Author Topic: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?  (Read 7292 times)

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Offline compaqxp

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I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« on: January 24, 2011, 05:56:05 PM »
I woke up this morning to a house much colder then the 65 I have it set to all the time, I went to try and restart the furnace with success. I went outside to find the lock on my oil tank busted and the tank drained, the second time someone stole my oil. This happens all the time here and I thought I'd done enough to keep it from happening to me...I was wrong.

Now lets enter a new world of problems, I went to turn on the water and nothing came out anywhere in the house, meaning the pipe are frozen.  :thatsright:

I've been riping this apart to visually inspect the pies and nothing appears to have ruptured yet, to be on the safe side I thawed the pipe around the main valve and shut it off just in case.

The oil company won't deliver until Wednesday and I don't want this to get worse. It's -15 right now and it's set to get colder. I've spent all day running around getting stuff and try to call a plumber but their all busy.

How screwed am I and what can I do about this? Anyone have advise?

Offline longview

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2011, 06:04:58 PM »
Get heat to the pipes.  I don't know if you have a crawl space or a basement, but either way use space heaters and get it warmed up.

Good luck.

Offline thundley4

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2011, 06:11:57 PM »
When it gets below 10 degrees, we try and leave faucets dripping. As for thawing them out after the fact, we warm the house up as much as possible. A small salamander in the crawl space helps sometimes.

Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2011, 06:19:50 PM »
Run down to Home Depot or Lowes and buy all the "pipe heat strips" they have. Wrap pipes and plug them in...get some part of them thawed so you can turn the water back on and start letting the faucets drip. Move on to the others.
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

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Offline Carl

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2011, 06:30:30 PM »
Can you or did you get some fuel oil in 5 gallon jugs...that should get the furnace going.

Outside of that get a small heater or possibly even a lead light and keep that at the pressure switch on the tank,then keep a faucet running as already suggested.

Be safe with any heater or heat source though.

Offline thundley4

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2011, 06:44:48 PM »
Can you or did you get some fuel oil in 5 gallon jugs...that should get the furnace going.

Outside of that get a small heater or possibly even a lead light and keep that at the pressure switch on the tank,then keep a faucet running as already suggested.

Be safe with any heater or heat source though.

He's a liberal, why worry?  :-)

Offline Thor

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2011, 06:47:05 PM »
We wound up with a frozen kitchen pipe last winter. We were very lucky it didn't rupture. What I did was put the space heater we have along with a fan blowing warm air into the kitchen sink cabinet. It thawed pretty well. (Texas had a week of 10 degree or below weather last winter which wreaked havoc throughout the town) With it difficult for us to tell where your pipe is frozen, it's difficult to tell how to correct the problem. Are you on a well or public water?
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Offline compaqxp

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2011, 06:52:23 PM »
I set up some heaters and I've paid someone to get me some oil as they have a big tank for it on their truck.

Run down to Home Depot or Lowes and buy all the "pipe heat strips" they have. Wrap pipes and plug them in...get some part of them thawed so you can turn the water back on and start letting the faucets drip. Move on to the others.

I'll look into those and possibly drive to town if I can. Thanks.

We wound up with a frozen kitchen pipe last winter. We were very lucky it didn't rupture. What I did was put the space heater we have along with a fan blowing warm air into the kitchen sink cabinet. It thawed pretty well. (Texas had a week of 10 degree or below weather last winter which wreaked havoc throughout the town) With it difficult for us to tell where your pipe is frozen, it's difficult to tell how to correct the problem. Are you on a well or public water?

My water comes from a well.

Offline Carl

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2011, 07:01:05 PM »
I set up some heaters and I've paid someone to get me some oil as they have a big tank for it on their truck.

I'll look into those and possibly drive to town if I can. Thanks.

My water comes from a well.

If it is a deep well with the pump at the bottom there will be a gray box near the gauge at the tank.
It is connected with a short piece of 1/8 pipe and that freezes easily and will prevent the pressure switch from working.

If it is a shallow well with an external pump it will be on the pump itself and may be connected by nylon tubing,either way make sure that is thawed.

Offline Thor

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2011, 07:02:17 PM »

My water comes from a well.

You may want to check and see if the well hasn't frozen. Somebody on here had that happen to them last winter.

Found it: http://www.conservativecave.com/index.php/topic,38977.0.html
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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Offline Carl

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2011, 07:02:34 PM »
He's a liberal, why worry?  :-)
Ehh...was almost -30 with frozen pipes at the tank here this morning so a moment of compassion. :p

Offline Thor

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2011, 07:07:10 PM »
He's a liberal, why worry?  :-)

Awww, come on, Thundley...... it's OK to be nice to some Liberals. Spread the love, ya know!!  :tongue:
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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Offline thundley4

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2011, 07:11:05 PM »
Ehh...was almost -30 with frozen pipes at the tank here this morning so a moment of compassion. :p

I was being compassionate. I didn't recommend pouring fuel oil in his crawl space and lighting it on fire.

Our cold water pipe to the tub/shower had froze Friday, so I was stuck with taking a bath after running water and letting it cool down some.

Offline Gratiot

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2011, 07:37:31 PM »
Run down to Home Depot or Lowes and buy all the "pipe heat strips" they have. Wrap pipes and plug them in...get some part of them thawed so you can turn the water back on and start letting the faucets drip. Move on to the others.

