its 2:30 AM do you have water??

[Trikeaholic]

pipes froze up! i got the salamander going in the crawlspace, got it all running exept the bathtub drain! and to make it worse, I have the job interview of a lifetime today!!! ARRRGHHHH. Too cold! too cold!!

[twgranger]

my sinks froze up 2 days ago! :evil:

[Howdy]

I heard you guys got it bad. I wished there was something I could do.
Howdy

[twgranger]

I heard you guys got it bad. I wished there was something I could do.
HowdyYou could buy me a new house. :-D

[Dan Tenn]

Im confused, I know its the coldest in like 50 years, but wouldnt the installer of the pipes that are running outside have covered them in insulation and such. I may be naive in thinking everything is up to code on their houses, but here the home improvement nazis all want to get their fingers in the pot and make sure its code. Thats why I built new versus buying a "fixer upper" cuz the damn pricks will make you tear it down to nothing and start from new anyway. Bastards.

[Bumb]

Yea my room is cold. feels like about 40. We only had 1 pipe freeze up on us 2 years ago. And it blew open. And we fixed it and its fine now.

[trikerider2oo7]

My bedroom is freezin cold too. Its in the basement and the heat doesn't work too good down there. I have a wood burner but I'm not skilled enough to start a fire. Dont recall any pipes bursting but I'm not good at remembering things.

[2strokepwer]

It's not cold enough to frieze here in Mississippi. I did encounter a problem last night. The cold water would not turn off in the shower so i had to go without water at my house until today after work.
I hope you fellows get your pipes unfrozen. I can't stand being without water and having to go to a friends or families house for water.

[84250r]

its 2:30 AM do you have water??



Yes.

[ATC crazy]

its 2:30 AM do you have water??



Yes.

Me too....

Its only getting down to the teens and 20's at nights here.

[Name Brand]

It's a real nightmare when the actual pump freezes. (We have a well). If the pump turns on when the water inside is frozen, it will shatter every part from the impeller to the case. This had happened once before, the only fix is a new pump. (The pump turns on automatically when the pressure tank gets low.) If you notice that the house doesn't have water, but there is pressure in the tank, it means the pump is frozen. When that happens we quickly cut the electricity to the well house to keep the pump from turning on and shaterring. We then remove the frozen pump from the top of the well head, bleed the pressure from the pressure tank, and remove the electrical connections and the pipes, then take the unit inside the house to thaw. Takes a couple of hours for it to thaw out completely, then it can be reinstalled.

It's a real bummer to do. :(

I can't say we've ever had any pipes freeze though. We keep our stuff pretty well insulated up here.

PS - Don't ever use Heattape, it will start fires! If it's in your house, rip it out!

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Sry to hear about that Matt.I woulda fell asleep next to the salamander in the crawlspace,I'm sure thats warmer than my house,lol,My house has a full basement under it that stays right around 45-50 degrees all year so the pipes never freeze.My house is well insulated but the windows are from around 1970 and they dont hold the heat in or keep out the cold.Why do fuel oil and propane prices go up as the temp goes down?

[ATC crazy]

...Why do fuel oil and propane prices go up as the temp goes down?

Ha....simple answer of supply and demand... :D

[polabareus]

I wish it really was that simple.

[foster]

PS - Don't ever use Heattape, it will start fires! If it's in your house, rip it out!
I used this product for years and never had a problem.
Now you've got me thinking about it!
What's your evidence?
I'm not doubting your word, I'm just wondering why you think it starts fires, so I can yank it out if I feel a need to.
Cheers.

[atcpunk107]

To answere the question about the price going up as the temp goes down. well the answere is they have us by the balls and we need fuel oil no matter and they know that so they jack the prices to get rich qiuck. same with gas in the summer, we need gas and they know it.

[Nuthinspecial]

So what's the solution??? Be self supporting of course, buy a wood stove and you won't have to be subject to the price fluxes for basic needs like heat. If you don't like wood, find something else, pellets, corn, whatever just so long as YOU are in control!

[Name Brand]

Foster-

Grab a piece of wire and a "D" size battery. Put on end of the wire on the positive, the other end on the negative. Keep your fingers on the wires at the terminals. It won't take long, you'll begin to feel heat. This is because you've created a short circuit. Heat tape operates on the same principle. This keeps the pipes warm.

In theory and on paper it works fine, in the real world many things cause heattape to be a bad thing. Just like a wire, it can become frayed or cut, exposing the actual wire, creating a spark hazard. If the tape is crossed over itself, it can overheat, melt through itself and possibly the pipe (plastic) itself. If the pipe is leaking, even only slightly, a combination of water and electricity is present and could be mixed. Many types of insulation do melt or burn when exposed to this heat. I've also never seen a crawlspace that didn't have exposed wood either.

Heattape also can be forgotten about by owners and rentors. Many fires happen becuase renters are unaware heattape is present in the structure they are renting. Consequently, it does not get inspected.

I have some influence at my local Fire Department and have also worked for the State Division of Forestry for the wildfire season, my brother is also a volunteer fireman, I hear things :shock: . Here's a couple of links I found, to help you believe me;

http://www.surgery.missouri.edu/departments/burncare/heattape.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/tape.html

http://classaction.findlaw.com/recall/cpsc/files/1996jan/96062.html

http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/040117localdispatches.shtml

The last link talks about a fire that happened in Maine, just last Friday.

I don't want to scare you tha much, just inform. I'm sure you can find some more information at NFPA.org, or always at your local fire hall.