How to defrost a water pipe outside. How to defrost pipes: reliable methods. Internal heating of plastic pipe

The answer to the question: the water supply is frozen, how to defrost it, interests many owners of private houses in Russia. The fact is that freezing of the water supply is far from a rare phenomenon in our country, where low temperatures are present in larger territory countries for at least six months. This phenomenon can lead to disruption of life over large areas.

As for private households, a frozen pipeline can make almost any house unsuitable for living in it. In this case, if you do not accept emergency measures before it defrosts, the home will have to be abandoned until spring, and irreparable damage will be caused to it and its communications.

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

If we talk about the most common reason for frozen pipes in winter, it is usually:

Errors in design and installation pipeline.
Homeowners are often too lazy to dig a deep trench, which leads to laying the line above the freezing point of the soil in this area. As a result, the soil “stands up like a stake” during severe frosts, which leads to pipeline breaks and pipe damage.
Improper plumbing in the building.
And also due to the fact that highways are not insulated.

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

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

In order to get rid of this negative aspect, many homeowners leave their water taps open in cold weather. As a result, the system will be operational for the entire time it is used. If you close the tap, it is quite possible that the process of ice formation will begin.

Another common and natural cause of pipe freezing is laying utility lines in unheated rooms, it could be an entrance or a basement. Here, ice jams usually occur at night when the water flow drops to a minimum level. Moreover, if in apartment buildings access to the pipes is open, which makes it easier to deal with traffic jams; in private households they are usually difficult to access. As a result, fighting ice here is quite difficult and such activities require a lot of time and, in some cases, money.

How to find a frozen area

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

There are two ways to detect an ice jam:

visual,
tactile.

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

A frozen section of metal-plastic pipes can be noticed by swelling or other deformation.

As for metal pipes, which are not ductile, it is difficult to detect a blockage visually. In this case, as well as when communication is carried out using a hidden method, it will be necessary to use the tactile method. It consists of feeling for a jam using a feeler gauge:

Nearest connector knee to a suspicious place dismantled.
Into the resulting hole introduced ordinary plumbing cable or thick wire.
Rope or wire advances along the pipe until it stops.
Their length, after they are applied to the wall or soil, will indicate to the expected place of freezing.

There are also special devices designed to determine where ice forms in utilities. They are used by professional plumbers and these devices are practically not used in everyday life.

How to defrost a pipe indoors

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

hot water;
construction hair dryer;
electricity.

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

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

Rags and rags are necessary here to increase the contact area of the pipe with boiling water, as well as to prolong its effect on it.

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

Frozen water pipes can also be warmed up with hot air by applying it to open areas systems. For this purpose they usually use heat gun or powerful construction hair dryer . At the same time, a temporary canopy is erected over the problem area from scrap materials. In the same case, when the homeowner does not have industrial equipment, he can use any device that generates warm air. So it can be an ordinary household hair dryer.

The third common method of defrosting pipes is to use electricity. It is considered one of the most effective and can be used to remove ice from both metal and plastic products. It is worth noting separately that this method requires taking certain precautions.

Metal lines this method is heated using welding transformer.

The output cables of the device must be connected to a suspicious area at a distance from the jam at least half a meter.
Voltage is applied so that a current of magnitude passes through the metal from 100 to 200 amperes.
Usually a few minutes This impact causes the ice to melt, thereby restoring the permeability of the pipe.

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

One of the cores is partially stripped and 5 turns around the cable.
The second core is lowered below the first and the same manipulations are performed on it. Trying to perform spiral winding at a distance of 3 millimeters from the first winding. The resulting device is a simple homemade boiler.
Ready product insert into the pipe and turn on the current. Under the influence of the potential that arises between the coils, the water heats up and the ice begins to melt.

