No matter how much has been written on the topic of arranging a water supply system, however, every year plumbers are not left without work due to the freezing of water supply systems and the freezing of heating systems. The number is especially increasing emergency situations in years with particularly harsh winters.
And since none of the mere mortals can predict how warm this winter will be, it’s worth thoroughly preparing for each season.
As you know, it is much easier to prevent problems than to eliminate them later. For this reason, if there are prerequisites that the water supply may freeze, or if you are just going to lay the water supply that is intended to be used all year round, then you should take care of its insulation. This is especially true in cases where water is drawn from a well that is located far from your home.
The main task in ensuring water supply for year-round use is to lay pipes below the freezing depth. In each region, this indicator may differ and be individual. In some areas, pipes have to be lowered by 1.5 or even 2 meters. Digging a trench of such depth is not an easy task. Sometimes this is physically impossible due to the characteristics of the soil. In this article we will look at alternative options who help arrange warm water supply without lowering the pipes to great depths.
Constantly circulating water
When it is not possible to resort to technical sophistications, it is enough to simply leave a tap open so that the water constantly flows in a thin stream. The method is simple. Yes, it is not always justified because if water flows into the septic tank, it overflows, because... even the thinnest stream can turn into hundreds of liters per day. At the same time, the already purified drinking water. In addition, electricity is senselessly wasted on its supply. Another minus this method The problem is that summer residents often simply forget to open the treasured faucet. After all, the habit of keeping the water well closed makes itself felt. And this, as you might guess, leads to freezing of the water supply.
Is it possible to properly circulate water? Can. To do this, you need to duplicate the water pipe. The second one will be used as a return line. During operation, the pump pumps water out of the existing well, drives it through these two pipes and returns it back to the well.
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To reduce the load on the pump, you can set a timer. With its help you can set the frequency of operation of the unit. For example, 1-2 minutes of work after 30 minutes of rest. At the same time, the water will not have time to freeze, and electricity will be saved.
When a liter of water freezes, 330 kJ of thermal energy is released. In terms of cotton wool, this amounts to 90 W*hours. Heat loss per linear meter of pipe is approximately 10-15 W.
When we know the diameter of a given pipe and the volume of water that is in it, we can calculate the frequency of pump operation with which it is necessary to replace cooled water with warmer water from the well.
Removing water from the water supply
As you know, what does not exist cannot deteriorate. As well as freezing too. For this reason, during a long absence, wise people simply drain the water from the system in the fall.
For those who have a submersible pump in the well, it is enough to do small hole 2-3 mm in diameter in a hose next to the pump. In this case, immediately after turning it off, all the water from the system will drain back, i.e. into the well. A check valve is installed at the opposite end of the pipe, allowing air to fill the pipe as the water drains. When the pump is turned on again, this valve closes and water flows freely into the water supply.
The same summer residents who have suction pumps that are located in basements or directly in the house, may encounter some difficulties.
The fact is that there is a check valve at the inlet end of the supply pipe. It prevents water from returning to the well. Therefore, in this case, the system will have to be supported by water supplied from some container. Organizing this is not difficult. Bringing the system into working condition will take a few minutes. However, when leaving, you will need to remember to drain the water from the system.
Creating high pressure in the water supply
According to the laws of physics, water does not freeze under pressure. This can be observed in water intakes that are located on the streets. Oddly enough, they do not freeze even in the most severe frosts. Yes, of course, the pipes are laid to a sufficient depth. However, the speakers themselves are located above the surface of the earth, under the influence of frost and wind. And yet, at any time of the year we can draw water from them. The reason for this phenomenon is that the water is under pressure of 2-4 atmospheres.
Based on the above, you can connect a small receiver to the water supply. When you need to leave, create a pressure in it of 3 to 5 atmospheres. In this case, the water in the system will no longer freeze. When will you need to use the water supply again? overpressure is pitted against.
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Naturally, this method places special demands on pipes. They must be designed for such loads. Nevertheless, as one of the options, it has the opportunity to be implemented.
This method is most easily used on submersible pumps that develop the required pressure. In this case, a check valve is installed after the pump. The tap in front of the receiver closes and the pump turns on. After this, the entire system, from the well to the receiver itself, is under the right pressure. Again, we repeat, the pipeline must be designed for such loads.
