WJcandee
Wise One
It's cold enough here in NY that for the first time in memory a cold water pipe froze that runs through the unheated garage to the apartment above. The apartment has its own little hot water heater, so only cold comes over from the main house. The copper pipe runs in a chase next to hydronic heating lines, which have always kept the chase warm enough that the cold water pipe didn't freeze. The combination of the wind and the sustained low temperature apparently overcame that, and the pipe froze. Fortunately, I caught the problem before the clog could expand enough to split the pipe, and the problem was resolved in ten minutes with a low-voltage, high-current electric pipe unfreezer (operated expertly by our friends at Maccarone Plumbing, who earned freakin' $400 for their effort, but, hey, they came over in less than 30 minutes and saved me from having to replace a section of pipe, so it's worth it, right?). (And the expense reminds me that I need to silence the little voice that says, "You're being paranoid and wasting water," when I want to run the faucet up there at more than a little drip.)
Anyway, the ice-clog was easily found and fixed with the electic pipe-warmer with minimal destruction to the chase (just enough to get the battery-charger-like clamp in there), which couldn't happen if the line was PEX. Because PEX doesn't conduct electricity. Just a thought for those in colder climes...
Anyway, the ice-clog was easily found and fixed with the electic pipe-warmer with minimal destruction to the chase (just enough to get the battery-charger-like clamp in there), which couldn't happen if the line was PEX. Because PEX doesn't conduct electricity. Just a thought for those in colder climes...
Last edited: