In winter, not only we ourselves freeze, but also our communications. And if it’s enough for a person to drink a cup of hot tea, wrap himself in a blanket and sit around, then with the pipes it will be more difficult. If the water or drains in them are frozen, then you will have to deal with utility services (and we all know that this is not always fast), or take the initiative into your own hands. Fortunately, people's ingenuity has come up with a lot of really working and effective ways to defrost water and sewer pipes without waiting for spring.

Why do pipes freeze?

No, this is not a rhetorical question. The reason often lies within ourselves. Yes, it is we, consciously or not, who violate the norms, and as a result, in the midst of a fierce winter, we get an unpleasant consequence in the form of an icy water supply or, even worse, a sewage system.

Pipes freeze for the following reasons:

• insufficient depth. Ideally, pipes should be located below the soil freezing level, and in some regions this level is at a depth of 1.8-2 m, or even deeper. Utilities and private developers sometimes do not adhere to this rule, either due to incorrect calculations or in attempts to save money;
• ineffective insulation. So that the pipes do not freeze in winter, and those parts of the pipes that pass through or brick walls, need double insulation, since these materials cool faster than soil;
• It is better not to place pipes close to brick and concrete structures for the same reason. An exception is entry into the house;
• low water consumption. In private unheated houses, you cannot leave water in the pipes; it is better to drain it before winter;
• pipe diameter too small. The smaller the diameter, the faster the liquid freezes. It is not recommended to lay water pipes with a diameter of less than 50 mm underground;
• even if the pipe laying depth is sufficient and they are well insulated, when extremely low temperatures, not typical for the region, freezing may occur. This is already an emergency situation.

If it so happens that the pipes are frozen and you will have to defrost them yourself, then first you will have to calculate the place where the water freezes. These can be outdoor areas or underground. Defrosting methods will vary.

No. 1. Defrosting the pipe using a hair dryer or blowtorch

If the outer part of the pipe, which is within reach, is frozen, then the problem is significantly simplified. It is enough just to expose the frozen area to external heating, and for this you can use:

If the pipe is metal, then you can also use the following heat sources:

The principle is the same in all cases. Heat is applied to the frozen area. If it’s a heating pad, then it’s applied; if it’s a cable, it’s used to wrap it around the pipe and plugged into the network; if it’s a burner or blowtorch, then the flame is directed into the pipe area, but with a hairdryer, everything is clear. An old blanket or thick cloth can be placed over the heating pad, heating cable, and thermal blanket to help retain heat.

It is important to open the water tap before starting work so that thawed water can flow out of the pipe calmly. or is turned off for this time.

No. 2. Defrosting using boiling water and a rag

The method is also suitable if the pipes are in the building and accessible. Of course, you can just water the pipes hot water, having previously placed containers to collect water, but it is much more effective to first wrap the pipes with rags, and only then give them a “hot shower”. The rag will absorb water, heat up and cause the pipes to be constantly exposed to heat. If there is only a small amount of rags, then it will need to be periodically moved along the pipe section. Don't forget to place a container to catch any water that won't be absorbed.

No. 3. Defrosting a pipe with a welding machine

If the frozen area is located outside the house, then it will take more time and effort to defrost. The co method is considered one of the most effective, but it has a limitation - it only suitable for metal pipes.

First you will have to at least approximately determine the location of the formation ice jam. Then, on both sides, the water pipe is cleared of thermal insulation and polished to a metallic shine. An electrical cable connected to the secondary winding is connected to these places welding transformer.

Now all that remains is to set the minimum current on the device (about 180 A) and plug it into the network. will begin to heat up along the entire length of the connected section. Thawing occurs relatively quickly, but the duration of the entire process depends on the length of the pipe. At the same time, the water tap should also be kept open. Experts warn that the method has by-effect– pipes after such treatment begin to rust faster.

It is very important to connect and disconnect cables to the pipe only when welding machine switched off. Otherwise, you can get an electric arc, which can damage both the pipe and your hands and eyes.

No. 4. Defrosting by supplying hot water through a hose

When the frozen area is in sight, it is enough to pour hot water right at him. Through simple deductions, we can come to the conclusion that if the blockage is located far from the house, then it is necessary to somehow deliver hot water to the place of icing. Simply pouring hot water into the pipe is not very effective - you will have to get a little confused. This method applicable to, when you can’t just take and run a current through them, like through metal.