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

How to defrost pipes outside

Defrosting pipelines outside has its own specifics due to the fact that the temperature here is usually much lower than indoors. At the same time, the pipes on fresh air They are also heated using electricity, a hair dryer and hot water, just like indoors. In addition, due to more severe weather conditions, powerful special equipment is used. So, for example, heating of lines is carried out using:

heating cable for water supply;
steam heater;
autoclave;
hydrodynamic machine.

If you decide to use it to defrost a water supply or sewer system on the street electricity , then it is advisable to use not a welding transformer for this, as when performing a similar procedure indoors, but a special device, because:

it has great power
allows you to adjust the current strength,
allows you to regulate the voltage of the supplied current.
safer to use than a welding transformer used for other purposes.

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

Heating cable for water supply inside a pipe used when it is not possible to heat it from the outside. The fact is that the electric current supplied to it is converted into thermal energy, which allows you to melt the ice. At the same time, with its help you can clear ice jams in the most inaccessible places, because:

the cable can be inserted into the pipe at several tens of meters,
he's flexible, which makes it possible to reach even ice in difficultly curved knees.

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

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

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

IN difficult cases they use industrial equipment: steam generators, autoclaves, hydrodynamic machines. Steam generator Defrosts using steam. To do this, a hose is inserted into the pipeline through a pipe or a disassembled elbow and hot steam begins to flow through it until it is completely cleared of ice.

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

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

Checking the water supply after defrosting

After the water supply has been thawed, it must be checked for damage. This can be done first of all visually. To do this, the surface of the pipes is inspected for the presence of cracks, tears and swelling. In severe frosts, such damage is usually visible to the naked eye.

When they are minor, you will need to perform a pressure test of the line. In this case, the defects that have arisen can be detected by emerging drips. Some malfunctions may appear much later, so the system should be left under observation for about a week to avoid an emergency.

Insulation and prevention of pipeline freezing

In order to prevent pipes from freezing in winter, it is necessary to carefully follow the procedure for assembling and laying the water supply system. So it must be placed in the ground at a depth below the freezing point of the soil in a given region. Information about this can be found in a special reference book, which shows freezing points in all regions of the Russian Federation.

In the case when weather In your region, severe and frosty conditions are not uncommon; all communications should be laid in special thermal insulation cases. In addition to saving heat, such devices prevent pipes from freezing. Such pencil cases do not rot, are not afraid of exposure to moisture and therefore can last at least 50 years without replacement.

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

Summing up

In conclusion, it can be noted that there are many ways to clear ice from a pipeline if it freezes, but it is better not to resort to using them. In the case when all communications are carried out according to the requirements building codes and rules, no cold will be scary for them. At the same time, the service life of the water supply and sewerage systems will increase significantly, and the cost of their maintenance will decrease significantly.

Why do pipes freeze? The reasons can be very different: pipes are laid at insufficient depth, insulated ineffectively, too small volumes of water are transported through them, pipes are operated at extremely low temperatures. It must be taken into account that if defrosting pipes laid in accessible places does not cause any particular difficulties (for example, they can be warmed up using a regular household hair dryer), then how to defrost the external ones when laying underground? It’s “lucky” if the pipe is frozen at the entry point - in this case, you can simply heat the walls. What if the freezing point is a few meters from the structure? Is there a solution to the problem or should I wait for it to warm up? There is a solution to the problem!

If the pipes are metal, then the defrosting process is quite simple. To do this, take an ordinary welding machine and connect it to different ends of the pipe. So simple electric method eliminates the problem within two to four hours. The longer the frozen section of the pipe, the longer the defrosting will take.

But what to do if you're frozen plastic pipe? Currently, networks mainly use those made of polyethylene high density(HDPE), which can withstand pressures up to 10 atm. They are not subject to corrosion processes and are not destroyed when frozen. Due to its properties, polyethylene is not a conductor of electric current, therefore defrosting with welding machine impossible. Removing an ice plug using a steel rod is also fraught with danger and can damage the pipe. Thus, there is only one way out - to use hot water for defrosting.

