How to defrost the water supply system in the country. Frozen water in a plastic pipe: how to solve the problem. Frozen water in a plastic pipe - what to do and how to fix the problem

22.11.2019

It is carried out with violations, that in winter time leads to freezing of pipes and inability to use water.

Leads to disruptions in the water supply:

the location of the pipeline outside the house above the ground or above the level of freezing in the ground;
lack of insulation of the water supply;
errors in the installation of the water supply system.

Note! Before defrosting water pipe, you need to take into account what material it is made of, and where exactly the frozen area is located: indoors or outdoors. Depending on this, the methods of defrosting the pipe and, accordingly, the tools used will vary.

plastic plumbing

To defrost a water pipe from plastic pipes, you must proceed with extreme caution. Methods for thawing pipes may vary depending on the location of the frozen section.

Note! The defrosting of the ice plug must be started from the side of the tap.

The section of the water supply located directly in the building can be defrosted as follows:

Note! Warming up must first be started with cold water, to avoid cracking the plastic pipe.

When defrosting the water supply at home, it is necessary to exclude damage to the system due to steam arising in the pipe during the defrosting process. To do this, you need to open the tap and watch when water flows out of it.

Defrosting plastic pipes outside the home depends on where they are laid - above ground or in the ground. In the latter case, you need to give them full access. Defrosting can be carried out in the same way as indoors - using hot water and electrical appliances.

A special heating cable can be used to thaw pipes from the outside. To do this, wrap it with foil, wind the heating cable on top and cover it with insulation - this will take quite a long time.

If the frozen area is located inconveniently, it is recommended to depressurize the water supply and thaw it by injecting hot water. To do this, you may need an Esmarch mug. Simultaneously with the supply of hot water to the pipe, it is necessary to use a steel rod to introduce it into the water supply and break through the ice plug.

metal pipes

There are a few more ways to defrost a metal water pipe. Indoors, you can use the same methods as for plastic pipes:

Defrosting with rags and hot water;
Defrosting with a building hair dryer;
Defrosting with electrical appliances.

Outside, you can use not only all of the above methods, including a heating cable, but also special devices - a propane burner or a defrost apparatus.

When using a propane torch, precautions must be taken to prevent the occurrence of a fire. For example, when processing a frozen section of a water pipe on one side, it is necessary to put a metal plate on the reverse side.

For metal pipes, it is suitable to use an apparatus with which a current is supplied that can break through and remove the ice plug.

Note! Each of the methods for defrosting a water pipe is quite laborious, therefore, even during installation, you need to take care of the timely insulation of the water pipe both indoors and out.

Video

Instructions for defrosting a water pipe with hot water, see below:

How to warm a pipe in the ground? In winter, the water in the pipelines often freezes. This can happen for various reasons. For example, if the depth of the pipeline is insufficient or the insulation is inefficiently performed. Freezing of the pipeline can occur in winter with very severe frosts. The pipeline, to which there is access, is easy to defrost. For example, it can be defrosted with a household hair dryer. But what to do with pipes that lie underground far from home?

Metal defrosting

If the pipeline is frozen at the entrance to the building, you can simply heat the wall. But there are times when a water pipe froze 10-20 meters from the house. If it is made of metal, warm it up quickly enough. This requires a welding machine. It must be connected to different ends of the pipeline.

By heating with a welding machine, it is possible to defrost the water in the pipe in 3-4 hours.

The duration of the work depends on the length of the pipeline.

Heating up the plastic

How to defrost a plastic pipe? Currently, plastic structures are made that can withstand pressure up to 10 atmospheres, easily tolerate freezing and are not subject to corrosion. Plastic pipes do not conduct electricity, which means to defrost them with welding machine impossible. Breaking through the ice mechanically with steel wire will also fail. Often the length of the frozen area is more than 5 m. Therefore, the only way out is to melt the ice with hot water. If a hot water just pour it into the pipeline, then the ice plug will not melt from this, and hot water will not go inside.

Therefore, hot water must be supplied directly to the area of the ice jam. This can be done with a smaller diameter pipe. For example, if plastic pipes have a diameter of 32 mm, the section on which the ice plug is located is straight, the pipe must be made of metal-plastic with a diameter of 16 mm. It is necessary to straighten a pipe of a smaller diameter and shove it into the pipeline until it reaches the ice plug.

Then hot water is poured into a smaller pipe. Cold water will flow in the gap between the smaller and larger pipe. This water can be used, it is heated and poured back into the system. It is necessary that the ice plug thaw. As the ice plug gets smaller, you need to push the smaller pipe further.

If the plumbing has sharp bends, then a rigid hose can be used. A simple watering hose won't work for this because the hot water will soften it and it won't be possible to push it further. Therefore, you can use an oxygen hose that is serviced gas cylinders. It has sufficient rigidity, but it can be stretched from the input only 15 m. It moves along the pipeline with difficulty, as it is too heavy.

First way

How to defrost a pipe correctly? If the pipe has 2-3 turns and is frozen 20 m from the house, a more efficient technique can be applied.

Materials and tools:

Esmarch's irrigator;
hardened steel wire 2 mm;
building hydraulic level.

First, the hydraulic level tube is leveled, with its help the steel wire is leveled. Then the end of the wire is screwed with electrical tape to the hydraulic level. The end of the wire can be bent for greater strength. It is necessary that the wire does not stick out and that the end of the tube protrudes 1 cm in front of it. After that, the hydraulic level is connected at the other end to Esmarch's mug. The wire with the tube is pushed into the water pipe until it reaches the ice plug.

The hydraulic level tube has a small diameter and weighs little. Therefore, it easily passes in the pipeline and overcomes all turns. After that, the water is heated and fed into the pipeline using Esmarch's mug. Substitute a bucket under the water pipe. How much hot water is poured in, the same amount of cold water exits the pipeline. The wire with the tube is pushed through as the ice plug melts. This kind of work takes a long time. It takes 1 hour per 1 m of frozen system. Therefore, to defrost 6 m of pipe, you need to work all day. Pour at least 10 liters of hot water. Then push the tube. This method is often used in practice and leads to positive results.

Second method

Materials and tools:

copper wire two-core;
plug for socket;
fuel hose for diesel engines with a diameter of 8 mm;
compressor.

Take a two-core copper wire and remove the insulation from it. Of the two wires inside, one is exposed, and the other is bent along the wire in the opposite direction. Then 5 turns are made with a bare wire at the very edge of the wire. Then, at a distance of 3 mm from the end of the turns, another wire is exposed and wound in a similar way. Make sure that the wires do not touch each other. Otherwise, a short circuit may occur.

Attach the plug to the other end of the wire. This is how a heating device is made. When the device is turned on, current passes through the water. As a result, a reaction occurs and a significant amount of heat is released. During operation of the device, only water is heated, and the wires do not heat up. Due to this, penetration of the plastic pipeline cannot occur.

It is necessary to put the wire into the pipe until it hits the ice plug, do not press hard so that it does not bend. After that, plug the device into a socket and press on the wire. The heating process starts. You can then choose excess water compressor to spend less time warming up the water. The product will be defrosted after a sufficiently long time. A pipe with a turn is sometimes thawed for several days.

After the pipe is thawed, care must be taken that it does not freeze again. To do this, it is necessary that a certain volume of water constantly pass through it. Therefore, it is necessary to open the tap more often and use more water. At night, you need to leave a thin stream of water in the tap. As long as the water flows through the pipes, the risk of re-freezing is reduced.

To avoid freezing of water in the pipeline, it is necessary, when laying pipes, to place them at a depth that is below the freezing level of the soil. After laying the pipeline must be insulated. Then the pipes will not freeze in winter.

The answer to the question: the water supply system is frozen, how to defrost, is of interest to many owners of private houses in Russia. The fact is that the freezing of the water supply is not a rare phenomenon in our country, where low temperatures are present in most of the country for at least six months. This phenomenon can lead to disruption of life in large areas.

As for private households, a frozen pipeline can make almost any house unsuitable for living in it. In this case, if emergency measures are not taken to defrost it, the housing will have to be left before spring, while irreparable damage will be caused to it and its communications.

In order to successfully deal with the freezing of pipelines in winter, it is necessary to find out in advance why the pipes freeze, because normally they should not be covered with ice. In addition, the appearance of ice and complete blockage may indicate that negative changes have occurred in the system that significantly affect its performance. In the event that the homeowner notices this in time, he may have time to take measures to remove ice in advance, before he caused significant damage to the pipeline.

