Frozen Water pipes

discostu1

Hi lads living in Bishopstown, detached house Kenley area. We have no water since this morning, rang my plumber says its frozen pipes, rang City council they say the same. Both advised to put hot water down where the stopcock is. I have done this but still no water. The tank in the attic is empty at this stage.
The stopcock is on the footpath about 30 meters from the front door, and about 3/4 below the surface of the road.
I seem to be the only one effected in the estate, any suggestions or ideas, dont fancy waiting for a thaw

tommmy1979

Have you got a garden tap (on the wall below kitchen window)? These often cause this problem because they're exposed to the elements and they're between mains line and the house feed.. try pouring hot water on the outdoor tap.

T

Gwen10

We are in same situation - living in Douglas. No water since Tues morning. Seem to be only house in estate with no water. Got same advice from council but no luck and have no outside tap on mains.
Anybody got any advice ?

Stargate

discostu1 wrote: »

Hi lads living in Bishopstown, detached house Kenley area. We have no water since this morning, rang my plumber says its frozen pipes, rang City council they say the same. Both advised to put hot water down where the stopcock is. I have done this but still no water. The tank in the attic is empty at this stage.
The stopcock is on the footpath about 30 meters from the front door, and about 3/4 below the surface of the road.
I seem to be the only one effected in the estate, any suggestions or ideas, dont fancy waiting for a thaw

Mine was the same since last monday , do the hot water thing to no avail , it came on last nite after the thaw , letting it trickle now to be sure

discostu1

Hi lads tried hot water on the outside tap still no joy,are there many others in this situation

FunkyMissMonkey

I'm in Grange with no water since Tuesday also. Really hoping it gets a little warmer today to help it thaw!

I'd like to be able to have a shower for Christmas ... :rolleyes:

D-Generate

Pour down salt water maybe?

discostu1

Hi lads, still no water.Was hoping the thaw today would help.Anyone have any idea how long this could take?

Thanks again.

discostu1

Hi chaps sorry to be a bore but still no water, has anyone who had frozen pipes got theirs back or has any one an idea of what if anything I can do, or a time frame for this to thaw. I saw a forcast tonight saying it was ok tonight but getting cold again in the next few days

leahyl

discostu1 wrote: »

Hi chaps sorry to be a bore but still no water, has anyone who had frozen pipes got theirs back or has any one an idea of what if anything I can do, or a time frame for this to thaw. I saw a forcast tonight saying it was ok tonight but getting cold again in the next few days

Hi my friend had no water for 2days and got it back yesterday but she recommended to keep pouring boiling water on the stopcock so maybe keep doing that constantly cos that's what got it back for them:)

rebel.ranter

Just remember you are trying to thaw out days of freezing water, it might need a good bit of hot water on the stop cock. I'd say your outside tap has thawed out at this stage.

discostu1

Hi lads, woke up this morning and had my water back, many thanks for all the replies, off now to have a shower in my own house for the first time in days :D:D

FunkyMissMonkey

Still no water here, really worried it's a burst pipe somewhere now. Eeep.

discostu1

Sorry to hear that FunkyMissMonkey mate of mine has a neighbour in Rochestown in the same position. IF it was a broken pipe, assuming it has thawed where would the water go ???

FunkyMissMonkey

Not a burst pipe, just a longer thawing time apparently! I HAVE WATER, WOOOO!