Suggested three defrosting methods polyethylene pipes are the “know-how” of folk craftsmen. However, despite their somewhat eccentricity, they work. Their only drawback is that they are only suitable for small diameter pipelines.

Method 1

It should be taken into account that the ice plug in the pipe will not allow hot water to get inside if it is poured in just like that. This means we need to find a way to supply hot water to the frozen area. To do this, you can use a hose or pipe with a smaller diameter. For example, if you need to defrost water pipe with a diameter of 25 or 30 mm, and the frozen section is straight, then the most effective would be to use a metal-plastic pipe with a diameter of 16 mm. First, we straighten the metal-plastic pipe (m/p pipes are usually rolled into coils), and then we push it into the frozen pipe until it reaches the ice. After this, we supply the hottest water possible through it to the place of freezing. Thawed cold water will pour out through the gap between the water supply and metal-plastic pipes. By the way, if your water supply is limited, then you can use thawed water: heat it up and send it again to the place of freezing. In this case, the ice plug will melt, and you can push the metal-plastic pipe further.

But what to do if the frozen section of the water pipe has bends and turns? In this case, it will not be possible to use a rigid metal-plastic pipe. Is there a solution? In such a situation, you can use a rigid hose. Note that the usual watering hose if it doesn’t fit, it will soften from the hot water and it will be impossible to push it through. Oxygen hoses and hoses for connecting gas cylinders turned out to be effective in such a situation. Such hoses are quite rigid, but, nevertheless, they can be pushed no more than 10-15 meters from the input. In addition, they are quite heavy and you need to push them through the pipe with significant effort.

Method 2

How to defrost a water pipe if this happened tens of meters from the house and the pipeline has bends and turns? There is an effective and economical way. To do this, you will need a set of hardened steel wire (2-4 mm), a construction hydraulic level and an Esmarch mug (banal enema). The cost of such a set is low, and many people have all its components on their farm.

First, you need to align the hydraulic level tube and the wire, and then screw the end of the wire to the hydraulic level with electrical tape. To provide greater hardness, a loop can be made at the end of the wire. The wire itself should not stick out, and the end of the hydraulic level tube should protrude 1 centimeter in front of the wire. After this, the other end of the hydraulic level must be connected to Esmarch’s mug and the wire and tube must be pushed into the pipeline until it stops at the ice plug. Due to the fact that the hydraulic level tube has a very small diameter and very light weight, it easily moves along the pipeline, overcoming all turns. Next, add hot water, giving the frozen water pipe an “enema.” To collect thawed water, you need to place a container under the water pipe, because as much hot water is poured in, as much cold water is poured out. As the ice melts, we continue to push the wire with the hydraulic level tube. This method of defrosting pipes is quite lengthy; in about an hour you can defrost up to 1 m of pipeline, i.e. During a working day, 5-7 m of pipe can be de-iced. In this case, you should not rush; before pushing the tube/hose, you need to fill in at least 10 liters of hot water; it works at minimal cost.

Scheme of the process of defrosting a pipe using wire, a hydraulic level and an Esmarch mug

Method 3

Let's consider a situation where we have a frozen polyethylene water pipe of small diameter (20 mm) with a length of 50 m and a laying depth of up to 80 cm. Note that this is an insufficient depth of laying the water pipe, which is why it froze. Distinctive feature- the water supply runs under the roadway. In such a situation, utility workers usually advise waiting for a thaw, but, nevertheless, there is a way to do without them.

We will need the following “equipment”: a copper two-core wire (we select the length and thickness of the section according to the length and diameter of the frozen water supply), a plug for the socket, a compressor and a hose for blowing out thawed water. So, for example, for a pipe with a diameter of 20 mm, you can take a 2.5-3 mm wire and a car fuel hose with a diameter of 8 mm, a regular car compressor (in extreme cases, you can use a pump).

We warn you that when using this method, you must be especially careful, since the work is performed using high voltage.