If we talk about the most common cause of pipe freezing in winter, then it is usually:

Errors in design and installation pipeline.
Often homeowners are too lazy to dig a deep trench, which leads to laying the line above the freezing point of the soil in this locality. As a result, during severe frosts, the soil “stands up like a stake”, which leads to ruptures in pipelines and damage to pipes.
Incorrect plumbing in the building.
And also because lines are not insulated.

When placing such communications, even in warm basements, it is necessary to periodically carry out work to monitor the integrity of the insulation and, if necessary, replace it with a new one. This also applies to inspection wells, which some homeowners do not look at for years. As a result, almost ideal conditions are created for the formation of frost and frost in the winter.

In addition, a great influence on the freezing of utilities also has the speed of the water flow through the pipes, as well as their diameter. So in the main pipelines of housing and communal services, water flows constantly, which allows them to be operated normally even in icy soil. In private households, where this flow is relatively weak, and pipes are one or two inches in diameter, pipes need to be laid approximately half a meter deeper freezing point of the ground in winter.

In order to get rid of such a negative moment, many homeowners leave the water taps open in the cold. As a result, the system will be operational during the entire time of its use. If the valve is closed, then it is quite possible that the process of ice formation will begin in it.

Another common and natural cause of freezing pipes is laying of engineering communications in unheated premises, it can be an entrance or a basement. Here, ice plugs usually occur at night when the water flow drops to a minimum. At the same time, if access to pipes is open in apartment buildings, which facilitates the fight against traffic jams, in private households they are usually difficult to access. As a result, it is quite difficult to deal with ice here and such activities require a lot of time and, in some cases, money.

How to find a frozen area

Before proceeding directly to the heating of pipes, it is necessary to determine that section of them where the freezing section is directly located. The fact is that the method used to heat the entire line will depend on where exactly it is located and what its dimensions are. At the same time, if it is damaged by ice, the question will arise of repairing it, and not of getting rid of ice plugs.

In total, there are two ways to detect an ice jam:

visual,
tactile.

The visual method consists in careful studying the external state of the pipe. To do this, the water supply system is inspected throughout the areas to which there is free access. So, if communications are made of a plastic material, for example, metal-plastic, the homeowner will see swelling or deformation of a different shape.

A frozen section of metal-plastic pipes can be seen by swelling or deformation of a different shape.

As for metal pipes, which are not ductile, the blockage is difficult to detect visually. In this case, and also when the communication is done by a covert method, it will be necessary to use the tactile method. It consists of groping for a blockage with a feeler gauge:

nearest detachable knee to a suspicious place dismantled.
In the resulting hole introduced normal plumbing cable or thick wire.
Rope or wire moves along the pipe until it stops.
Them length, after they are attached to the wall or soil, point out to the expected freezing point.

There are also special devices designed to determine the places of ice formation in engineering communications. They are used by professional plumbers and in everyday life these devices are practically not used.

How to defrost a pipe indoors

The methods used to defrost utilities directly depend on where exactly the pipeline is located. So if it is mounted indoors, then you can get rid of ice jams using:

hot water;
building hair dryer;
electricity.

hot water used for heating pipes in open sections of highways, while this method can be used to clean products, both metal and plastic. In this case, it is best when it is boiling water, since it is it that allows you to melt the ice the fastest. In addition, rags and rags are also used to speed up the process.

To start rags and rags placed on the pipe.
Location of suspected blockage start pouring boiling water or hot water. The process is lengthy, since the surface of the line will have to be constantly irrigated with new portions of hot water.
The heating process stops only after water does not start flowing from the open taps.
Complete removal of ice from the system can be completed in a few hours and during this time the valves should not be closed.

Rags and rags are needed here to increase the area of contact of the pipe with boiling water, as well as to extend its impact on it.

Rags and rags increase the area of contact of the pipe with boiling water, and also prolong its effect on it.

Frozen plumbing can also be warmed up with hot air by exposing it to open areas of the system. For this purpose, they usually use heat gun or powerful building hair dryer. At the same time, a temporary canopy from improvised materials is erected over the problem area. In the same case, when the homeowner does not have industrial equipment, he can use any device that generates warm air. So they can be a regular household hair dryer.

The third common way to defrost pipes is to use electricity. It is considered one of the most effective and can be used to get rid of ice, both metal and plastic products. It should be noted separately that this method requires the adoption of certain precautions.

metal lines heated in this way using welding transformer.

The output cables of the machine must be connected to a suspicious area away from the blockage. at least half a meter.
Voltage is applied so that a current of magnitude passes through the metal from 100 to 200 amps.
Usually a few minutes Such an impact causes the ice to melt, thereby restoring the patency of the pipe.

As for plastic communications, then they are heated using a two-core copper wire having a cross section 2.5 - 3 mm:

One of the veins is partially cleaned and performed 5 turns around the cable.
The second vein falls below the first and the same manipulations are performed on it. Trying to perform helical winding at a distance of 3 mm from the first winding. The resulting device is the simplest homemade boiler.
Ready product inserted into the pipe and turn on the current. Under the influence of the potential that has arisen between the coils, the water heats up, and the ice begins to melt.

This method is good because when using it, the system does not heat up and the plastic does not deteriorate.

How to defrost pipes on the street

The defrosting of pipelines on the street has its own specifics, due to the fact that here the temperature is usually much lower than indoors. At the same time, the pipes fresh air also warm with electricity, a building hair dryer and hot water, as in the room. In addition, due to more severe weather conditions, powerful special equipment is also used. So, for example, heating of highways is performed using:

heating cable for plumbing;
steam heater;
autoclave;
hydrodynamic machine.

If it is decided to use electricity, then it is advisable to use not a welding transformer for this, as when performing a similar procedure indoors, but special device, because:

it has great power
allows you to adjust the current
allows you to adjust the voltage of the supplied current.
safer to operate than a misused welding transformer.

The modern industry also offers homeowners pipe heating cable. It should be distinguished from such a product as pipe heating cable, since this product is not intended to combat ice that has already formed, but to prevent this phenomenon. If you equip the pipeline with such a cable in dangerous areas, ice simply cannot form there.

Heating cable for plumbing inside the pipe used in the case when it is not possible to warm it from the outside. The fact is that the electric current supplied to it is converted into thermal energy which melts the ice. At the same time, it can be used to clear the ice jam in the most inaccessible place, since:

the cable can be inserted into the pipe for several tens of meters
he is flexible, which makes it possible to reach with its help even ice in complexly curved knees.

Building hair dryer it is rarely used on the street, since it is simply not able to warm up problem areas in windy conditions. If there is no other way out, you will have to build a temporary shelter from improvised materials to complete the work.

As for hot water, then in this case it will need to be poured into the system. For this, it is used

funnel,
a flexible hose that, as the ice thaws, moves deep into the pipeline.

In difficult cases, industrial equipment is used: steam generators, autoclaves, hydrodynamic machines. steam generator performs defrosting with steam. To do this, a hose is inserted into the pipeline through a pipe or a disassembled elbow and hot steam is fed through it until it is completely cleared of ice.

The hydrodynamic machine creates a hydrodynamic pressure that “breaks through” ice jams.

Autoclave can also generate steam, so it can be used to combat ice blockage. Here the scheme of work is approximately the same as with the steam generator. In this case, it is preferable to use a steam generator, since it is more suitable for performing the described operation. As for hydrodynamic machine, then it creates a hydrodynamic pressure that “breaks through” ice jams. This machine is professional and is commonly used by organizations specializing in the maintenance of utilities.

Checking the plumbing after defrosting

After the water supply is defrosted, it is necessary to check it for damage. This can be done visually first. To do this, the surface of the pipes is inspected for the presence cracks, rips and blisters. At severe frosts such damage is usually visible to the naked eye.

When they are insignificant, it will be necessary to carry out a line pressure test. In this case, the resulting defects can be detected by leaks that have appeared. Some malfunctions may appear much later, so for about a week the system should be left under supervision in order to avoid an emergency.

Pipeline insulation and prevention of freezing

In order for the pipes not to freeze in winter, it is necessary to carefully follow the procedure for assembling and laying the water supply. So it should be placed in the ground to a depth below the freezing point of the soil in this region. Information about this can be found in a special directory, which lists freezing points in all regions of the Russian Federation.

In the event that the weather conditions in your region are severe and frosts are not uncommon, all communications should be laid in special heat-insulating canisters. In addition to saving heat, such devices prevent pipes from freezing. Such pencil cases do not rot, are not afraid of moisture and therefore can last at least 50 years old without replacement.

As for the insulation of pipelines, it is usually used for this glass wool or polyurethane foam. Also, relatively recently, special heat-insulating covers mounted on top of the existing insulation. If the pipe lies in the ground and needs to be protected from freezing, it is laid in a trench with it expanded clay or the same pencil case made of insulation.

