Not How I Wanted to Start the Year
By koopharper
@koopharper (7477)
Canada
January 1, 2019 6:00pm CST
Seems the ground frost is running deeper this year than in the past. Got under our camp and froze the water line coming in. That's a minor disaster for us.
This line would freeze when we first got it running but after insulating the pipe from the ground up to the floor and then blocking cold air from blowing in under that part of the camp, we never had another problem. Until yesterday evening.
It took me most of the day to open the line back up and until I finally succeeded I doubted we would manage it. I put in additional insulation and improved the wind barrier. Hopefully, that will not happen again. Temperature is supposed to fall through the floor again so it won't take long to test it. This time though we have a blanket of snow on the ground and I think we're safe.
I hope that's our biggest unwanted challenge for the coming year. Wishing everyone here all the best for 2019.
8 people like this
11 responses
@acelawrites (19273)
• Philippines
2 Jan 19
It would be hard if you have frozen pipes; then you won't have water supply?
2 people like this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
If I can't thaw it out the nearest water is half a kilometre deeper in the bush. There is a natural spring where they used to water the horses for the sawmills a hundred years ago. It's just a trickle and hard to access. It would be a very inconvenient chore to have to haul water from there on foot.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
So far the freeze-up hasn't recurred. I'm relieved. The next twelve hours or so will tell me if we're in the clear for the rest of the winter.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
@LadyDuck This pipe was insulated and better than I remember but it did freeze up again. The temperature dipped down to -27C a couple days ago. I finally got it flowing again today. I am hoping to dig out around it thawing the ground with a space heater a little at a time. Once I'm deep enough I'm going to install heat tape (which is really a pipe heating cable) and then reinsulate the pipe. It's a daunting task.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458006)
• Switzerland
3 Jan 19
@koopharper For the moment the temperature here has been pretty mild. All our pipes are insulated and I have turned off the water in the garden, I cross my fingers.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215389)
• Chile
2 Jan 19
I´m so sorry. The ground doesn´t freeze where I live but I can understand your problem.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
@marguicha Refroze and rethawed. I don't think I'm done with this one yet.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
We get ground frost every year but I don't remember it ever going that deep here before.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
2 Jan 19
Hopefully you have it licked. It's supposed to be really cold again tonight.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
So far so good. No signs of it freezing up over the last 24 hours. Tonight will really tell though because it was already below zero Fahrenheit when I got home this evening.
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
I don't know how cold it got where you are but our outdoor thermometer read -27C and yes the pipe refroze. I finally got it flowing again this evening. I have a plan to lick the problem for good but it won't be easy.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
@koopharper I couldn't read the thermometer...the window was frosted over. It was cold...the birds were busy at the feeder.
Next year I hope to get a "weather station" with a remote thermometer we can put down by the garden.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
I had me quite worried. The insulation around the pipe was dry which meant the freeze-up had to be underground; I was concerned that I might not be able to reach it.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
@JudyEv We aren't done yet. It refroze. I managed to get the water flowing again today but I have some work to do to keep this from happening more this winter.
@JudyEv (325696)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Jan 19
@koopharper It could have been a costly fix.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
Nuisance is a pretty good word for it. Wasted most of a perfectly good day chasing after that.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
@paigea Not done eating up my time either. It refroze and now I have it thawed again. Was too busy working at it to keep folks up to date here.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35678)
• Canada
4 Jan 19
@koopharper these things really do eat up our time.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157552)
• United States
2 Jan 19
Oh my, what a way to start the year.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
Not my idea of fun. It isn't just that it's a difficult problem to solve. If it can't be fixed it has to be worked around until spring.
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
9 Mar 19
Glad to hear you got it thawed out. I hope that no pipes burst.
@averygirl72 (37716)
• Philippines
3 Jan 19
A challenge to face for the new year. Hope to resolve it
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
5 Jan 19
The problem recurred so I have some serious work to do to make sure I don't end up battling this for the rest of the winter. I would have updated this sooner but I was outside on my belly in the snow working to fix it.
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
I'd rather do without that kind of a challenge. The consequences aren't life-threatening but it would make life pretty difficult for the rest of the winter. Thankfully the measures I've taken seem to be keeping it clear for now.
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
2 Jan 19
Sorry to hear that. Hope it won't happen again.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7477)
• Canada
3 Jan 19
Hopefully, it won't recur. I can't think of too many other things that we could've tried to get the water flowing again.
1 person likes this
