How to know in advance that water pressure regulator will pour water into your bassement?

Most "failures" can probably be solved with a rebuild kit.

Did you drain the water out of the regulator when you went on those long cold winter trips?

That must be what they're talking about, not 1" holes.

No one ever mentioned that either, but I suppose they would have if the pressure was too high or low or it made strange sounds.

Very insightful. I mean it. No. I drained the pipes but that wouldn't get the part where it comes in from underground at about 3 feet high from the basement floor, and then goes through the on/off valve and the regulator and up to the ceiling. I don't know how to drain it, not even now. One regulator, of the many I saw, had a draining nipple, and one version of the ball valve had a draining nipple, but I didn't buy that version.

FWIW, the hole is at the top of the regulator. I suppose when I'm not home, it's completely full from bottom to the top. The hole has a jaggedy edge, in the nature of cast bronze iiuc.

I don't think it would every get below freezing in my basement even without heat. What do you think? Baltimore and the earth outside goes up 6 feet from the basement floor. Maybe there is someone I can call that will know the answer. I always put antifreeze in the laundry tub trap, but I've never thought it could actually freeze. Otoh, the trip that started in very late February didn't end until May, so it would have warmed up by the time I got home. That was in 2017 and I think again starting early February**, 2022. Could it have frozen in 2022 but not leaked until 2024? **I wish I'd kept better records. I still have the emails with the airline reservation confirmations, but I have to hunt.

The last trip started Dec 27 or of last year so and ended January 26. When I got home, I had to go into the basement to turn on the furnace, water, and the water heater, and it wasn't very cold in the baseement. Because I went to Florida and Guatemala, I hadn't even taken a coat with me, and it didn't bother me and it took at least 5 minutes to turn all 3 on. Jan 26 was a pretty warm day for January, and so was the day I left. it was easy to get from the house to the taxi and back again. But I don't know much about the middle of January. I could look it up -- would it be worth it?

I've never drained the water heater. (though I think I forgot to turn it off the first long trip.)

My two-door-away neigbor said a couple weeks ago that his leaked a little at first and they tried to stop it with what that Flex Seal or Flex Tape (that used to advertise constantly (they taped a boat together). And when that didnt' work they used some other product by the same company. And when it continued to leak they called a plumber. I'll try to find out more details. i don't keep track if they take vacations or when.

You could wrap that pipe section with pipe heater tape with a thermostat to turn on the power if the pipe gets below freezing if you plan on future such trips. You could also get a thermometer with a low temp indicator so you actually know if it gets that cold there.

Or, just set a full lidded glass jar of water in a pan there. If it's broken when you get back.....

Even wrapping the pipes there with a bunch of insulation might keep it unfrozen with heat conducted in by the underground pipes.

Cavitation.

Both good ideas.

LOL I guess this would work but it deserves the 3 dots you gave it.

Another good idea.

I could also leave the water dripping, except that as I asked about in another post, the water seems to turn off by itself. I'd have to leave it more than dripping because if it was just dripping, I can see it stopping entirely within a day.

The prior owner was from Louisiana and as warm as Baltimore is, he was cold all the time, and in addition to his bedroom walls, he insulated the two outer walls of the basement laundry room, hanging bats of fiberglass from ceiling to floor, except behind the furnace. That was one more reason I thought it would not freeze. The other basement room was finished by the builder with "wood paneling". Probably no insulation behind it but even an air space behind it that's confined by the paneling would act as insulation.

Weather Underground, wunderground.com says that during January at the airport near here (they don't have historical data for as many locations as they have current data), from January 15th to 24th the max temp was

So that's 8 days with the average below freezing. With my house as described, do you think that's enough to freeze the pipe?

Which is more important, the average or the minimum?

Do you think the pipe can freeze in late January and not end my water pressure until April 24? Maybe it was cracked and dribbling all that time?

And the airport is little lower altitude, 300 feet lower, and probably warmer than where I live. When I worked at Beth Steel, on the water, I'd drive to work and see the amount of snow on the ground get less and less as I got closer to the water.

If the answer is that I let the pipe freeze, I guess I was 'too smart by half', thinking I knew how to protect myself. I saved 300 in fuel oil and an unknown amount in electricity, but I had to pay 150 for the regulator and another 40 or so for other parts. The water has dried out and I don't think it did other damage except to the cardboard boxes. (OTOH, I didn't have to buy a rebuild kit!! that I was apparently due for.)

I'm definitely going to go see my brother again, esp. since he's getting noticeably old, and the best time is when it's cold here, January, February, but only for a week at a time, and I'll turn the heat down but leave it on. (I may even go in the summer and remind myself why I don't want to move to Florida, no offense meant, Ed.)

It could have been stressed then , then some surge or water hammer finished it off.

Modern thermostats may not go there, but setting it at 40 or less would do it, assuming the basement gets a little of the heat.

You could put a thermostat near that pipe set at 35, either for the furnace, or just an electric heater there.

If it didn't get heat there, the pipes would have frosen even when I was home and didn't turn the thermostat down at all. But maybe not when the temp is set at 40.

The furnace is in that room and it and the flue radiate a little heat. The next room has a heaing duct.

That's a good idea. the furnace is close enough, on the other side of the room, and it's easy to put two thermostats in parallel. I have a spare thermostat.

I put in a second valve, a sharkbite ball valve, since the gate valve had to be turned fairly hard to stop the water completely. (But I left the gate valve too) and it occurrec to me I could change that out with a sharkbit gate valve with a drain nipple, and that would drain the water out of the the pressure regulator and top 4 feet of pipe. But then I realizeed it sill wouldnt drain the lowest foot of pipe or the gate valve, from where it enters. Too clever by half! That's me. I'm glad I didnt' tell anyone in my n'hood what I did, so none of them are imitating me.

Maybe the reason it never feels that cold down there or in other basements is that there is no wind, of course, and it's wind on your skin that really makes one feel cold. But water in a pipe doesn't care about that.

I have enjoyed the plumbing experience.

The instructions that accompany the regulator say it's preset to 50 PSI, but the new gauge I bought, also from Watts, says the pressure is 40 and very steady. (Hasn't gone up in 4 days. Probably hasn't gone down.)

Which one do you think is more likely to be wrong?

It could have just died of old age. Maybe it never did freeze. It is hard to tell after the fact.

Hard to tell. I find gauges to vary significantly. Same with tire gauges.

I'll try to remember that the next time I'm out in calm, subzero weather. It's not the temperature; it's the wind.

Duh, of course both matter but when it's 20 degrees, it's the wind that makes the difference. You can see this outdoors too, not just in basements, but outdoors there is often some wind, even on "calm" days.