Water Pipe

[Goju]

Hi,

I have a cold water pipe running undermy conservatory and runnin outside of my conservatory wall. now that the winter is coming i a concerned that it will freez and split. Its a copper pipe with n insulation at the moment.

can anybody suggets the best course of action for insualting the pipe.

or would it be just (if i could) turning the pipe off for the winte (not sure if this would prevent it spliting?

any help appricated

-- Goju

[Bill R]

Goju,

First of all, I noticed that you posted from the U.K. When I was in the U.K. (in the U.S. Air Force) we never had any problem with outside pipes freezing. It never stayed cold enough, long enough, to cause a problem.

However, if you feel that you need to do something the best thing to do is to turn off the water supply to that pipe and drain it as best you can. Copper pipes only split when the water in them freezes and expands enough to split them. In very cold areas, like here in the U.S., we use electric heat wrap devices to protect our outdoor pipes that we need to keep water supplied to during the winter. Those wraps and foam wraps over the pipe work very well at temperature much lower than you will ever see in the U.K. However, before investing in them I would talk to some of you fellow countrymen and see if anything is really required in your area.

[Kay Lancaster]

I'd probably pull in PEX and be much less worried about freeze-fracturing.

you can wrap all exposed pipe with heat tape and hope, or cut off water to that pipe and drain it (don't leave water in the pipe over winter)

[Persephone]

This is an area I know nothing about personally (So Calif coastal; no freeze), but I have read that people in freeze areas sometimes leave water trickling through the pipes.

I guess this would not be PC these days, esp. in areas where water is not abundant.

???? Inquiring minds...

Persephone

[Dioclese]

A medium speed drip rate run at night is okay if you live in a warm climate that may have a few intermittent "hard" freezes in the winter. Turn it off a day or two later when that "hard" freeze is done. If its too cold, the drip will eventually ice up. So, not a viable solution in colder areas. Also, it requires monitoring the outside air temperature, and weather forecasts.

When the overnight temp is leaning toward the lower 20s or below, I generally drip my well piping and external fixtures for garden hose. One faucet did freeze up last winter as I was too timid on the drip rate.