+1

I'd also pick up some motion sensor activated flood lights to install all around your oil tank, and the drive from your normal parking lots to it.  Wow... I've never even heard of oil tank thefts being a problem.  That's really terrible.

Offline IassaFTots

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2011, 07:51:13 PM »
Aw geez Compaq, that so sucks.  I haven't any advice, I live in a place where we are fortunate not to have to deal with issues like that, because it never gets that cold.  Seen a window AC unit get stolen in the summer time.  I would definitely figure out a way to protect your oil in the future.  That ain't right.
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Offline compaqxp

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2011, 08:26:39 PM »
Right now I've got a large Kerosene heater going a friend bought out to me and that has warmed up the basement considerably. The house is nearing 130 years old so the basement isn't much of anything, but most of the stuff is in it.

If it is a deep well with the pump at the bottom there will be a gray box near the gauge at the tank.
It is connected with a short piece of 1/8 pipe and that freezes easily and will prevent the pressure switch from working.


It's a deep well so I'll go check that now.

+1

I'd also pick up some motion sensor activated flood lights to install all around your oil tank, and the drive from your normal parking lots to it.  Wow... I've never even heard of oil tank thefts being a problem.  That's really terrible.

I think I will and possibly install a camera. Most times it's 25 to 50 gallons here and there that gets stolen. Having a tank drained is very uncommon. It was about 1/2 full maybe a bit more.

It's a major problem here, almost everyone gets oil stolen at some point or another, and thanks to people doing it at 3am they rarely get caught.

« Last Edit: January 24, 2011, 08:28:52 PM by compaqxp »

Offline Texacon

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2011, 09:01:33 PM »
Aw geez Compaq, that so sucks.  I haven't any advice, I live in a place where we are fortunate not to have to deal with issues like that, because it never gets that cold.  Seen a window AC unit get stolen in the summer time.  I would definitely figure out a way to protect your oil in the future.  That ain't right.

Here's a theft story from Texas for you.  During the last hurricane a home owner was running a generator to keep some fans running to stay cool.  Some scum bags wanted a generator on the cheap so they went into the garage in the middle of the night and started his lawn mower to he wouldn't hear the generator shut down and took the generator.

When the home owner woke up because he got hot he realized the fans were out and naturally assumed his generator ran out of gas but ... he could still 'hear' it.  When he got outside he realized what happened.

That SUX!

KC
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Offline Texacon

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2011, 09:02:56 PM »
And .... pipes freeze?!  Really??

 :-)

Sorry, I had to go there.

KC
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Offline Gratiot

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2011, 09:05:16 PM »
Here's a theft story from Texas for you.  During the last hurricane a home owner was running a generator to keep some fans running to stay cool.  Some scum bags wanted a generator on the cheap so they went into the garage in the middle of the night and started his lawn mower to he wouldn't hear the generator shut down and took the generator.

When the home owner woke up because he got hot he realized the fans were out and naturally assumed his generator ran out of gas but ... he could still 'hear' it.  When he got outside he realized what happened.

 :o  I was half expecting the thief to have been overcome with CO poisoning before making off with the generator... but that really bites!  Innovative thinking though, albeit he should still be staked to the rail lines  :censored:

Offline IassaFTots

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2011, 09:08:08 PM »
And .... pipes freeze?!  Really??

 :-)

Sorry, I had to go there.

KC

Heh.  Well, I know a whole bit of looting during hurricane season.  I suppose it is the same in the cold, but it just seems different. 
R.I.P. LC and Crockspot.  Miss you guys.

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Offline Thor

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2011, 10:25:17 PM »
When I was working Cable TV in St Paul, MN., we had a tornado blow through. Lost electricity in some areas so, due to the nature of the cable system, we installed generators up on the power supply boxes mounted on the utility poles, chained and locked. I maintained the cable system that took care of the schools, the city offices, and some of the State offices, called the "I-Net". I got a call from one of the schools in an affected area. I figured no problem, the generator just ran out of gas. I went and got some gas and proceeded to the pole that the power supply was on that fed the school. I got there and looked and no generator. I got out of the truck, certain that I had put a generator there and looked around. The soil was soft enough that I could discern two distinct marks from where a ladder had been placed. I also found the lock, cut. ****ers not only took the generator, but the chain that locked it to the pole and the extension cord that went to the power supply !!
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."-Thomas Jefferson

Offline compaqxp

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2011, 06:18:57 AM »
After a long night I have more or less fixed the issue. All of the house has water back except the kitchen sink which I'm working on.

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

Offline LC EFA

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2011, 06:27:16 AM »
After a long night I have more or less fixed the issue. All of the house has water back except the kitchen sink which I'm working on.

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

Move to a more equatorial latitude.


Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2011, 06:48:30 AM »
Move to a more equatorial latitude.



Sit on the fuel tank with a shotgun in your lap. I've had so much stolen from me in the last year it ain't even funny. I've only reported 6 robberies out of a dozen or more. The lady at the sheriffs department says that if I come out there one more time, people are going to think we have a thing going.
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: I need some help, frozen pipes anyone?
« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2011, 06:59:44 AM »
Sit on the fuel tank with a shotgun in your lap. I've had so much stolen from me in the last year it ain't even funny. I've only reported 6 robberies out of a dozen or more. The lady at the sheriffs department says that if I come out there one more time, people are going to think we have a thing going.

Build an ground isolated mesh cage around fuel tanks and run some mains voltage through it.