Summing up

In conclusion, it can be noted that there are many ways to clear the pipeline of ice in case of freezing, while it is better not to bring the matter to their use. In the event that all communications are made in accordance with the requirements of building codes and regulations, they will not be afraid of any cold. At the same time, the service life of water supply and sewage systems will increase significantly, and the cost of their maintenance will decrease significantly.

The water pipe may freeze different reasons. If the requirements of GOST were violated during the laying of the water supply and propylene pipes were laid at an insufficient depth. Poor or no insulation. With a small flow of water or in the absence of residents, when the water flow is zero, and there are abnormal frosts in the yard. Whatever the reason, a frozen plumbing needs to be warmed up. The method of heating will depend on where the ice block originated: underground or in the house.

Finding a place of freezing

Before you start defrosting the pipe, you need to find the area where the ice plug has formed. You can do this in two ways:

visually inspect the pipe. When freezing, the water expands, and the ice plug can push the plastic one. Externally, there will be a visible thickening on the pipe;

First of all, it is necessary to determine the location of the ice plug.

the second method is used if there is no possibility to visually inspect the pipeline. In this case, the valve is closed and after it the nearest detachable connection is dismantled or the pipe is cut. Then a metal flexible cable is inserted into the pipe. According to the length of the cable, you can calculate the distance to the freezing point.

Order further action to eliminate the ice plug will depend on exactly where it froze.

Defrosting the water supply with electric current

You will need a copper wire having two cores with a cross section of 2.5 mm. The veins are separated and bred to the sides. Then the end of one core is exposed in such a way that several turns of the bare wire can be made around the other. The cores must not touch each other to avoid a short circuit. At the opposite end of the wire, connect the plug.

Wire for electric current

The wire is pushed into the water pipe until its ends rest against the ice plug and the plug is plugged into the network. The heating process resembles the operation of a household boiler. The current passes through the water and heats it. This method is safe for the pipe, only water is heated, so that melting of the propylene water pipe is excluded.

Advice. Before pushing the boiler into the pipe, you should test the device. Dip the end of the bare wire into a bucket of water and plug in the plug. Bubbles and a slight buzz should appear. In no case do not put your hands into the bucket, so as not to get an electric shock.

We use a steam generator

A steam generator is a special machine that regenerates steam and supplies it under pressure. The fitting is inserted into the water pipe and hot steam melts the ice plug. This is the most efficient and fast way elimination of ice blockage. There is only one drawback - not every home has such a device. But if you have a double boiler or autoclave, they can also be adapted for heating. When using them, the procedure is as follows:

To defrost the water supply, you can use a steam generator

Pour water into one of the listed units.
One end of the heat-resistant hose is connected to the autoclave fitting.
We push the second end into the water pipe to the freezing point.
We turn on the device for heating and wait for the result.
We monitor the water level in the autoclave.

Submersible pump and barrel to help

You will need a metal barrel, a bucket, a pump and a hose.

Advice. Propylene pipes are connected by fittings that do not narrow the inner diameter of the pipe at the joints, so the process of removing the ice plug is greatly simplified in comparison with pipes made of other materials.

Internal defrosting from improvised means

This method is similar to the one we described above. But not everyone will have an iron barrel with a pump and the ability to make a fire, but Esmarch's mug (popularly an enema) will surely be found in every home. So, for work you will need:

enema;
wire;
a tube.

Scheme: defrosting the water supply using Esmarch's mug

The tube with the wire is connected with electrical tape so that the end of the wire is shorter than the end of the tube. Push the tube all the way into the ice. Open the faucet on Esmarch's mug, which is pre-filled with hot water. Water enters the ice plug, and melted water will pour out into the substituted bucket. As the ice decreases, the wire is pushed further. It should be noted that this method will require considerable patience and time.

External heating of propylene water supply

External heating of the water supply system is implemented quite simply. This can be done in several ways. But first, the taps are opened so that the melted water and ice can come out.

hot water. Over the freezing area, any rag is wound on the pipe, which absorbs and retains water well. In order not to damage the pipe, the water temperature is increased gradually. Under the pipe, any container is installed to collect water. It will take more than one cycle of wringing out the rags and re-dousing with hot water.