The procedure is as follows:

• remove the shut-off valves;
• prepare a rigid hose or pipe with a diameter smaller than the water supply. For example, for a pipe with a diameter of 25-32 mm, a diameter of 16 mm is suitable. This is if the section is completely straight. If there are turns and bends, then you will have to take a hose that can bend, but is also quite rigid. You can’t take a regular one - it may not withstand exposure to hot water and will soften, so pushing it through will be more difficult. You can take an oxygen hose or the hose that is usually used to connect gas cylinders. True, it can only be stretched 10-15 m from the input - it is too rigid and heavy. An alternative is to use a flexible hose with wire attached;
• insert the prepared hose into the pipe or metal-plastic pipe until you hit the ice;
• a container can be attached to the outer end of the hose from which hot water will be supplied. If you attach a faucet to it, it will be much more convenient. However, you can also pour hot water through a funnel, but this is not very convenient;
• instead of simple hot oxen you can use salt solution– it freezes at a lower temperature, so the work will go faster;
• melt water will flow out through the gap between the pipe or hose. Prepare a container for collecting it in advance;
• as the ice plug melts, it will be possible to lower the metal-plastic pipe or hose deeper.

When the work is completed, all that remains is to assemble the pipeline and install shut-off valves. To prevent re-freezing, ensure constant movement of water through the pipeline, at least with low pressure. The heating cable can be lowered into a straight pipe.

Hydro level method

A variation of this method is to use a construction hydraulic level of the required length. The method works if there are 2-3 bends in the pipe and the distance from the house to the frozen area is 20 m. A wire is tied to the end of the hydraulic level with electrical tape. Both need to be leveled a little in advance. There should be no wire sticking out from the end that will be immersed in the pipe. It is better to let it be 1 cm shorter than the hydraulic level.

The hydraulic level is pushed inside the pipe until it hits the ice. Hot water (or saline solution) can be supplied using an Esmarch mug, popularly known as an enema. When you hit the ice, you can start supplying water. To simplify, we give the pipe an enema. We collect the melt water in a basin or bucket, and as it thaws, we move the hydraulic level.

The good thing about this method is that the hydraulic level tube is quite thin, so water pipe It runs well and takes turns easily. average speed– 1 meter of ice per hour.

No. 5. Defrosting with a wire

The method is suitable for defrosting plastic pipes only water pipes located at a distance from the house. To work you should purchase:

• two-core wire, the length and thickness depends on the pipe, but people with experience advise taking a thicker and stiffer wire;
• socket plug;
• a compressor and a hose will be needed if the pipeline is long enough, or if the ice plug is located far from the point of entry into the house. You can buy a fuel hose, it is inexpensive, and use a pump as a compressor, or use a car compressor.

Main, prepare the wire correctly. First, we remove the general insulation in an area of ​​8-10 cm and expose one of the wires. I carefully bend it into reverse side and make several turns (3-5 is enough) around the part that remains under the general insulation (it’s clear from the pictures below). The coils should be tight. The insulation is also removed from the second wire and wound below the turns of the first wire. The distance should be about 2-3 mm - the turns of the first and second wires should not touch. If you use pliers when creating turns, then first wrap the wire with something thick so as not to damage the insulation.

When the first end is ready, all that remains is to connect the plug from the second end. Here is our working tool, sometimes popularly called a “burbulyator”, ready. You shouldn’t try this method if you don’t understand much about electrics.

The action of this method is based on a simple physical phenomenon. When current passes through water, the latter heats up. Just what you need when you need to defrost pipes! It is important that the wire itself remains cold, only the water is heated, i.e. the likelihood of damaging the plastic pipe is minimized.

Use this method defrosting frozen pipes is only possible if all parts (incl. shut-off valves) are made of plastic. If there are steel fittings, a short circuit may occur.

You can check if our defrost is working using a jar of water. It is enough to lower one end of the wire there, plug the other into the socket, and you will see bubbles begin to appear in the water, all this will be accompanied by a hum. You shouldn't put your fingers in the water - you might get an electric shock.

Now all that remains is to lower the wire into the pipe until it hits the ice, but without unnecessary force. We plug it into the socket, carefully press the end of the wire against the ice and wait a couple of minutes, after which you can try to lower the wire a little more; it will seem to fall into the ice on its own. If the frozen area is large enough, then it is better to gradually pump out the melted water. You can do without this, but then it will take more time, because you will also have to warm up sufficient quantity water. There is another threat - the ice that has already melted may begin to freeze while you melt its deeper layers. In general, it is better to use a pump or compressor.

No. 6. How to defrost a sewer pipe?

