Leaving taps dripping, to prevent pipes from freezing?

[opps]

It's a nonsense article. Pipes burst when they freeze, not when they thaw. They can't even get the basics right.

To be fair, and I say this after a couple of pints (and as someone who respects you)... they seem to be saying that the freezing water expands and puts stress on the joints. I believe they are saying that by leaving the tap in a drip state, whilst it will not prevent the tap/pipe from freezing, once the pipe thaws, it will allow the water to escape from the spout rather than a joint.

That said, if a joint has failed, when you turn the tap off, the leak will become obvious anyway.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

To be fair, and I say this after a couple of pints (and as someone who respects you)... they seem to be saying that the freezing water expands and puts stress on the joints. I believe they are saying that by leaving the tap in a drip state, whilst it will not prevent the tap/pipe from freezing, once the pipe thaws, it will allow the water to escape from the spout rather than a joint.

The idea might be....

A dripping tap, will allow the slightly warmer water from below ground pipes, to flow through the exposed above ground pipes, and thus help prevent them freezing. Much depends upon the lengths of the exposed pipes, and temperatures.

 

[opps]

The idea might be....

A dripping tap, will allow the slightly warmer water from below ground pipes, to flow through the exposed above ground pipes, and thus help prevent them freezing. Much depends upon the lengths of the exposed pipes, and temperatures.

You may be correct. I dunno.

The link was from a country which gets significantly colder than most of the UK, and presumably, most Canadians are not on a water meter.

I kinda like the logic, but it is beyond my ken.

 

[denso13]

To be fair, and I say this after a couple of pints (and as someone who respects you)... they seem to be saying that the freezing water expands and puts stress on the joints. I believe they are saying that by leaving the tap in a drip state, whilst it will not prevent the tap/pipe from freezing, once the pipe thaws, it will allow the water to escape from the spout rather than a joint.

But the pipe bursts and joints separate when the water freezes. A tap left to drip will do diddly squat to help as the water will freeze regardless..

It also needs a prolonged cold snap well below freezing, wind also makes it worse, to affect pipework. A bit of a cold few days in winter won't really cause many problems.