know how to unfreeze a pipe underground. First you need to find the immediate place of freezing. This can be done in a simple and proven way. Shut off the water supply to the water supply. After that, it is necessary to unscrew any detachable connection that is located after the tap. A plumbing cable is launched into the opened hole. It is gradually introduced into the pipeline until its end rests against an ice plug.

This will be the place of freezing. To mark its position on the outside of the pipe, the cable can simply be applied to the ground for the same length as it entered the pipe. In this place, you should look for a place of freezing. So in a simple way you can find the right place in a pipe made of any material.

Methods for defrosting pipelines

Of no small importance when defrosting pipes is the material from which it is made. It depends on how the pipeline is affected.

Defrosting metal pipes

Consider how to defrost metal water pipes in a private house. Usually they pass underground, so there are certain difficulties in digging a trench in winter, although their location in open areas is also possible. After the pipeline is exposed, it is affected in the following ways:

• Use an open flame. For example, from a gas burner or blowtorch. You can also make a fire on a frozen section of the pipe;
• Use a welding transformer. One wire from it is connected to one frozen section of the pipe, and the second wire to the second. The ice plug melts very quickly;
• Pipes are poured with boiling water, after wrapping them with rags.

Important: In the process of defrosting the pipeline, the water taps must be kept open. This is necessary for the free flow of defrosted water from the pipes.

It is easier to defrost a sewer pipe, since all the melted ice will go into the drain, and the situation is reversed with the water supply. The freed water will have nowhere to go, so it is advisable to disconnect the pipe from the taps or at least open the taps.

How to defrost plastic pipes

Plastic pipes require more careful attitude due to the lower strength of the material. Let's figure out how to defrost water in a plastic pipe that is in plain sight:

We considered the heating of an open section of the pipeline. And how to defrost a water plastic pipe underground? There are also several ways to do this:

1. Hot water supply. The plastic pipe is disconnected from the tap. in some large capacity, for example, a barrel, water is heated. A smaller diameter hose is used that freely enters the pipe. It is pushed inside the pipe until it reaches the frozen area. After that, hot water is supplied to the pipeline. This can be done with a pressure pump.

The melted water will gradually flow out of the pipe along with the hot water supplied. The end of the hose should be pushed further and further until all the ice plug is eliminated. After that, water will flow under strong pressure.

Tip: Plastic or metal-plastic pipes should be pre-insulated in open areas to avoid additional ice plugs.

2. The use of a steam generator. The plastic pipe is disconnected from the taps. A special sleeve from the steam generator with a special nozzle at the end is introduced into it. It is injected until it reaches the frozen area. Steam is fed through the sleeve into the pipe, quickly melting the ice. As the frozen plug melts, the sleeve moves deeper into the pipe. With such a device, there is no question of how to defrost a pipe located in a wall or underground.

3. Use of electricity. This method works on the principle of heating water with a boiler. To do this, stock up on a thick two-wire wire of sufficient length. The veins are separated. Each of them is released from insulation, and then twisted. Two thick twists are obtained, located at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. It is impossible to allow the possibility of their connection with each other in order to avoid the occurrence of a short circuit.

The wire is pushed inside the pipe to the place of the plug. After that, the end of the wire is connected to the mains. The melting of ice occurs due to its heating by electric current. In this case, the plastic walls do not heat up, since only the conductive water is heated. As the ice melts, the wire moves further along the pipeline.

4. Hydrodynamic cleaning. With the help of a hydrodynamic machine, any ice plug in the pipe can be eliminated. Hot water is supplied to it under pressure through a special nozzle, which contributes to the destruction of ice in a very short time. a short time. As the plug breaks, the hose with the nozzle moves further along the pipe. It should be noted that such equipment is mainly in the hands of specialists due to its high cost.

5. Another way to defrost the water supply is shown in the photo.

Freeze Prevention

We looked at how to defrost polypropylene pipes (and pipes made from other types of plastic) or metal pipelines. Equally important is the prevention of freezing of pipelines. The occurrence of this unpleasant situation can be avoided if you follow some rules:

We have analyzed the main ways to get rid of ice plugs in water pipes. However, it is much easier to prevent freezing of water in pipelines than to fix problems later.