Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Water Pipes - what to do ???

That’s what I’d do, an emergency, not permanent repair that may likely prevent further damage to other pipes.

Good advice Dillon

Unhook at meter and hook up air compressor and open valves an faucets to blow out low spots or fill with rv antifreeze. Good luck.

If there are already frozen pipes?

There won’t be couplings or unions to be found for months.

When I lived in OKC we would have blizzard like weather once a year like Texas is getting now with the temps down in the single digits and once or twice below zero. I had exposed copper water pipes in the garage going to my washing machine that bursted one year due to freezing... After fixing that, I wrapped 2 layers of that black foam looking pipe insulation around the pipes and taped it on from top to bottom really well. Never had an issue again with those pipes freezing up...The pipe insulation looks like the same stuff as those pool noodle toy tube things...You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes.

Interesting, never thought of that. Always figured everyone could turn them off.

It’s like that here, I have four, two of which come up out of the ground on the north side of the house, ran em at somewhat more than a trickle all night long, gonna do the same tonight. My water bill will be significant but prob’ly way cheaper than a plumber I hope.

Buy shark bites now !

Hot water will freeze before cold water.

Traps are likely frozen on toilets.

Water bill ? LOL. Never seen such a thing.

I have had to do this. Pipe to outdoor spigot froze. Had to cut drywall to repair the leak. Instead of replacing the drywall, thus shutting off the heat source, I installed one panel from a louvered bi-fold door. Haven't had an issue since.

The 100 watt light bulb will work wonders, if you have power.

Charcoal in a baking tin will work also. Beware of the carbon monoxide.

Good luck down there.

After a sub-zero deep freeze here in NEPA always one or two people who burn the house down trying to thaw frozen pipes.
People get desperate.

Make sure everybody in the house knows where the main Water Shut Off is!

Where did you hear that? Copper water pipe is grounded.

The concern was with the line feeding the water heater, apparently the (hot water) lines leaving the heater not so much.

Every winter hereabouts it get down to -40–at that temp it don’t matter what scale you use—it was -50C here the other night.
I have 2 cabins which i don’t use in winter so at the end of October I drain all the water lines fill the drains with RV antifreeze and use the air compressor to blow out the lines. When I had copper pipe and fittings every Spring I would have a bunch of leaks to deal with. It takes very little water in a copper line to rupture the pipe. I changed all the copper out to pex and now I don’t even drain the lines—let ‘em freeze—never had a leak.
My water supply is 1 1/4 black plastic pipe buried 6 inches deep inside 4 inch plastic weeping tile and runs 145ft lineal out to the lake, deep water submersible well pump on the end of that. I have a sink that drains out to the back yard—not into my septic field. I leave a tap running on that sink 24/7 just a dribble but increase it depending on how cold it gets. I have no water lines on outside walls—nobody here does. Outside water taps have shut-off valve located indoors the outside taps are left open.
I don’t know what to tell you if your house ain’t designed with the possibility of hard frost in mind—wait till it warms up and grab a bunch of shark-bites I guess.

Just don’t use an LED bulb.

las is right. It’s done a lot. Don’t know the procedure though.

Perhaps ungrounded, then attached. Gotta know where the freeze block is, and go on either side of it.

Buy a Bargain Bin rate Al Gore global warming books burn them to keep warm.