Now you need to prepare all this for the defrosting process. You need to remove the outer insulation from a small section of the wire, divide it into two wires and expose one of them (remove the internal insulation), carefully bend the remaining wire in the insulation into reverse side along the wire. In this case, care must be taken to ensure that the insulation is not damaged.

Then, almost next to the bend of the wire, you need to make 3-5 turns of bare wire (as close to each other as possible) and cut off its remaining end.

After this, step back 2-3 mm from the turns made, expose the second wire and wrap it around the wire in the same way. The turns of the first and second wires should not touch, otherwise a short circuit will occur in the future.

We connect a plug to the other end of the wire and the “unit” for defrosting the pipe is ready. This device is popularly known as a “bulbulator”: if you place it in water and connect it to an electrical outlet, then when a current passes through the water, a reaction occurs, releasing a large amount of heat. In our case, such a device is ideal, because only the water heats up, and the wires remain cold, i.e. a plastic pipe will not melt even by accident.

The assembled device must be checked. To do this, you need to place it in a jar of water and connect it to power. If air bubbles leave the contacts and a slight hum is felt, the unit is working. We remind you once again that if you come into contact with water while the device is working, you can get an electric shock.

Let's begin the process of defrosting the water supply. The wire must be carefully pushed into the pipe so that it does not bend. Therefore, it is preferable to use a wire with a larger cross-section. When the wire hits the ice plug, you need to turn on the “bulbulator” and wait one or two minutes. Now you can try to push the wire further: the ice has begun to melt. When about a meter of pipe has been thawed, it is advisable to blow out the thawed water using a compressor; this is necessary to reduce the volume of heated water and to prevent the water supply from freezing again in the already thawed area.

If you have special equipment, then it is advisable to weld a tap onto the pipe. When water flows through the pipe, the wire is pulled out of it and the tap is closed, i.e. flooding of the place where the defrosting procedure is carried out (for example, a basement) will not occur.

To prevent plastic pipes from freezing, remember:

pipes should be laid at a depth below the freezing level of the soil in a particular region. In the northern and eastern regions of Ukraine - Lugansk, Kharkov, Poltava, Sumy, Kiev, Chernigov - the depth of soil freezing does not exceed 100 cm, in the southern - (Nikolaev, Odessa, Kherson) - 60 cm, in the rest - 80 cm . It is advisable to lay water and sewer pipes at a depth of at least 120-140 cm.
you should not lay water supply and sewerage near reinforced concrete structures(supports, beams, foundations, grillages), since the thermal conductivity of concrete is much higher than the thermal conductivity of the soil, i.e. the likelihood of soil freezing from reinforced concrete structures increases. In this case, it is necessary to insulate the pipes (for example, place extruded polystyrene foam slabs between the pipeline and reinforced concrete structures)
if finances allow, a heating cable can be laid next to the pipeline. Currently, the production of self-regulating heating cables that turn on only when necessary has already been mastered.
It is advisable to insulate the places where the pipeline passes through the walls of buildings and structures with glass wool, mineral wool And polyurethane foam to prevent direct contact of the pipe walls with the walls of buildings
when installing a water supply system summer cottage It is advisable to use pipes with a diameter of at least 50 mm; pipes of smaller diameter are more susceptible to freezing
when choosing between different polymer water pipes, you should know that polyethylene pipes tolerate multiple freezing and thawing processes, while polypropylene pipes can burst after two or three defrosts
if water supply or sewerage is in winter time If they are used irregularly, it is better to completely drain the water from the system.

If all these conditions are met when laying the water supply, you will not have to think about how to defrost the pipes.

There are both external and internal methods of influencing a frozen area. Naturally, the effectiveness and labor intensity of each method is different, as is the time to achieve a positive result. When preparing to defrost plastic pipes, you should be prepared for the fact that the length of the frozen section inside the building, as a rule, is no more than 3-5 m, and underground it can reach more than 20-30 m.

How to defrost a plastic water pipe underground? You can also use the hot water method to defrost underground water pipes. Only for its implementation in field conditions A longer length of tubing will probably be required.