If you need to defrost a small area, you can use a hair dryer

Hairdryer. A building hair dryer can be used as a heat source. It requires great care and skill in working with this power tool, since a propylene pipe can be melted by negligence. Fan heaters and other electric heaters are used, but this method is not effective enough, since a large number of the generated heat is wasted. For a very small area of freezing, a regular hair dryer will do. Additionally, build a small casing to trap warm air.
self-heating electrical cable, it is also used in the arrangement of a warm floor. The cable is wrapped around the pipe and connected to the network.

Advice. Do not use a blowtorch, wax candles or a fire to warm up propylene pipes- they will melt. Such methods can be used for frozen metal plumbing.

hydrodynamic machine. If all the methods have been tested, but there is no result, call the experts. In a matter of minutes, they can eliminate the ice jam with a hydrodynamic machine, the profile application of which is the cleaning of water pipes and sewer pipes. The water equipment of the unit runs on diesel fuel, and the unit itself is powered by the network. The machine creates high pressure hot water and is able to break even harder materials than ice, so the use of such equipment requires qualifications and knowledge of safety.

Measures to prevent freezing of the pipeline

At the first opportunity, when warm weather sets in, it is necessary to take measures to insulate the water supply in order to avoid such a nuisance in the future. Deformed sections will need to be replaced.

But while frost is cracking on the street, not all methods of isolation can be applied, and it makes no sense to peck the frozen ground. One effective action that can be advised - although this is a violation of safety rules: keep the faucet ajar so that the water flows in a small thin stream, and then the moving water stream will not allow ice to form.

How to warm up a frozen water pipe: video

Water supply defrosting methods: photo

The lack of water in the water supply in a private house can be due to various reasons. One of them is the formation of an ice plug in the pipe. Such a nuisance occurs if the street is very low temperature, and when laying the water supply, the rules were violated. You can try to fix the problem yourself, but it requires considerable effort. Consider the answer to the question: water froze in a pipe underground - what to do in this situation?

Before figuring out what to do if the water in the water pipes froze, let's figure out why this can happen. Main reasons:

laying pipes at insufficient depth;
a small layer of insulation, its poor quality or complete absence;
insignificant or zero water consumption during severe frosts;
abnormal weather conditions.

As a rule, pipes passing on the street - outside or underground - freeze. But in the absence of heating and significant sub-zero temperatures for a long time, the problem may occur indoors or at the point where the pipe enters the wall.

Cork Search

Before deciding how to warm up a frozen water supply, first of all, you should find the place where an ice plug forms in the pipe. Most often they are formed at the joints of the elements, but sometimes the structure freezes along the entire length. Search methods:

Visual inspection of the outer pipes. Due to the fact that water increases in volume when it freezes, ice plugs lead to the expansion of plastic elements. In addition, these areas feel colder to the touch than the rest.
Internal check. If it is not possible to inspect the pipeline, it should be partially disassembled and a flexible cable inserted into the hole. As soon as there is an obstacle in the way of its progress, the traffic jam is detected. To determine its location, you should measure the length of the included cable.

The solution to the problem of how to warm up a frozen pipe with water depends on whether there is open access to the problem area, or whether it needs to be heated from the inside of the water supply system.

External pipe heating

If the water in the pipe is frozen, how to warm it from the outside? If there is open access to the area in which the ice plug has formed, it is not difficult to solve the problem. Before heating, be sure to open the taps so that the melted liquid can freely exit. The main methods involve the use of:

hot water;
warm air;
elements of the "warm floor" system (heating cable).

Hot water

This method is suitable for any pipes: polypropylene, metal-plastic, metal, and others. But the temperature of the water should be increased gradually so that the structure does not crack.

Wrap fabric around the frozen area. This is necessary to protect the pipe and distribute heat more evenly.
Place a container under the pipe to collect water.
Spray the area with hot water for a few minutes.
Periodically wring out the fabric and repeat the steps until the water supply is restored.

Warm air

It is best to use a building hair dryer as a source of warm air. It should be directed to the area with an ice plug and held for a while.

If the freezing area is small and the pipe is thin, then you can use a regular hair dryer, but it should not work longer than 15 minutes in a row. It is advisable to wrap the pipe with heat-insulating material and start hot air under it. Such a "casing" will accelerate warming up.

It is useless to use a fan heater or an electric radiator, since they cannot be used to create a concentrated air flow. You can safely defrost with a building hair dryer metal pipes. Plastic structures if used carelessly, it can cause damage.