Let us note right away they freeze much less often than water pipes, and this is a solid reason for joy. The fact is that warm wastewater continuously moves through them, but if it suddenly happens that the sewer system is frozen, try one of the following methods:

If independent attempts to defrost water supply and sewerage pipes are unsuccessful, then you can only rely on specialists who use special steam generators. These devices resemble washing machines for a car, only steam is produced at the output, and its temperature and pressure can be adjusted depending on the material of the pipes and the length of the frozen section. This method is very fast and effective.

How to prevent pipes from freezing?

The answer to this question comes from the very first section of the article describing the reasons. In short, we should try to minimize possible risks, i.e.:

The only thing that cannot be predicted is record low temperatures in the region. If usually in winter the temperature does not drop below -15 0 C, and -25 0 C is considered almost a disaster, then it is quite logical to lay pipes to a depth of 80 cm (example - Stavropol). It’s hard to believe, but you still can’t completely discount the situation when the temperature drops to -35 0 C or even lower. And if previously we could only rely on nature, now we have at our disposal a heating cable that will prevent the pipes from freezing under any conditions, so for the purpose of being on the safe side, we can additionally use it.

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

To prevent water from freezing, external pipes must be carefully insulated, but if for some reason this still happens, they need to be properly defrosted using the technologies described below.

Defrosting water and sewer pipes

In order to substantively consider this issue, this article will describe several ways to combat this dangerous phenomenon, used using ordinary household tools and available funds household chemicals.

In addition, the reader will be presented detailed instructions and useful recommendations for installing water pipes, the implementation of which will help avoid unpleasant consequences.

What to do to prevent pipes from freezing

Most often, the main reason for freezing water in pipes is a violation of the technology for laying external or underground pipelines and non-compliance with the rules for using water supply in winter period time. To avoid having to deal with a similar problem in the future, it is enough to follow 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 maximum depth 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. I recommend reading about that 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 using 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 pipe diameter promotes faster freezing.
2. If possible, pipes made from polymer materials, since they have moderate elasticity and when an ice plug forms, they do not collapse, 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 frost, will constantly maintain a positive temperature.
4. In unheated residential buildings seasonal residence, before the onset of the cold season, you need to completely drain the water from all water supply networks, including water supply, heating and sewerage.

In any case, when installing an external or underground water supply system, you should remember that the price of thorough thermal insulation will be much lower than the cost repair work to replace a damaged section of the pipeline in 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 water supply, sewer or heating system.

Pipe defrosting technology

Option 1: defrosting a steel water pipe

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

• For metal pipelines, both the first and second methods can be used, however, external heating is usually more effective because it allows the surface to be heated over a large area at once.
• Electrical heat can be used as an external heat source. heating devices or an open flame source, such as a heating cable, heat gun, blowtorch or gas torch. During heating steel pipes When using these tools, the following rules must be observed:

1. First of all, you need to determine the location of the ice plug formation and provide free access to the pipe, after which open the nearest one water tap for free release of defrosted water.
2. Connect a heat source or light a gas burner flame and gradually begin warming up the frozen area, slowly moving the tool from the water tap 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 heating electric cable, which must be evenly wound around the frozen section of the pipe, and then turned on. electrical network. To speed up the process, I recommend wrapping the heating cable in a thick cloth or old blanket.
3. To heat a long section of 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 to different ends of the frozen section using thick cables.

Note!

Advice! When using open fire, be sure to follow the rules fire safety. This method cannot be used to heat pipes that are wrapped in roofing material or covered with a layer of bitumen waterproofing.

Option 2: defrosting metal-plastic pipes

Metal-plastic water pipes are usually used to carry out 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. unheated room with negative temperature.

1. In most cases, to eliminate an ice jam, it is enough to turn on the heating system in the house and warm the air in the room to above-zero temperatures.
2. If a plug has formed in the heating system, you can place it next to the radiator or battery electric heater or a medical lamp with a deflector.
3. You can warm up an open metal-plastic pipe in the house with your own hands if you wrap it in several layers of thick fabric and pour hot water on it, after placing 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 prohibited.

Note!

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

Option 3: defrosting a plastic water pipe

Plastic water pipe made from polypropylene or polyethylene pipes most often used to supply water to the house from a well when autonomous system water supply or for connection to a centralized water supply system. It is also often used to perform internal wiring hot and cold water supply in many apartments and residential buildings.

Most often, freezing of water supply 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 will need Esmarch's medical mug and a thin long hose.

1. Before defrosting polypropylene pipes underground, you need to roughly determine the location of the ice plug formation and disassemble part of the water supply to provide free access to the supply pipe.