More effective option The way to warm up a plastic pipe in the ground is to heat water to the state of steam and supply it under pressure to the place of freezing. To heat the liquid, you need to use a sealed vessel with a pipe at the top. A flexible and durable oxygen hose or hydraulic level tube is suitable as a supply tube.

How to warm up a plastic pipe of an internal polymer water supply? From the outside it may seem surprising that the pipes inside the room are frozen. The situation might look like this. A water pipe branch without sufficient thermal insulation runs inside an unheated room and, with a sharp, significant drop in temperature, freezes. This can also happen at the entrance of the pipeline to the house if the pipeline is not insulated and comes into contact with concrete or brick structures foundation or walls.

Let us immediately note that most heating methods steel pipes cannot be used. Below we will show how to defrost water in a plastic pipe without traditional torches and a welding machine.
In our arsenal of tools there are several answers to how to defrost a plastic water pipe. But first you need to determine the place where the ice plug has formed and, preferably, its extent.

If there is no collapsible connection point or tap in the frozen area, or it is located far away, you can try to use the external impact method by pouring hot water over the pipe. In general, this method of defrosting plastic water pipes is ineffective due to the low thermal conductivity of the pipeline itself, but it can help with its small diameter and small frozen area.

The other method will also require hot water. Its essence is to supply coolant inside, directly to the place of freezing. For implementation, you will need flexible pipes of small diameter, a funnel and a container for collecting thawed water. If the area to be defrosted has no bends, you can use a metal-plastic pipe. The step-by-step process of how to defrost a plastic pipe in the ground is as follows:

You can use a tap to enter the pipeline; if you don’t have one, disassemble the nearest connection point;
We place a container near it to collect water;
place the tube inside the frozen pipeline;
we move it to the place of the ice jam;
We supply hot water through the funnel;
As it thaws, the water will come out, and the pipe needs to be pushed further.

This method is more effective than the previous one, but for its successful implementation you need to have constant access to hot water.
If the water in a plastic pipe freezes, what should you do? You can try to warm it up with a self-heating cable. For any pipe diameter, spiral winding will give the desired effect over time. And taking into account the fact that this material can be purchased either in a coil or as a finished product with a fork, the labor intensity of the process is minimal.

Heating a plastic pipe for sewerage

How to defrost a plastic sewer pipe? There is an opinion that it is correct installed pipe gravity sewer, even without thermal insulation, cannot freeze due to its slope, large diameter and elevated temperature drains. And if this happens, it should be checked for blockages, damage due to soil subsidence, etc.

Fundamentally, the ways to thaw a frozen plastic sewer pipe are not much different from defrosting a water supply. Here external heating is used with the opening of the trench, electric heating pipes and subsequent installation of heat insulation. The most commonly used method is heating the liquid inside the system. Why assemble a device from a flexible metal-plastic pipe and a water heating element.

How to heat a plastic pipe using electricity

Another means of heating a plastic pipe underground is electricity. This original method is at the same time simple, effective and extremely dangerous, since carelessness can cause a short circuit and receive an electric shock. When carrying out preparatory and main work, do not forget about the means personal protection and compliance with safety regulations. The material you will need is a copper two-core wire, as well as a compressor or pump to pump out the thawed liquid.

First you need to prepare the wire:

from a segment of 70-100 mm we remove the upper insulator;
one of internal wiring where the insulation is cut, we bend it and press it to the main wire;
completely clear the second wiring;
We also press it to the main wire and at the very edge, we make 2-3 tight turns on top of the first one, cut off the excess;
retreating from the created turns, we expose the pressed first wire and also make several turns in parallel, without touching the turns of the second wire;
We install an electrical plug at the other end of the wire.

In this design, it is important to ensure that the exposed wires do not move. During its operation, the wire is inserted into the pipe all the way to the frozen area and electricity is supplied, under the influence of which the ice quickly melts. As you progress, the thawed water must be removed and the wire must be pushed further.