So needing a shower at this point.

discostu1

Great News Funky, one thing, when they do meter water, I reckon I will be bankrupt I must use a fortune every day you only realise it when you dont have it. Forecast now on the tv Bitterly cold sleet snow, severe frost so I will be letting my tap run over night

nifheorais

No water since Christmas Day in shantalla Galway city.City council is of no use to us. At least 3 houses all neighbours on same street have rang in and no plumber has appeared that I know of. I have left messages on voice mail but no one has got back to us.What can we do? :mad::eek:

discostu1

Sorry to hear that nifheorais, I spoke to the Corpo and my plumber and I am on very good terms with the plumber, basically he reckoned nothing can be done, in my particular case, he did say that in rare enough cases you could put in an electric cable that would run parallel to the pipe but emphasised this would be rare. Like yourself we were just told to sit it out. Looking at the forecast it aint getting a lot better for the next few days

FunkyMissMonkey

discostu1 wrote: »

Great News Funky, one thing, when they do meter water, I reckon I will be bankrupt I must use a fortune every day you only realise it when you dont have it. Forecast now on the tv Bitterly cold sleet snow, severe frost so I will be letting my tap run over night

Tell me about it! We bought 30 2l bottles from Tesco (39c a bottle, it's like the water metering already started!) and the rate we went through it was scary. I dread to think how much the water charges are going to start costing us all.

Outkast_IRE

I would reccomend to anyone whos pipes have frozen to consider digging up along the line during the summer and burying the pipe deeper and insulating it as well at the same time

sunnyside

Does this sound like frozen water pipes?

My taps are working and the cistern re-filled but there is no water coming from the shower.

Is this possibly bacause the taps are working from the tank in the attic but the shower requires too much water?

suppafly

Our pipes froze the other day too. Came back by the middle of the day thankfully. Its ment to be even colder tonight though so hopefully they don't freeze up again

FunkyMissMonkey

I'd advise you keep a tap running, preferably the one that comes straight off the mains supply (kitchen sink in most cases). This *should* stop it freezing, as the constant movement of the water means it doesn't have time to freeze.

With the forecast temperatures we've got coming up this week though, who knows. :rolleyes:

discostu1

Hi lads in Dec last year my water pipes along with lots of others in the city frozen.It turned out it froze at the stopcock where it joined the mains I saw an ad in the Cork Independent the other weel and had a stopcock cosy think of a tea cosy but for a stopcock fitted today. €25.00 and all done by a local bloke.
Well worth the money I reckon barring Siberian frost I should be sorted
the website is
www.stopcockcosy.com

the phone no is 0214546800

I hasten to add I have no connection with this guy but its a good item, its local comparatively cheap and it means I wont smell over Christmas this year well worth a look

Outkast_IRE

as a plumber i can tell you that the idea is flawed , i could see it make a small difference where the stop cock is particularily exposed , but with a lot of the houses with frozen mains its a case where all the pipework and stopcock is far shallower than they should be . so the freeze isnt necessarily at the stopcock at all .
Best of luck anyway, hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot.

Owen

If you have any unused car batteries lying around, connecting a set of jumpleads onto it, and shorting them off your stopcock will pretty much decimate any ice inside too. Word of warning, it can also give you a nasty shock if you don't know what you're doing, but it's a very very quick fix.

deRanged

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

as a plumber i can tell you that the idea is flawed , i could see it make a small difference where the stop cock is particularily exposed , but with a lot of the houses with frozen mains its a case where all the pipework and stopcock is far shallower than they should be . so the freeze isnt necessarily at the stopcock at all .
Best of luck anyway, hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot.

I was about to chip in and agree with this.
our house froze last year and the problem was with the main line just outside the house - whereas the neighbours froze and they were able to thaw it at the stopcock. it's a small enough amount of money to eliminate one possible problem though.

2 stroke

PaintDoctor wrote: »

If you have any unused car batteries lying around, connecting a set of jumpleads onto it, and shorting them off your stopcock will pretty much decimate any ice inside too. Word of warning, it can also give you a nasty shock if you don't know what you're doing, but it's a very very quick fix.

I really wouldn't recomend this.

Oafley Jones

2 stroke wrote: »

I really wouldn't recomend this.

+1

That sort of "advice" shouldn't be posted.

themonboys

2 stroke wrote: »

I really wouldn't recomend this.