1. Attach the end of an elastic steel wire to the free end of the flexible rubber hose so that it protrudes 10 mm in front of the end of the hose.
2. Insert the hose with the wire attached inside the supply pipe and gradually push it deeper, correcting its progress with the help of the wire.
3. Having reached the location of the supposed ice plug, connect the free end of the hose to the outlet of Esmarch’s mug and pour hot water into it.
4. After this, you need to raise it as high as possible and open the drain valve, directing the heated water to the place where the ice forms.
5. As it warms up, thawed water will flow out of the end of the inlet pipe, so you need to place 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 removing the ice plug, you must first, slightly not completely, turn off the inlet valve, which is located between the metering unit and the main pipeline.

Option 4: eliminating ice blockage in the sewer

Freezing of the sewer system rarely occurs because, as a rule, it receives waste heated water from the drain holes of plumbing fixtures located in the house or apartment. If this does happen, several methods will be presented below, which will describe in detail how to defrost a sewer pipe in a private house when an ice plug forms.

1. If the underground drainage collector is located at a shallow depth, you need to light a fire above the place where it is located and keep it burning until the entire layer of earth warms up.
2. Pour it down the drain a large number of concentrated solution of table salt. This solution has very low temperature melting, so it will not freeze, and the salt included in its composition will slowly dissolve the ice plug.
3. Through the toilet flush or window inspection hatch insert an electric heating cable into the sewer system until it reaches the ice obstacle, and connect it to the power supply.
4. Open the inspection hatch of the septic tank, and through the outlet drain pipe Place a flexible garden hose inside it. Having reached the location of the suspected ice plug, supply hot water from the water supply system into the hose until the ice completely thaws.

Conclusion

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

Additional information on this issue can be obtained by watching the video in this article, or reading similar materials on our website. All your questions and suggestions can be left in the comment form.

The situation when negative temperature Are you familiar with the water supply from the tap outside? This problem occurs in your home with the onset of cold weather, but you don’t know how to quickly fix it? To combat this, it is necessary to select an effective method for restoring the functionality of the water supply network. Do you agree?

We will tell you how to thaw a frozen pipeline and how to prevent a problem situation from occurring in the future. Let's talk about effective ways, allowing you to quickly restore the water supply on a cold winter day for sanitary and hygienic purposes and cooking.

Our article provides a selection the best ways who will help you cope with this trouble on your own. Methods for pipelines from various materials. So that you can better understand the nuances of warming up, we have selected visual photos and thematic videos detailing recommendations for saving a water pipeline from ice captivity.

With the sudden onset of frost, supplemented strong winds, cases of freezing with the formation of ice plugs inside them are not uncommon.

Water frozen as a result of improper installation or operation of the pipeline will, at best, make it impossible to use the system, and at worst, it will force the break to be repaired.

The problem of freezing pipes is more relevant for owners of dachas and private sector houses whose water supply inlets run along the street

There can be several reasons for water freezing in the water supply.

The most important among them:

• extremely low temperatures outside;
• laying pipes to a shallower depth than the soil freezing level;
• insufficient insulation of the pipeline;
• low or even zero water consumption.

At night or for a longer period, when the owners do not use the water supply, the water in the pipes remains motionless. At sub-zero temperatures it freezes quickly.

Not only pipelines can freeze, but also taps that are not turned off in a timely manner that supply water both to an unheated basement and to the yard

The pipe, located in frozen ground, begins to cool after passing warm flows, and after a short period it acquires a low temperature. As it approaches, small portions of water begin to freeze and crystallize, at some point clogging the entire section of the pipe completely.

How to find a problem area?

The most difficult moment in this matter is to determine the location of freezing in an open area. Experienced craftsmen It is advised to focus on temperature sensations when inspecting and palpating the accessible part of the route.

It is not difficult to determine the location of an ice plug in a plastic pipeline by palpation: within the blocked area, when you try to slightly bend the pipe, a characteristic crunch is heard

Water pipes usually freeze in areas where the pipes come close to the ground. Technical wells, unheated, are also vulnerable to frost. basements.

It has been noticed that concrete freezes faster than soil layers. Therefore, if the basement was unreliably insulated or was slightly opened during periods of severe frost, it is quite natural that the pipeline running in it froze.

If the freezing area cannot be determined, it is better to immediately abandon the idea of ​​breaking through the ice jam using mechanical methods.

If it is not possible to “calculate” a specific area, use available methods at several of the most likely places of freezing at once.

Effective solutions to the problem

The water supply can be defrosted using external heat, or by defrosting from the inside. Each specific case depends on the length of the frozen area and the material from which it is made, and therefore requires the use of different means.

Despite the fact that ice, with the same mass, is more voluminous than water, within its state of aggregation, obeying the laws of physics, it expands before melting.

To reduce the risk of pipes bursting during the thawing of ice plugs, it is necessary to reduce the pressure on the walls of the structure by prudently opening the taps

Before starting work, it is imperative to open the water tap or “dump” after the inlet valve in order to determine the effectiveness of the actions performed by the water flowing out of it.

Method #1 - using hot water

If the system is frozen in an open area at , or inside an unheated basement, the easiest way to warm up a section of the water supply is to treat the outside with boiling water. Hot water saved water pipes from freezing at all times.

To do this, the pipe is wrapped in several layers with rags and pieces of old rags, which absorb moisture well. A wet rag will prolong the time the pipe walls are in contact with water.

The area wrapped in a rag is poured with hot water in several approaches until the fabric gets wet and the ice underneath begins to melt.

When warming up a frozen section of the pipeline, it is important not to damage it. Areas of the structure that do not require heating must be covered with heat-insulating material. This will prevent the accumulation of pieces of ice moving through the pipeline along with water.

This method is used only in indoors and at open method pipeline laying. And this technology is only suitable for steel pipelines. The system located underground will have to be heated with boiling water for at least 12 hours.

Method #2 - heating with a hair dryer

You can achieve the desired effect with the help of hot air created by a powerful hair dryer. The method is used to heat frozen sections of the pipeline in places where it is quite easy to reach them, for example, when the system is laid inside a building.

In order to melt water along the pipeline shell, the surface of the structure is blown from all sides with a stream of hot air directed by a nozzle

To create conditions for ice accumulation to move through the pipe, you need to evenly distribute the flow of hot air, not forgetting to first open all the valves.

Keep in mind that a hair dryer produces a temperature that can range from 100 to 650°C. Therefore, it cannot be used for pipes made of polymer materials.

Enhance the effect while reducing heat losses, it helps to build an improvised protective casing around the heated area. It will reflect heat, distributing it evenly over the entire surface of the insulated area.

To do this, a small pavilion is temporarily built, the walls of which are made of the same film or metal shields.

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July 22, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works(laying a foundation, erecting walls, constructing a roof, etc.). Internal construction work (laying internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communications, high technology, computer equipment, programming.

I have told many people about manufacturing technologies many times engineering systems in private homes. And all the time I drew attention to the fact that pipelines must be laid below the freezing point or carefully insulated. However, from time to time people contact me with questions about how to defrost a plastic water pipe.

I remember a time when a neighbor in the country called me in mid-January and tearfully asked me to fix the water supply. As it turned out, he planned to spend his anniversary outside the city, and upon arriving at the site after a long stay in warm countries, he was faced with the fact that water was not flowing from the taps. And all the complex electronics that provide water to the cottage don’t work either.

As it turned out, the culprit was an ice plug that clogged a metal-plastic pipe laid underground. And since with his own hands he could only sign business papers, they had to call me for help.

Of course, we dealt with the problem, and I turned out to be the most honored guest at his holiday. I decided to tell you about how to defrost plastic water and sewerage pipes. Perhaps the instructions below will provide you with invaluable help. Especially when a reliable plumber friend is not nearby.

Causes of pipeline freezing

In my practice, I have very rarely met people who make or order modern utility networks (water supply, sewerage) from steel pipes. Plastic is more common.

And I think this is correct, because the price of polymer pipes is decreasing all the time, and the performance properties of such a solution have always been at their best:

• plastic pipelines have an attractive appearance;
• pipes are not subject to corrosion throughout their entire service life;
• installing a utility network is as simple as possible without the use of electric welding (maximum - a soldering iron);
• pipes do not conduct electricity and do not accumulate static electricity.

The only thing that cannot be avoided under any circumstances is the danger of the liquid in them freezing. However, I know for sure that people encounter this problem only in cases where they entrusted the installation to an illiterate engineer.

Only such a person can lay a water supply system at insufficient depth in the ground or fail to insulate the engineering system. As a result, you arrive at your dacha to celebrate your birthday, and nothing flows from the tap. Sadness.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to dig a sufficiently deep trench for the water supply and sewerage pipes. The average depth of soil freezing in the Moscow region is 1.4 meters. However, this indicator depends on many other factors, so to determine the exact value it is better to contact specialists or use special cards with tables.

By the way, many people ask why they don’t freeze central water pipelines in cities. I will answer without reserve. There, the flow of water does not stop around the clock, so the liquid is in motion and does not turn into ice.