But what if none of the proposed methods suits you? What to do with frozen water in a plastic pipe? The answer is simple. Call a team of specialists who, using an industrial steam generator, will restore the functionality of the pipeline, regardless of its purpose.

One of unpleasant consequences prolonged severe frosts cause 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 the installation of water pipes, the implementation of which will 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 systems in winter. 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.

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".
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
In unheated residential buildings seasonal accommodation, 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 utilities, 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 way thermal effects– 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, for example a heating cable, a hair dryer, blowtorch or a gas burner. When heating steel pipes using these tools, the following rules must be observed:

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 water tap to allow free flow of thawed water.
Connect a heat source or light a flame gas burner and gradually begin to warm up the frozen area, slowly moving the tool away from water tap to the supply riser.

As the temperature rises, water will begin to appear from the tap, which indicates the gradual thawing of the ice plug.
It is safer and no less effective to use a household heating pad or a heating electric cable, which must be evenly wound around a frozen section of the pipe and then plugged into the electrical network. To speed up the process, I recommend wrapping the heating cable in a thick cloth or old blanket.
To warm up a long area metal pipe, which is located on the street or in the 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, as a rule, are 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 in an unheated room with a negative temperature.

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.
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.
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.
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 the 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 supply made from polypropylene or polyethylene pipes is 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 for internal distribution of 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.

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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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, then several methods will be presented that describe in detail how to defrost sewer pipe in a private house when an ice jam forms.

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.
Pour a large amount of concentrated solution down the drain 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.
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.
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 ways, which allow you to independently eliminate the consequences of water freezing in any pipeline of a private house.

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.

How to heat a pipe in the ground? In winter, water in pipelines often freezes. This can happen by various reasons. For example, if the depth of the pipeline is insufficient or the insulation is ineffective. Pipeline freezing can occur in winter during very severe frosts. The pipeline, which is accessible, is easy to defrost. For example, it can be defrosted with a household hairdryer. But what to do with pipes that lie underground at a distance from the house?

Defrosting metal

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

Using heating with a welding machine, you can defrost the water in the pipe in 3-4 hours.

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

Warming up the plastic

How to defrost a plastic pipe? Currently in production plastic structures, which can withstand pressure up to 10 atmospheres, easily tolerate freezing and are not subject to corrosion. Plastic pipes do not conduct electric current, which means it is impossible to defrost them using a welding machine. It will also not be possible to break through ice mechanically using a steel wire. Often the length of the frozen area is more than 5 m. Therefore, the only way out is to melt the ice using hot water. If you simply pour hot water into the pipeline, the ice plug will not melt and hot water will not flow inside.

Therefore, you need to supply hot water directly to the area of the ice jam. This can be done using a smaller diameter pipe. For example, if plastic pipes have a diameter of 32 mm, the area where the ice plug is located is straight, the pipe should be made of metal-plastic with a diameter of 16 mm. You need to straighten the smaller diameter pipe and insert it into the pipeline until it reaches the ice plug.

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

If the water supply has sharp bends, a rigid hose can be used. A simple irrigation hose will not work for this, because it will soften from the hot water and cannot be pushed further. Therefore, you can use the oxygen hose that is used to service gas cylinders. It has sufficient rigidity, but it can only be extended from the input 15 m. It moves through the pipeline with difficulty, as it is too heavy.

First way

How to defrost a pipe correctly? If the pipe has 2-3 turns and is frozen 20 m from the house, you can use a more effective method.

Materials and tools:

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

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

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

Second method

Materials and tools:

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

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

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

You need to push the wire into the pipe until it hits the ice plug, do not press hard so that it does not bend. After this, plug the device into the outlet and press on the wire. The warming process begins. You can then use a compressor to extract the excess water so that less time is spent heating the water. The product will defrost after a sufficiently long time. The pipe with a turn is sometimes heated for several days.

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

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