Neither would I, a lot more amps in DC, direct short with no load, massive release of hydrogen with possible nearby sparks, potential for current to travel along the water and zap anyone having a shower touching a rad/tap in near by houses.

Owen

Jesus lads, you'd swear it was a move by Al Quaida. You're not talking about clamping it on and letting the current into the water, it's an instantaneous thing, did it with plenty of houses in my estate last year, and no hassles at all.

Where's the hydrogen supposed to come from btw? Genuinely curious.

Owen

BTW, while the EMF of a car battery is high, it's not going to be remotely anything like what you're discussing - giving someone a shock through the water system. Remember, pipes are already in the ground, electricity takes the shortest route to ground, why would it go into the water system, and then to ground afterwards? That sort of nonsense is that type of 'advice' and pseudo science which shouldn't be posted when trying to dismiss something on the grounds of good old health and safety (The two most dangerous words in the english language (tm)).

If you don't want to do it, don't. But it does work. Sure there's risks, but no worse than some of the mental advice in here last winter.

Oafley Jones

Given how strict Boards.ie is on issues relating to even the most innocuous Medical advice - I'm assuming for reasons of liability more than anything else - a post such as yours, which looks like a qualifying test for the darwin awards, shouldn't be posted.

themonboys

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Jesus lads, you'd swear it was a move by Al Quaida. You're not talking about clamping it on and letting the current into the water, it's an instantaneous thing, did it with plenty of houses in my estate last year, and no hassles at all.

Where's the hydrogen supposed to come from btw? Genuinely curious.

PaintDoctor wrote: »

BTW, while the EMF of a car battery is high, it's not going to be remotely anything like what you're discussing - giving someone a shock through the water system. Remember, pipes are already in the ground, electricity takes the shortest route to ground, why would it go into the water system, and then to ground afterwards? That sort of nonsense is that type of 'advice' and pseudo science which shouldn't be posted when trying to dismiss something on the grounds of good old health and safety (The two most dangerous words in the english language (tm)).

If you don't want to do it, don't. But it does work. Sure there's risks, but no worse than some of the mental advice in here last winter.

Hydrogen from the battery, it's a by-product of the chemical reaction inside the cell and is given off through little vents ( granted, it happens more so when the battery is being charged but I still wouldn't trust it).With possible sparks from when you clamp on and off and hydrogen, it can lead to quite a bang resulting in acid flying everywhere.

About the pipes already touching the ground, if that's the case why do the pipes need to be bonded in the first place? It's because the ground's conductivity changes under different conditions. Do you know the conductivity of frozen ground? I don't but I bet it's lower due to the lack of liquid water.


Edit: I should add that this also applies to when you are jump starting your car, before you stick on the last clamp, look away. That way you won't be blinded if the worst happens, as many a one eyed mechanic will tell you

Owen

themonboys wrote: »

Hydrogen from the battery, it's a by-product of the chemical reaction inside the cell and is given off through little vents ( granted, it happens more so when the battery is being charged but I still wouldn't trust it).With possible sparks from when you clamp on and off and hydrogen, it can lead to quite a bang resulting in acid flying everywhere.

Ah now you're really taking the piss. The battery is about 2 metres away,hence the jump leads, its hardly down the hole with the stop cock.

About the pipes already touching the ground, if that's the case why do the pipes need to be bonded in the first place? It's because the ground's conductivity changes under different conditions. Do you know the conductivity of frozen ground? I don't but I bet it's lower due to the lack of liquid water.

Really? Signs say no TBH, conductivity improves with cold. Which is why when superconductor research was being done, liquid nitrogen was used to cool the conducting material to absolute zero in an attempt to gain the highest transfer of current with the minimum losses.

Edit: I should add that this also applies to when you are jump starting your car, before you stick on the last clamp, look away. That way you won't be blinded if the worst happens, as many a one eyed mechanic will tell you

I'm in the Motor Trade a long time. I've never seen a mechanic blinded by jump starting a car, and I've jump started hundreds myself. The sparks on connecting a crocodile clip to the terminal are minute. You can hear them, but you can barely see them. Tiny!