And at the dacha, the pumping equipment is turned on only from time to time. Therefore, it is imperative to take measures to insulate water transport pipes.

Pay special attention to insulation and deepening of drain systems where water flows at low speed. Otherwise, a traffic jam will form and you will have to decide how to defrost the plastic sewer pipe. This activity is difficult and far from pleasant.

If for some reason it is not possible to dig a ditch of a suitable depth, it is necessary to wrap the pipes in thermal insulation materials or come up with systems for heating them. Or use both options.

If you know that your pipes are poorly insulated, but at night they promise very good severe frost, leave the water running overnight to ensure flow in the pipe.
In this case, the likelihood of ice appearing is significantly reduced.

But it often happens that people return to issues of pipe insulation only when they are already faced with freezing water. There’s nothing left to do here; we’ll have to melt the ice. I’ll tell you about this now.

Defrosting water transport communications made of plastic

underground

First, let's look at how to defrost a plastic water pipe underground. This, in my opinion, is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Especially in winter, when not only the water in the pipes froze, but also the ground itself where they were laid.

The simplest scheme is as follows:

1. It is necessary to light a fire over the place where the plastic pipe passes. You can use wood or coal, and also light car tire. The latter will burn for a long time, but will emit black, smoky smoke. Take this into account.

The advantage of this method is that not only the water in the pipe must heat up, but also the earth itself must thaw. And we need this in order to move on to the next point of our work.

1. I then suggest digging up the pipe to check if it is damaged. This will be easy to do, since the fire will soften the ground and it will be easier to swing the shovel.
   Usually, high-quality plastic pipes are not broken by ice, so there is no need to repair anything. The main thing is not to break the pipe during excavation.
2. After making sure that the communications are intact, I recommend insulating the pipeline thermal insulation materials or pave . If this is not done, then I personally will not give a guarantee that after filling the trench with earth, the water in the pipe will not freeze again.

If you ever encounter water freezing, I recommend redoing the engineering system in the summer. After all, your friend will not always come to the rescue in time and dig up this pipe. It will be necessary to either deepen the trenches or insulate the water transport system along its entire length.

By the way, someone once told me that they insulated pipes with empty plastic bottles. The scheme is like this:

• you dig a pit and check the pipe;
• take more plastic bottles, you wrap the plugs so that there is air inside;
• you line the pipe with them;
• you cover everything with earth.

The point here is that the air inside has a low thermal conductivity coefficient and will prevent the water in the pipes from freezing.

What can I say? In my opinion, you will spend more time collecting bottles than working. Better go to the store and buy basalt shells. It will be clean, neat, efficient and not very expensive.

And to everyone folk recipes I've been coming here less and less lately. Unless he himself is confident in their effectiveness.

Another way to remove ice blockage is to use hot water. I see several disadvantages here:

• I'll have to take it apart somewhere plumbing system to pour water into it;
• the pipe will remain uninsulated and the liquid may freeze again at any time;
• the method will not work if the ice is on long distance from the place where you are going to pour boiling water.

Nevertheless, sometimes I resorted to this method. To make it more effective, I will give some of my own tips that were formed during the work:

1. If your dacha is connected to central water supply, do not turn off the taps. Additional pressure from the central water supply can help break the plug.
2. If the water comes from a pumping station (that is, a well or a well), the equipment must be turned off. Otherwise, you will ruin expensive electronics as the water will drain from the pipes.
3. You can tell that the blockage has been removed by the fact that the water poured into the pipe will all flow out.

Another proven method that I have sometimes used to defrost pipes. It must be implemented carefully, as you can get an electric shock. Nevertheless, I will describe the technology, in case you have no other way to fix the problem.

The scheme is like this:

1. I take an electrical wire, separate one core from the other and remove part of the insulation. Then I roll one wire into a spiral. I do the same with the second core, but the twist needs to be placed a little behind, about two centimeters.
   It is very important here to ensure that these twists do not move during the work and do not touch each other. This may cause a short circuit and electric shock. So be very careful to secure the ends of the wire.
2. I insert the tool prepared in this way into the pipe until it hits the ice plug.
3. After this, the wire must be connected to electrical outlet. Heating of the liquid inside the pipe will occur due to the potential difference across the twists. The walls of the pipe will not melt; the water temperature will not rise to this level in any case.
4. As it thaws, you need to move your device deeper until the patency of the engineering system is completely restored.

Remember that thawed water must be drained at all times, otherwise it may freeze again.

To defrost pipes, there are also special devices. It's about about steam generators, autoclaves and hydrodynamic devices. It is not necessary to buy them; it is enough to rent the necessary unit from a specialized construction supermarket.

