Freezing pipes in mobile

[Bill Wielert]

What is a good, best? way to prevent pipes from freezing under a mobile with pvc pipes? The mobile has aluminum skirting and is subject to single digit temps.

[AJScott]

Me, I'd buy a house. But running all your faucets at a trickle during the deep freeze times works until you can get yourself down to the hardware store and buy yourself some really good pipe-wrap insulation.

You might also ask your neighbors what they use on their trailer pipes to see what's been working for them, too.

AJS

[Joseph Meehan]

Heat tape is the only thing that worked for my sister. She kept trying different things, for some reason she did not like the idea of heat tape. None of the ideas worked and some caused other damage.

[Childfree Scott]

I also recommend heat tracing (self regulating, with the indicating light at the end of the tape, along with a thermostat). That and some insulation (not the foam type for this application either).

[E5I5O]

"Bill Wielert" wrote in message news:EL8Pb.38339$ [e-mail]...

Having owned two mobile homes (aka trailers) I have found that good heat tape works wonders. Though in my case I run two heat tapes as I have a very long run from the ground to the bottom of the house. The trick of working with the stuff is to make sure you don't overlap the tape upon itself as that could create a fire risk. But if you are careful you can wind it fairly close to itself as long as it is not touching. I also suggest a few pieces of duct tape to hold the furthest end (the end without the plug) to the lowest point and start wrapping from there back to the outlet. Though in most newer homes the outlet is setup on a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) circuit I would suggest using a common power strip (like that found in computer stores) with a breaker, mounted upside down (with the holes facing the ground) to power the thing of the cord it too short to reach the outlet. This way you have little worries about water and electrical issues. Lastly Make sure that the pipes are wrapped with a good amount of insulation after the heat tape is placed to insure that the pipes stay warm. I would also suggest that a higher priced heat tape will work far better then a cheap on, and looking for a brand that has a thermostat (which the sensor has to be in direct contact to the pipe), is the best bet. In my first mobile home I learned that the hard way, the first heat taped lasted 6 months, but the second lasted 8 years before I removed it for placement of my newest home. Hope this helps!

Sincerely, Jeigh