Heating cable

To heat a plastic pipe, you will need an electric cable that is used when installing a “warm floor” or a special cable for heating pipes. Action algorithm:

Wrap the pipe section with foil. Place the electrical cable on top.
After the cable, put a layer of insulation. Secure everything with tape.
Connect the cable to the network for 2-4 hours.

Note: Metal structures can be heated using a welding machine by attaching it to a frozen section of the pipe. It is also allowed to use open sources of fire - a fire, a blowtorch. For propylene and other plastic pipes, such methods are not suitable.

Internal heating of pipes

Consider what to do when water froze in a pipe underground. With a shallow depth and low hardness of the soil, it is worth digging a trench and applying some of the methods described above. If this is not possible, internal heating should be carried out. The main methods are based on the application:

steam generator;
homemade boiler;
hot water.

All methods assume the possibility of penetration into the pipeline. If it is missing, you should disassemble or cut out part of the structure, after blocking the water supply.

steam generator

To defrost the pipe, you will need a steam generator - a device that produces hot water vapor under pressure. Stages:

Pour water into the reservoir.
Connect a heat-resistant hose with a small diameter to the steam generator.
Insert the hose as far as it will go (up to the ice plug) into the water pipe. At the same time, it must remain free space to drain melt water.
Turn on the steam generator. Wait until the ice begins to defrost. This usually takes 5-15 minutes. The amount of water in the steam generator tank must be monitored.

When solving the problem of how to heat water in a plastic pipe underground, if there is no steam generator, you can use an autoclave. The heat-resistant hose must be connected to the fitting of the appliance.

Homemade boiler

You can warm up the water supply from plastic using a homemade electric boiler. This method is not suitable for metal structures. It involves working with high voltage, so you need to be careful.

Action algorithm:

Take a copper wire with two insulated cores (section - 2.5-3 mm).
Separate the wires and spread apart.
Remove the winding from one wire. Bend the second core in the opposite direction along the wire.
Tightly wrap the "bare" part 3-5 times around the fold. Cut off the rest.
Retreat from the turns of 2-3 mm. Strip the end of the bent wire. Wrap her around insulated wire 3-5 times. Trim off the excess. The turns of the first and second wires must not touch.
Connect the plug to the other end of the wire.
Insert the "boiler" into the water supply until it stops.
Plug in the plug. Under the influence of heat, the ice should begin to melt.
As the cork decreases, the "boiler" should be moved deeper.

Tip: When using a steam generator or "boiler", ensure that the melt water is drained. It is required to periodically turn off the device and use a thin hose and a compressor to pump it out of the pipe.

Hot water

The essence of this method is reduced to the impact on the ice in the pipe with hot water. For its "delivery" to the cork, you can use:

hydro level and Esmarch's mug;
pump.

The first option is suitable if the question arose of how to warm up a frozen pipe underground when the plug is far from home, and the system has turns and bends. Required:

building hydraulic level;
Esmarch's mug (device for enemas);
hardened steel wire.

Connect the hydraulic level tube and the wire along the length, making a loop at its end for greater rigidity. The edge of the tube should protrude 1 cm beyond the end of the wire.
Attach the second end of the hydro level to Esmarch's circle.
Push the device into the water supply as far as it will go.
Place a bucket under the pipe hole.
Pour hot water into a mug. It must flow through the hydraulic level tube to the ice and heat it. In this case, defrosted water will pour out of the hole in the pipe.

This method of heating requires a lot of time and effort. To thaw 5-10 cm of ice, you need up to 5 liters of hot water. The whole process can take 5-7 hours depending on the length of the cork.

If there is a pump, then it should be installed in a container in which water is constantly heated, and a heat-resistant hose, insert it into the water supply and supply hot water under pressure. The diameter of the hose should be such that there is a gap for the melt water to exit the pipe. It can be reused for heating.

Note: In the warm season, it is worth inspecting the water supply that has undergone defrosting. Deformed elements may need to be replaced. It is also worth taking measures to prevent the freezing of pipes.

Prevention

Freezing water supply is a problem that owners of private houses periodically face in cold winters. You can remove the ice plug yourself. The easiest way to restore the patency of the pipe, which has external access. If the structure is in the ground, then certain devices will be required. In difficult cases, it is better to turn to the help of specialists who have a powerful apparatus for breaking ice - a hydrodynamic machine.