The work proceeds as follows:

1. Steam generator. It is necessary to place the device hose inside the pipe and release steam under pressure. Considering that the temperature of the environment is much higher than the boiling point of the liquid, the defrosting process will occur very quickly, and the plastic will not be damaged.
2. Autoclave. Steam is also used here, but the operating principle is somewhat different. First, water is heated in a container until steam is formed from it. Then a hose is inserted into the water pipe (up to the ice plug), the second end of which is connected to the autoclave.
   As the ice thaws, the hose must be moved along the pipe until the water flows in the direction you want.
3. Hydrodynamic machine. It destroys ice not by temperature, but by a jet of liquid pumped under high pressure. As a result, the traffic jam can be removed very quickly and efficiently.

And if someone advises you to just bend the wire and break through the ice, you don’t need to do it. So, with a high degree of probability, you will damage the plastic shell of the pipeline itself, but not the ice plug.

Overhead

As you understand, defrosting plastic pipes laid openly (for example, in a basement, pantry or other unheated room) is much easier. Here you will not need the help of a specialist at all. Especially if you follow my advice.

The easiest heating method is a hair dryer or other similar heat source. By directing the air flow to the engineering system, you gradually heat the walls of the pipes, which give off their thermal energy water. And the ice melts.

By the way, the hairdryer can be replaced with a regular heater, which is placed near the pipe.

You've probably seen how metal pipelines heat up blowtorches. So, this heating method is absolutely not suitable for plastic. The polymer has a very low melting point (about 140 degrees), so a flame from a gas or gasoline burner will melt not only the ice, but also the pipe along with it.

Naturally, an obligatory stage of any defrosting is the insulation of pipes or the installation of heating elements that maintain the required temperature of the liquid. I offer several options to choose from:

1. Take mineral mats and wrap them around the pipes. It is imperative to protect all this from above waterproofing material to avoid moisture and some kind of protective cocoon. A roofing material that will cope with both tasks is suitable.

1. Buy and attach special shells made of polystyrene foam, basalt fiber, foamed polyethylene and so on to the pipes. The simplest option. They are installed quickly and easily, without the use of special tools.

1. Wrap the pipe with heating electric cable. This method is suitable for both heating ice and preventing its further formation. You just need to make sure that the cable is constantly connected to the electrical network.

It’s best to wrap the pipes with cable and then with insulation. The combination of these methods will provide you with drinking water at any time of the year, regardless of the outside temperature.

Defrosting a sewer pipe

Separately, I will tell you about a method for removing a plug from a drain pipe of an external sewer system of a private house. This is the problem that most residents of private country houses face.

So, to fix the problem you will need:

• rigid steel wire;
• hydraulic level (dense polymer flexible tube);
• Esmarch's irrigator;
• a bucket for collecting dirty liquid;
• hot water.

I fixed a similar problem like this:

1. He removed a piece of sewer pipe, opening access to the pipe connecting the internal and external sewer systems Houses.
2. I aligned the steel wire and attached a hydraulic level to it with electrical tape, through which hot water will flow into the pipe.
3. Then he put this entire device into a sewer pipe, and attached Esmarch’s mug to the opposite end of the pipe.
4. After that, using an improvised pump, he began to pump hot water inside, gradually moving the device inside the pipe.
5. Excess water and thawed sewage poured out through the neck. I collected them in a pre-set bucket.
6. As soon as the water stops flowing out, it means the plug has thawed and you can assemble the engineering system.

As in the case of plumbing, to avoid freezing of the drain, you need to lay pipes at the required depth or insulate them with heat-insulating materials. It’s better to spend time and money on this in the summer than digging through waste in the winter, on the eve of your birthday.

Regardless of the chosen defrosting method and the method of laying pipes, I will give a few more tips that must be followed when thawing pipes:

• if you know exactly where the ice plug is located, you do not need to heat this particular section of pipes from the middle;
• to ensure the outflow of melted water, it is necessary to open the water tap;
• I recommend starting the defrosting procedure from the consumer (supply tap) to the source of water intake (vertical riser).

Conclusion

There are a lot of ways to defrost pipes, and everyone who has encountered a similar problem knows their own way to defrost ice. I would be glad if you would share it with our readers by describing it in the comments to this article.

And I suggest everyone to watch the video in this article, where you can find many other tips regarding the operation of the engineering systems of a residential building.

July 22, 2016

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In winter, a common problem is freezing water supply and heating pipes. This can happen if the required standards were not met when laying the pipeline and technological standards were violated. Regardless of the root cause of the problem, the question arises: how to defrost a water pipe?