Pipe heating with cable
Currently this method has received greatest distribution. The idea is simple. After all, winter, even the harshest, lasts only a few months. Therefore, the pipeline can freeze only during this cold period.
If instead of 2 meters you bury a pipe 50 cm deep, wind a heating cable around it and insulate it, then the water will not freeze.
If you take a branded cable, then its cost can range from 400 to 500 rubles. per linear meter. The distribution power is 10-20 W per linear meter. If you want something cheaper, you can use regular wire. A heating cable made at home is usually low voltage. In theory, it can be used both outside the pipe and inside. However, it is worth remembering that even at low voltage, the current can affect pets.
Typically, the water supply freezes where the pipe enters the house. If you wrap it with a few meters of cable, the problem can be eliminated.
Pipe heating with air
Before talking about the technical side of the matter, we need to remember some features of heat transfer in the soil. So, in winter the soil begins to freeze, starting from upper layers, down. Below, below the freezing point, the temperature is always above zero. At the same time, according to the laws of physics, heat tends upward.
In the frosty winter, many owners of private houses think that the pipes in their homes need additional protection from freezing and insulation. At -30 ºС and below, sometimes water stops flowing into the tap and a search begins for the reasons for the lack of water. And when you find out that the reason is not a breakdown of the pump or a lack of water in the water source, but the freezing of pipes... ... construction and even household hair dryers are also going on the attack. The result is that the frozen section of the pipe warms up, and the next morning everything starts again. Fortunately, modern technologies do not stand still and ways to protect pipes from freezing have already been invented. You can warm up a pipe in the ground using the following methods. Which the client and I guessed about yesterday. Initial data: a 25 mm HDPE pipe, 5 meters long, froze about a meter from one end, they did not measure from the other. It is necessary to install a hose of smaller diameter so that it can climb inside the pipe, push it through, bring it to the freezing point and supply hot water. In this way, the water will not stand and cool in the place where it freezes, but will flow along the pipe. This is how it looks in the picture. If you don’t have a long hose, then take a bucket of hot water and gradually add hot water. Another option: Take a metal or metal-plastic tube, take a hairdryer with a nozzle the diameter of this tube, insert the tube into the pipe and blow air with the hairdryer. It seems to me that this is even more effective. A metal or cast iron pipe can be heated with a powerful hair dryer or burner. The main pain points of an autonomous water supply system are the exit of the main pipe from the well and its entry into the house. It is important to think through the entire pipe system in such a way as to avoid mistakes. We lay the pipes from the well to the house to a depth of at least 1.7-1.8 m. Be sure to wrap the pipe in a two-layer coat - insulation and a shell of 100 - 110 mm, a sandwich of water pipes and insulation is placed in it. It is more difficult when the water supply has already been laid and some mistake was made during the installation, it will be more difficult to eliminate it. It is better to bury the waterway as deeply as possible. If it is difficult, try to solve this problem by using additional insulation for the pipes. If the pipe lies below the freezing depth and is located in a sewer pipe of 110 diameter, I recommend additional insurance. It is enough to make several holes in the sewer pipe and pour polyurethane foam into it through the holes. Insulation of the basement of the house: Insulating the basement with installing a heater there: Use of heating cables: The optimal solution to the problem of pipe freezing is a self-regulating heating cable. You can purchase a ready-made one with a plug and thermal plugs of a certain length, or you can buy a thermal cable by the meter, as many as you need, and mount heat shrinks and an electrical cable with a plug to it. The basis of the system is a self-regulating heating cable; it is capable of changing the linear power depending on changes in temperature in the environment. There is a special composition inside the cable, which, when the temperature drops, begins to conduct currents, thereby creating heating in the opposite direction. That's why it's called self-regulating. The heating cable is connected to a pipeline underground or to a section of pipe in the open air. The cable can be installed outside and inside pipes. With the first method, you will need aluminum tape (foil) and insulation (tilit, energyflex). The cable is applied to the pipe and aluminum tape is wound on top, thereby pressing the cable to the pipe. Aluminum tape or foil is necessary to distribute heat evenly throughout the pipe. Insulation is put on top. The cable is laid in one row up to 80-110 in diameter, with a larger diameter the cable is laid in two rows. You can lay the cable in a wavy line or in a spiral by wrapping the pipe. Scheme of a typical cable installation on a pipe with hanging fasteners: Installation of cable on the pipe surface: Installation of cable inside the pipe carried out if it is not possible to lay it on the surface. For internal installation, special cable couplings are used, which are suitable for connections to pipes with a diameter of 