Owen

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Given how strict Boards.ie is on issues relating to even the most innocuous Medical advice - I'm assuming for reasons of liability more than anything else - a post such as yours, which looks like a qualifying test for the darwin awards, shouldn't be posted.

Really? I've yet to see why given everyone's hysterical posts. You shouldn't do that! Why? Well, I don't know, but you shouldn't do it.

So apart from themonboys lack of any credible scientific fact, has anyone a real reason? And considering I did this well over a dozen times in my housing estate last year with no ill effects?

MunsterCycling

Someone put Eoin on decaf!!! LOL

themonboys

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Ah now you're really taking the piss. The battery is about 2 metres away,hence the jump leads, its hardly down the hole with the stop cock.

You're spot on there, I never heard of a gas to travel in the breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvLnoeQIsvk&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvLnoeQIsvk

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Really? Signs say no TBH, conductivity improves with cold. Which is why when superconductor research was being done, liquid nitrogen was used to cool the conducting material to absolute zero in an attempt to gain the highest transfer of current with the minimum losses.

Conducting material being the water in this case, the same water you are running the current down. What if the house has Quadplex. ie plastic pipes, how is the current going to get to earth? Hopefully not through your showering neighbor.

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I'm in the Motor Trade a long time. I've never seen a mechanic blinded by jump starting a car, and I've jump started hundreds myself. The sparks on connecting a crocodile clip to the terminal are minute. You can hear them, but you can barely see them. Tiny!

Spark size is irreverent, any spark no matter how small can set the hydrogen off. I'm not in the motor trade and I know 2 mechanics that have had batteries explode on them, one was lucky not to be blinded as he looked away when clamping on the last clip.

Watch from 7 mins onwards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVH8ooV4QjA&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVH8ooV4QjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6CxVyCzntU&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6CxVyCzntU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwWwCZF6FW0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwWwCZF6FW0

babo9

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Someone put Eoin on decaf!!! LOL

Haha thinking that myself.

Leave it go PD, don't like criticism eh

MunsterCycling

babo9 wrote: »

Haha thinking that myself.

Leave it go PD, don't like criticism eh

Not at all my intention. Those who have commented here without ever having done this trick should really just move along.

Whoo Hoooo 4500 posts!

Owen

themonboys wrote:

Conducting material being the water in this case, the same water you are running the current down. What if the house has Quadplex. ie plastic pipes, how is the current going to get to earth? Hopefully not through your showering neighbor.

You're not really grasping basic plumbing, are you. Qualplex (That's the name by the way, not quadplex) outdoors. - well, there's no such thing as a stopcock made from qualplex, it's still going to be good old fashioned metal, stuck into earth. Shortest route still being from the metal stopcock, to the earth surrounding it.

Spark size is irreverent, any spark no matter how small can set the hydrogen off. I'm not in the motor trade and I know 2 mechanics that have had batteries explode on them, one was lucky not to be blinded as he looked away when clamping on the last clip.

Who are the two mechanics? Cork being the small place, I may know them by name especially given the trade I'm in.

This being the special hydrogen released in such masssive quantities that it's going to make it 1.5/2 metres from the battery, in the specific direction of the shore - nowhere else, then take an abrupt 90 degree turn down into the shore, and gather in sufficient quantities around the stopcock?

I asked a few mechanic friends in an industrial estate I was working in today if they'd ever heard of anyone being blinded by jump starting a battery, or hydrogen had exploded. Turns out, that in my 10 years in the trade, these fella's combined 150 or so years, they haven't heard of a single case either.

