Avoiding problems in this weather
- Thread starter Hib
- Start date
When water freezes it expands and can burst pipes. There are only two solutions. Get rid of the water, or prevent it freezing.
In an empty property turn off the water supply and drain everything down, that includes any water tanks, water cylinder and radiators. Even then, if any water remains in a dip in a pipe run you could still get problems. It is slightly less likely if the system is drained because there will be air in the rest of the system instead of water and air can be compressed as ice expands taking some of the pressure off, unlike water which doesn't compress and splits pipes instead. But this would only apply to any small amounts of water remaining, not a pipefull.
Where the water is left on, the building must be kept warm enough to protect all of the pipework. Some boilers have a frost setting that will warm the boiler when the temperature is getting close to freezing, and if it operates the pump and no motorised valves are fitted, the radiators too. However it will not do much, if anything, for any other pipework. For example the cold water supply. Insulation will help, but it will only slow heat loss. If there's no heat reaching some pipes because water is not run through them, eventually even lagged pipes could freeze. You could consider installing a frost thermostat in the coldest location in the property or where frozen pipes are most likely. This will keep the room air temperature above freezing and protect all pipework, rather than the boiler frost thermostat which only keeps the water in the heating system above freezing. Even then, low inside temperatures over a long spell could prevent sufficient heat reaching some pipes in the loft. If no one is living in the property, and the internal temperature is low for a long time, then you could lift the loft hatch slightly, just to let some heat through.
In an empty property turn off the water supply and drain everything down, that includes any water tanks, water cylinder and radiators. Even then, if any water remains in a dip in a pipe run you could still get problems. It is slightly less likely if the system is drained because there will be air in the rest of the system instead of water and air can be compressed as ice expands taking some of the pressure off, unlike water which doesn't compress and splits pipes instead. But this would only apply to any small amounts of water remaining, not a pipefull.
Where the water is left on, the building must be kept warm enough to protect all of the pipework. Some boilers have a frost setting that will warm the boiler when the temperature is getting close to freezing, and if it operates the pump and no motorised valves are fitted, the radiators too. However it will not do much, if anything, for any other pipework. For example the cold water supply. Insulation will help, but it will only slow heat loss. If there's no heat reaching some pipes because water is not run through them, eventually even lagged pipes could freeze. You could consider installing a frost thermostat in the coldest location in the property or where frozen pipes are most likely. This will keep the room air temperature above freezing and protect all pipework, rather than the boiler frost thermostat which only keeps the water in the heating system above freezing. Even then, low inside temperatures over a long spell could prevent sufficient heat reaching some pipes in the loft. If no one is living in the property, and the internal temperature is low for a long time, then you could lift the loft hatch slightly, just to let some heat through.
Completely agree with the above....temporarily blocking off air bricks can help too if the pipes are fairly close behind them.
John
John
bursts under a ground floor ( wooden) are not a real problem ..But roof bursts are ...and don`t assume that because it`s all drained there won`t be a pocket of ice somewhere 
. I`d have 2 people on a refill ..1 in roof and 1 on the stopcock on incoming main . ready to switch off quick
. I`d have 2 people on a refill ..1 in roof and 1 on the stopcock on incoming main . ready to switch off quick
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