Alternative ways to prevent winter pipe burst?

[astraweb ($ to read)]

The pipe going through (uninsulated) garage wall to the outside faucet burst for the second time. Although I turned off the shutoff valve feeding this pipe and drained the water out, the valve turned back on slightly (due to cold?) causing the pipe to fill with water again that eventually turned into ice.

I'm sick of fixing this pipe. Interestingly it burst at exactly the same spot as last year. I want to fix it once and for all.

Is there another type of pipe that can be used instead of copper that can give a little and therefore cannot burst? Or perhaps there is some long thin flexible material I can insert into the pipe that takes up some space but not enough to hinder water flow, so that when ice form this long thin flexible material would shrink to allow the ice to expand?

Otherwise I would have to put a heat tape on this pipe. But the heat tape says not to use it in enclosed wall, so that means I have to cut open a section of the drywall to expose the pipe, in order to use the heat tape?

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Tried fros free faucet? It'll hekp you drain the pipe after shtting the line off.

[Twayne]

Put in a freeze protected shutoff, AND fix the leaking shut off. Make sure the line is free of water after the water's turned off. Learn from experience.

[cavedweller]

A frost free faucet only moves the shut off point 12" or so from the faucet outlet. The OP indicates he may have a whole garage full of frozen pipe ahead of that. I think a shut-off stop with a drain in a heated location would be the answer.

[HeyBub]

PEX?

[Ralph Mowery]

Maybe a combination of PEX and a 2 way type valve. One way goes to the garage piping and the other way dumps the water out of the garage pipes to the drain or ground when turned off.

[mkirsch1]

Instead of trying to come up with cockamaime non-standard ways of "fixing" the problem, why don't you fix the problem?

The problem is the leaky/faulty shut off valve inside the house.

Repair or replace that valve. Problem solved.

Also, leave the outside valve OPEN during the winter. If the inside valve is leaking this will prevent the pipe from filling up with water and bursting. Any leakage will run out on the ground.

[trader4]

My two cents:

If the shutoff valve inside the house is leaking, then replace the valve. The existing one and the new one should have a small drain cap that you can remove to let the water drain out of the pipe. Also, if the existing one has a drain and you left the drain cap off, any small amount of water that got by would simply run out of the drain and then the pipe would not fill with water. A temporary solution, if the valve is leaking, might be to put a 5 gallon bucket under the shutoff valve drain. If that's the only problem, then the solution is simple.

Another problem could be the way the pipe is pitched between the shutoff and the sill c*ck. If its not pitched back toward the valve, it won't drain. Possible solution to that would be to re-pitch the pipe.

Some folks have suggested a frost-proof sill c*ck. That works as long as the temp inside the garage does not drop low enough to freeze the pipe there. Could work in some climates, depending on how cold the garage gets. But if you have exposed pipe in the garage that's full of water, that could freeze if it gets cold enough. You could put heat tape on the pipe in the garage together with a frost-proof sill c*ck.

I also have to disagree with leaving the sill c*ck open to allow any leakage water to run out. While it will let that happen, it won't prevent it from freezing a bursting anyway. A steady flow at a decent pace would, but a slow drip from a bad shutoff valve won't provide enough flow to prevent freezing.

[clare]

Buy and install a "frostproof hydrant" - and make SURE to disconnect any hose on the cold side. It shuts off on the warm side - and if it can drain on the cold side it cannot split. It is IMPERITIVE that the hose be disconnected from the cold side.

[clare]

ASSuming the pipe is properly sloped to the outside.

[jamesgangnc]

0$29718$c3e8da3$ [e-mail]...

Pex is little more tolerant of freezing but not completely. It will expand a little but it won't collapse back when it thaws. So if you freeze it a few times it will beak at some point.

As others have pointed out a shutoff in a heated location is the only solution that really works. You must leave the outside faucet open. And if the shutoff valve is leaking replace or repair it. And the plumbing between the shutoff and the outside faucet must all slope down to the outside faucet so that water does not pool in a section of pipe.

[Fat Dumb & Happy]

You might consider replacing the line with some CPVC or PVC and a CPVC/PVC union, then just unhook the thing come winter and hook it back up after the last freeze of spring. That's probably what I'd do....

[EXT]

What grade of copper pipe are you using???? I had a similar problem in my garage, even though I drained the pipe it split several years in a row. I was using grade "M". Useless stuff, it will split open just thinking of winter. I changed it over to type "L", a much heavier walled pipe and it has been good for about 10 years. Yes, I drain the pipe, leave the valves all open, including the drain valve, with the shutoff valve is about 40 feet inside the house, but that "M" type just was a waste of time and money.