And then there's the slight fact (Despite repeating it ad nauseum), that I've done this particular routine dozens of times, and I'm still able to stare at a womans breasts for an abnormally long amount of time.*

*Totally unrelated of course, but if you have fully functioning, non hydrogen cumbusted occulus, sure you might as well make good use of them.

themonboys

PaintDoctor wrote: »

You're not really grasping basic plumbing, are you. Qualplex (That's the name by the way, not quadplex) outdoors. - well, there's no such thing as a stopcock made from qualplex, it's still going to be good old fashioned metal, stuck into earth. Shortest route still being from the metal stopcock, to the earth surrounding it.



Who are the two mechanics? Cork being the small place, I may know them by name especially given the trade I'm in.

This being the special hydrogen released in such masssive quantities that it's going to make it 1.5/2 metres from the battery, in the specific direction of the shore - nowhere else, then take an abrupt 90 degree turn down into the shore, and gather in sufficient quantities around the stopcock?

I asked a few mechanic friends in an industrial estate I was working in today if they'd ever heard of anyone being blinded by jump starting a battery, or hydrogen had exploded. Turns out, that in my 10 years in the trade, these fella's combined 150 or so years, they haven't heard of a single case either.

And then there's the slight fact (Despite repeating it ad nauseum), that I've done this particular routine dozens of times, and I'm still able to stare at a womans breasts for an abnormally long amount of time.*

*Totally unrelated of course, but if you have fully functioning, non hydrogen cumbusted occulus, sure you might as well make good use of them.

You've it all figured out PD so I'm not going to waste anymore time on this subject.

MunsterCycling

Called your bluff.. Well done PD

themonboys

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Called your bluff.. Well done PD

What bluff????

parsi

All this talk about hydrogen gas and losing eyes is worrying.

Would it be safer if we just ran a long lead from a socket inside the house and use that ?

Owen

parsi wrote: »

All this talk about hydrogen gas and losing eyes is worrying.

Would it be safer if we just ran a long lead from a socket inside the house and use that ?

ROFL, no no no. What you need to do is get a welder, replace the argon/co2 gas with some pure oxygen, and weld some rusty nails onto the stopcock. The resulting kaboom will turn the rust into thermite, and burn right through the metal, and down into the ground, and the heat will make your water flow again

themonboys

parsi wrote: »

All this talk about hydrogen gas and losing eyes is worrying.

Would it be safer if we just ran a long lead from a socket inside the house and use that ?

Hehehe, that's on a par I'd say!!!

jkob

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

as a plumber i can tell you that the idea is flawed , i could see it make a small difference where the stop cock is particularily exposed , but with a lot of the houses with frozen mains its a case where all the pipework and stopcock is far shallower than they should be . so the freeze isnt necessarily at the stopcock at all .
Best of luck anyway, hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot.

FLAWED?????????/, left and right of me are without water this morning, I gambled against your advice as you said "hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot", well the stopcock cosy did what it says on the package, I'll be given them as gifts this xmas.

Outkast_IRE

jkob wrote: »

FLAWED?????????/, left and right of me are without water this morning, I gambled against your advice as you said "hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot", well the stopcock cosy did what it says on the package, I'll be given them as gifts this xmas.

Well what that means is in your particular estate its very likely that the stopcocks arent deep enough.
Well in fairness your not gambling against my advice if i said "its worth a shot" i tell anybody who froze last year to give it a shot. and the idea is still stopgap at best if yourstop cock is freezing then odds are the rest of the pipe coming into the house isnt too far behind it .

Stark

jkob wrote: »

FLAWED?????????/, left and right of me are without water this morning, I gambled against your advice as you said "hope it helps for €25 its worth a shot", well the stopcock cosy did what it says on the package, I'll be given them as gifts this xmas.

1st post. Is anyone else thinking shill?

jkob

Thats not very kind of you to place a negative against my post. I'm confident paintdoctor would vouch for me. Its maybe a first post, yet I have used this board in other ways. If you care to visit to see the terrace I'm living at my name and address can be pm'd, and hopefully you will edit and correct your post.