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1″. The heating cable, intended for indoor installation, is protected from moisture penetration by food-grade rubber. We have a topic on the forum where we discuss options for defrosting pipes from our own experience - “The water in the pipe has frozen!!!” Join us. You can do winter water supply at your dacha yourself in two ways: Insulating a water pipeline is an undertaking that requires not so much money as labor - digging trenches, laying pipes, wrapping them, throwing and compacting the soil, all this takes time and considerable effort. But the result is the availability of water in the house at any time of the year. This method is advisable to use if in winter the soil freezes no deeper than 170 cm. A trench is dug from a well or borehole, the bottom of which is 10-20 cm below this value. Sand (10-15 cm) is added to the bottom; the pipes are laid in a protective casing (corrugated sleeve), then covered with earth. This is the easiest way to make winter water supply at the dacha, but it is not the best, although it is the cheapest. Its main drawback is that if repairs are necessary, you will have to dig again, and to the full depth. And since it is difficult to determine the location of a leak with this method of laying a water pipeline, there will be a lot of work. To ensure that there are as few repairs as possible, there should be as few pipe connections as possible. Ideally, there should be none at all. If the distance from the water source to the dacha is greater, make connections carefully, achieving perfect tightness. It is the joints that leak most often. Choosing a material for pipes in this case is not the easiest task. On one side, a solid mass presses from above, so a strong material is needed, and this is steel. But steel laid in the ground will actively corrode, especially if the groundwater is high. The problem can be solved by properly priming and painting the entire surface of the pipes. Moreover, it is advisable to use thick-walled ones - they will last longer. The second option is polymer or metal-polymer pipes. They are not subject to corrosion, but they need to be protected from pressure - placed in a protective corrugated sleeve. One more thing. The depth of soil freezing in the region is determined over the past 10 years - its average indicators are calculated. But firstly, very cold winters with little snow occur periodically, and the ground freezes deeper. Secondly, this value is the average for the region and does not take into account the conditions of the site. Perhaps it is on your piece that freezing may be greater. All this means that when laying pipes, it is still better to insulate them, lay sheets of polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene on top, as in the photo on the right, or lay them in thermal insulation, as on the left. When supplying water to a private house from a well and a borehole, the pipeline can be laid at a very shallow depth - 40-50 cm - this is quite enough. Just laying pipes in such a shallow trench needs to be insulated. If you want to do everything thoroughly, then line the bottom and sides of the trench with some kind of building material - bricks or building blocks. Everything is covered with slabs on top. If desired, you can fill in the soil and plant annuals - if necessary, the soil can be easily removed and free access to the pipeline is provided. Two types of insulation can be used: Thermal insulation for pipes in the form of a shell is made from the following materials: Mineral wool - glass wool and stone wool - have one significant drawback: they are hygroscopic. By absorbing water they lose most of their thermal insulation properties. After drying, they are only partially restored. And another very unpleasant moment is that if wet mineral wool freezes, after freezing it turns into dust. To prevent this from happening, these materials require careful waterproofing. If you cannot guarantee the absence of moisture, it is better to use another material. When planning the installation of winter water supply, you need to keep in mind that insulation only helps reduce heat loss, but cannot provide heat. And if at some point the frost turns out to be stronger, the pipe will freeze. Particularly problematic in this sense is the area where the pipe leads from the underground sewer into the house, even a heated one. Still, the soil near the foundation is often cold, and it is in this area that problems most often arise. If you don't want to freeze your water supply, heat the pipe. For this purpose, either heating plates are used, depending on the diameter of the pipes and the required heating power. Cables can be laid lengthwise or wound in a spiral. Method of attaching the heating cable to the water pipe (the cable should not lie on the ground) A heating cable is good for everyone, but it’s not so rare that our electricity goes out for several days. What will happen to the pipeline then? The water will freeze and may burst the pipes. And repair work in the middle of winter is not the most pleasant experience. That’s why they combine several methods - they lay a heating cable and insulation on it. This method is also optimal from the point of view of minimizing costs: under thermal insulation, the heating cable will consume a minimum of electricity. Another way to attach a heating cable. To reduce your electricity bills, you also need to install a heat-insulating shell on top or secure roll insulation Laying a winter water supply system in a dacha can be done using the same type of thermal insulation as in the video (or you can take the idea and do something similar with your own hands).
