Outside loo and freezing

[Booty]

The house where my daughter lives has a ( redundant ) outside loo. It IS used very occasionally though just for convenience but it's not essential.

There was a burst in there the other day due to freezing but luckily it has a stop tap where the supply rises from the floor and the supply was turned off.

The same supply supplies a garden tap for watering plants.

I placed a paraffin storm lamp near where the supply enters the loo and below the level of the stop tap to help prevent freezing in future. If there was a burst there below the stop tap that would be very difficult.

I went down there today and the paraffin had run out in the storm lamp after

2 days.

Now I've tried to impress on her how important it is not to have a burst below the stop tap but she is young and, probably, negligent in this respect.

Paraffin is not easy to find these days either, and if it was, would she top the storm lamp up when required.

I've thought that I should just remove the supply from the outside loo but it does have its uses for watering the garden in the summer months.

Any suggestions.

BTW we do own the house.

.

[Graham.]

[robgraham]

Use CH oil for the lamp - it's just not quite so pure paraffin. In fact smell it then go to the local airport and take a sniff off a jet

- it's the same thing. Rob

[chris French]

In message , Booty writes

Heat tape if you can get access to an electricity supply. eg

This has the advantage of needing no action like turning of valves etc.

Or fit an stop c*ck inside and turn off the supply for the winter. Miight need to fit some arrangement for draining down the pipe work

[george [dicegeorge]]

I'd put in another stopcock somewhere warmer and then drain the pipes for the winter- you dont need to water the garden in the winter and occasional loo use can be sorted with a bucket of water.

[g]

[newshound]

Yes, and maybe run the new feed in plastic which is much more tolerant (IME), then you could leave the stop tap on.

[Graham.]

Insulate the pipe.

That's like putting a fur coat on a corpse.

[chris French]

In message , newshound writes

It is, and you are more likley to get away with a bit of freezing. But still advisable to turn of the stop tap.

But what can happen instead is that a joint gets forced apart, esp if it a compression joint (say to a tap) - BTDTGTTS in the greenhouse one year whilst we were away.

[newshound]

Good point. I've had an outside tap with no problems for over 20 years (but it is plumbed in Acorn, and the grip springs are quite robust). It's gone a bit pale in the UV (it was only ever meant to be a short term fix)

>

[Booty]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

There is a stop tap out there and it is now turned off but the stop tap is about 12 inches above floor level so the pipe below it is vulnerable - and it's lead. It is impractical to run in plastic as the toilet is at the bottom of the garden away from the house and the pipe emerges from concrete in the toilet and there are flags laid on the route from the house.

All the pipes are insulated and were last winter but no burst then and it was colder for longer.

There is no electricity out there at present but I do like the idea of a frost stat ( have a redundant one somewhere ) and a low power electric heater. I think that is the way forward for me.

Thanks again.

[Frank Erskine]

DOES the pipe come from the house, or is the supply from the outside stop tap split underground to feed the house and the outside lavatory?

If the supply comes via the house there may not be too much of a problem in fitting a stop tap in the house to the feed to "outside".