Outside loo and freezing

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

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

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.

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

Insulate the pipe.

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

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.

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)

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.

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".