There is an interesting option, a polymer flexible pipe, insulated at the factory. There is a layer of waterproofing on top of the insulation, and along the pipe there is a channel for laying a heating cable. Such pipes are called anti-freeze pipes or insulated pipes. For example, even in the northern regions, it is possible to make winter water supply at the dacha over the surface using ISOPROFLEX-ARCTIC pipes. Operating temperature - up to -40°C, operating pressure - from 1.0 to 1.6 MPa, pressure pipe diameter - from 25 mm to 110 mm. It can be laid in a channel or on the surface. They are flexible and supplied in coils of the required length, which allows us to minimize the number of joints. There is also a new way to insulate the winter water supply at the dacha - liquid thermal insulation or thermal insulation paint. It can be applied to an already installed water supply system, which can be a good solution.
When installing a pipeline, detailed attention should be paid to thermal insulation. After all, incorrect protection of water pipes from freezing can lead to a lack of water supply, rupture, and subsequently to the need to open the surface of the soil in the yard or even the floor and walls in the house in order to repair the damage. To avoid such incidents, it is customary to carefully prepare for any force majeure circumstances and install a water supply system with already installed thermal insulation. There are many options for protecting pipes from freezing. Each of them deserves attention in its own way. Let's look at the most popular methods. Important! Both the underground pipeline and those areas that are forced to be located above its surface are subject to freezing - this is the exit from the well and the entrance to the house. Complex joints - tees, angles, wiring - are especially vulnerable to frost. Everyone knows that pipelines should be buried. What should it be water pipe laying depth- a question that requires certain knowledge. First of all, you need to study the soil freezing depth indicators in your region. Nowadays it’s easier than ever to do this - there are similar services on Internet resources where you will be provided with a full-fledged consultation accurate to the centimeter. It is important to understand that if the freezing depth can reach up to 2 meters, then digging to such a depth will not be easy. In such situations, it is imperative to insulate the pipes from the outside by covering them in special materials. The scheme of action of this method of insulation is as follows: The uniqueness of this method is manifested in the fact that the cable maintains the required heating temperature in direct proportion to the air temperature. Some kind of automated supply of a certain heat temperature. In addition, a special thermostat turns on the system when the temperature drops below 3 degrees Celsius and completely turns it off when it rises above 13. There are several ways to insulate a pipeline with a heating cable: Outside Inside water pipe
If you used heating using an electric cable, then the depth of the water pipes no longer matters, because the risk of freezing has already been eliminated. Advice! Don't forget about the possibility of a power outage. If your water supply and heating systems depend on electricity, it is recommended to have a backup electric generator at home. In addition to protecting against freezing, a heated water pipe is also protected from condensation. If you do not have the opportunity to install a heating cable, we will tell you how to insulate a water pipe in other ways. Glass wool, mineral wool, basalt wool Various brands and compositions of wrapping wool are the most conservative and widely used materials for thermal insulation. The price for them is quite affordable, installation is not difficult, the material can withstand temperature changes and does not lose its properties for decades. Foamed polyethylene (expanded polystyrene) An excellent alternative to other insulation methods. Affordable price, convenient installation, aesthetics appearance, lightness and small-sized design - make the material in maximum demand and willingly used in wide consumer circles. This is a soft flexible tube made of polystyrene foam with an outer reflective layer of foil and a longitudinal cut for convenient and easy threading of the water pipe into the insulation. The material is wear-resistant and guarantees a long service life, adequately withstands temperature changes and the influence of UV rays and precipitation. Styrofoam shells These are a kind of covers for pipes made of foam plastic, which are two halves in longitudinal section and are an excellent heat insulator. The shell is attached around the pipe using tape. And for insulation at the joints of fittings, shaped shells are provided various shapes. Fastening is done manually and does not require any special devices. Polystyrene foam can be easily cut with a regular knife. Well or well country house, as a rule, is located a few meters from the house. Sometimes, a well is made in the underground or basement of a house, but even then measures against freezing of the pipeline will not be superfluous. As a rule, water in a pipe freezes not in the underground section of the pipeline, but at the “ground-air” boundary, then crystallization occurs along the air section of the pipe. Another “weak” section of the pipeline is located at the “underground-house” border due to the inevitable draft along the pipe contour in this place, which is quite difficult to get rid of. I would conditionally divide all measures to combat pipe freezing into passive And active. It is advisable to provide for both of them in advance, at the design stage. So: I conventionally call the following measures As practice shows, compliance only with passive measures against freezing of pipelines guarantees their trouble-free operation down to 20-25 degrees below zero. Subject to all measures - in any frost. You may be interested in similar materials:: Hello! there is a question: Hello, Ivan. Hello, Alexey. The pipe is frozen, what should I do?
Problem areas of the pipeline
How to protect water pipes from freezing
Options for preventing water pipes from freezing in winter
How to use a self-regulating cable
Options for installing a heating cable on a water pipe
It is completely safe to use a heating cable. Cable power consumption is 15-17 W/m. Manufacturers of heating cables EVECO, Lyder, TYCO THERMAL CONTROLS, Lavita, ENSTO, etc.Laying pipes below freezing depth
Pipeline insulation
Insulation for water pipes
Heating
Winter water supply at the dacha: new technologies in insulation
Laying a water pipe in the ground
Electric heating of water pipes: two options
Passive measures.
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Reviews (32) on “To prevent the pipe from freezing.”
To supply water to the house there is a submersible water pump and a hydraulic accumulator in a closed shaft on the street. I would like to make a pipe from the shaft to the street for use in the yard. How to make sure that the pipe from the HA to the outdoor faucet does not freeze in winter?
Alas, there is no way to do this. But there is a standard way out for such a situation.
On the “street” pipe you need to install two (!) taps and drainage (a drain with a tap). The scheme is as follows...
The first (main) tap is placed in the shaft, where the water is guaranteed not to freeze. Immediately after it, a tee with a drain valve and a discharge pipe (drainage) is installed. And another crane (working) is placed in the yard, in a place convenient for use. An important condition: the “street” pipe must have a constant slope from the worker to the main tap for normal and complete drainage of water from it.
How to use?
Summer mode. The main valve is open, the service valve and drain are closed. Water cannot freeze, so we only use a working tap when necessary.
Winter mode. The main valve is closed, the service valve and drain must be open
(it is very important!!!).
If you need water in the yard, then close the working tap and drainage, open the main one, then open the working tap and use the water. After use, close the main drain, open the drain and the working valve, draining the water from the pipe. We leave the working tap and drainage open.
.
Thus, there will simply be nothing in the pipe to freeze; in cold weather it will remain “dry”. But it is very important to leave the working tap open. This is even more important than open drainage. Failure to comply with this condition will lead to breakdown (rupture) of the working valve.
It's not clear what the question is about?
If in general, then based on the physics of communicating vessels, if the water in the hose (pipe) is higher than the water level in the well (well), no matter what depth the drain hole is made, the water in the hose (pipe) will definitely drop to the water level in well (well), if there is no check valve and there is an opportunity for air to get into the hose (pipe).
If the line is absolutely sealed, then, again, according to the laws of physics, thanks to atmospheric pressure, the water level in the hose (pipe) will stop at a height of approximately 10 meters from the water level in the well (well). However, if the connections are even slightly leaky, the water will still fall, albeit more slowly.
If such a hole is made just above the check valve submersible pump, this means that most likely the pump pressure line is needed to fill storage capacity, and on this line there is not and cannot be any shut-off valves, which can ensure its tightness. Otherwise, the drain hole loses its meaning...