Let's look at some of the causes of ice jams in the water supply:

• the water supply is laid at insufficient depth;
• incorrectly performed pipe insulation work;
• the pipe diameter is selected incorrectly;
• worn pipes.

How to prevent water pipes from freezing

• when laying water supply pipes, it is necessary to take into account the depth of soil freezing in a given area and dig a trench below this level;
• The pipeline should be placed away from concrete and reinforced concrete structures, since they are subject to freezing stronger than the soil;
• where pipes enter the building should be good thermal insulation, most often, mineral and glass wool are used;
• it is better if the diameter of the outer pipes is more than 50 mm - the more water in the pipe, the longer it will freeze;
• Pipe laying can be done with an electric cable, which will heat the pipes at dangerously low temperatures.

If it was not possible to prevent freezing, you should begin defrosting the water supply.

This can be done in several ways, all of them can be divided into two categories:

1. Exposure from outside.
2. Heating from the inside.

Regardless of the choice of method for defrosting pipes, several rules must be followed:

• it is necessary to determine as accurately as possible the frozen section of the pipe and its length;
• all shut-off valves must be open so that the thawed water has a way out;
• you need to start heating the pipe from an open tap and then to the riser;
• sewer pipes, on the contrary, are heated from the riser towards the septic tank.

Methods for defrosting a water supply through exposure to the outside

In such cases, prolonged heating of the surface of the pipe and further heat exchange between the pipe itself and the ice inside are carried out.

Boiling water or just hot water. The frozen section of the pipe is wrapped with foam rubber or rags that absorb water, and watered with boiling water, constantly maintaining high temperature rags or foam rubber, and, accordingly, pipes. This method is used in open sections of the pipeline: in basements, at the entrance to a building, etc. Well suited for metal pipes, since metal is an excellent heat conductor.

Construction hairdryer. The pipe heats up under the influence of hot air. The pipe must be blown from all sides. In order not to lose heat, you can make something like a pavilion around the pipe, for example, from polyethylene film. When heating a plastic pipe using this method, it is important to carefully monitor the heating process so that the pipeline does not melt. If the area where the pipe freezes is small, a regular fan heater or household hair dryer will do. If the pipe has bends, narrowings, or entrances to fittings, they also need to be heated.

Blowtorch or gas-burner . This method requires special attention due to the high risk of fire.

Electric heating cable or electric heating tape. The safest and no less effective method defrosting pipes. The cable must be wound around the pipe in a spiral and connected to a power source. This method is only suitable for open pipes.

Defrosting unit or welding transformer. Two wires, positive and negative, are connected to different ends of the frozen section of the metal pipe, the electric current heats the water and the ice plug melts. The time spent heating metal water pipes using a welding transformer is minimal.

Methods for defrosting a water supply through exposure from the inside

All the methods described above are good for metal pipes, but are not very suitable for plastic. That's why there are methods from within. The most important thing is to find the nearest plug connection to disconnect the frozen section from the remaining line.

Two-core copper wire . The operating principle is similar to a boiler. The wire strands are separated and exposed. Then each one must be twisted into a small spiral (from 3 to 5 turns), it is better to make one core a little shorter so that the spirals do not touch and a short circuit does not occur. Next, you need to insert the wire into the pipe and plug the plug into the socket. Electricity, passing through the water, warms it up well.

Hot water. A labor-intensive process that requires patience, but with minimal costs. The hose should be thinner than the pipe. It is inserted into the disconnected pipe until it stops at the ice plug and is filled with hot water. As the ice melts, the hose moves forward. A container for defrosted water is a must. For straight sections of the pipeline, it is better to use a metal-plastic tube; for bends, a flexible hose is more suitable: gas or oxygen.

“Esmarch's mug” is popularly known as an enema. In addition to it, there is a rigid wire and a hose from the hydraulic level. The wire is attached to the tube (with tape, tape, whatever), the Esmarch mug is connected to the hydraulic level tube on one side, and the other is pushed into the water pipe until the ice plug. Next, the mug is raised higher and hot water is poured into it. As the ice thaws, the hydraulic level hose must be advanced further until it is completely defrosted. This method is suitable for underground pipes.

Special equipment for preventive flushing of water supply and sewer pipes. Utility services have them; you can call specialists to your home.

All methods of defrosting pipes have their own advantages and disadvantages and take a lot of time. To avoid possible problems with running water, it's better to stick to everyone in advance technological standards laying pipes.

Video

This video shows how pipes are defrosted with a burner:

See how you can defrost a water pipe with steam: