How to warm the pipe: practical recommendations for the

Pipeline freezing is one of the most common problems that arises due to improper pipe laying technology. If you had just such a nuisance, then below are some of the most popular solutions, after reading which, you can learn how to warm the pipe in the ground or inside the room.

Methods for heating the frozen pipe

Indoor work

Frozen piping can be heated by hot watering, it is one of the most frequently used methods.

• You need to wrap the pipe with a cloth or foam rubber and pour hot water over the frozen area. The disadvantage of this method is the ability to apply it only on an open pipeline, and besides, it will take a very long time.

• The next way to warm a frozen pipe is to use boiling water, which is fed into the inside of the pipe. The boiling water can be supplied under pressure; heating can be carried out using any household appliance (kettle, boiler). This method is suitable only for uniform areas and also takes a lot of time.
• Using hot air is another way you can warm a plastic pipe with your own hands. For air supply, you can use either a regular or a building dryer, or, for example, a fan. Heating can last up to several hours. The disadvantage of this method is the high consumption of heat wasted and possible damage to the pipe due to overheating.

Tip: If you do not know how to heat plastic pipes with electricity - that is, the only safe way. To do this, you need to wind the pipe with special wires (for example, from a floor heating system) and connect them to the electrical network.

This option can be very expensive because the wires needed for heating are usually sold in sets.

Heating the frozen pipe under the ground

If the freezing of the pipe occurred underground, and the pipeline has bends, then the situation becomes more complicated.

1. One of the most common methods of defrosting is to supply hot water using a hose or tube of smaller diameter. You need to thrust the hose all the way and continue to start the supply of hot water.

At the entrance it is necessary to prepare a container for the liquid, which will be returned after heating. The supply can be carried out by raising the vessel with water, thus, you will increase the pressure of the water supply.

1. Defrosting a pipe with an Esmarch cup and wire is an original and non-standard way to heat water in a metal-plastic pipe, which is used quite rarely, despite its high efficiency.

To warm up you will need:

• Construction hydro level;
• Hard wire;
• Esmarch's mug (ordinary enema).

To begin with, you need to fasten the end of the wire and the hydraulic level with an electrical tape, at the other end to fasten an enema to supply hot water. Next you need to push the wire until it stops, and then begin to pump hot water. This method is quite time consuming, for 1 day you can defrost up to 5-7 meters of pipe.

Homemade TEN

The following method of how to heat a plastic pipe in the ground should be used with extreme caution and safety precautions, since high voltage will be used for heating with a kind of “welding machine”.

It is more correct to call it a homemade heating element, and if you have doubts and concerns about your competence when working with electricity, then it is better to abandon this venture.

To defrost you will need:

• Two-core copper wire;
• Socket for connecting to the network;
• Compressor and hose for defrosting defrosted water.

At the end of the wire (section about 10 cm) it is necessary to remove the insulation and divide it into two separate wires.

• One of the separated conductors should be completely cleaned of insulation, leaving bare wire. The second you need to bend in the opposite direction from the main wire.
• Near the bend, you need to make a few neat turns of bare wire. Next you need to bare a small section of the second wire and make similar turns a little further along the wire.

• After attaching the plug to the other end of the wire, we get a full unit for defrosting ice plugs.

Before using our experimental apparatus, it is imperative to check. The instruction is as follows: it is necessary to connect it to the network and place the end with the turns of wire in a jar of water. If there are bubbles of water, then everything is in order.

Now you can proceed to defrost the pipe:

• Push the wire all the way and turn it on in the network, wait 2-3 minutes.
• After the process of melting the ice block begins, gradually try to push the wire further.
• When about 1m of the pipe has been defrosted, it is possible to deflect melt water using a compressor. Frequent pumping of water will help you avoid re-freezing and reduce the amount of heated fluid.

Note! If you do not know how to heat a polypropylene pipe, and choose options, then this method is not applicable, because it will lead to its destruction.

Steam generator

Let's look at another way of how to warm water in a plastic and metal-plastic pipe. Heating of the ice plug occurs due to steam discharged from the steam generator hose. Also, a pipe with thick walls and a safety valve with a pressure gauge is used.

In order to avoid freezing pipes with water, you should follow a few simple rules when laying the pipeline:

• Pipes should be laid below the soil freezing level (average freezing depth is –100 cm);
• It is necessary to try to avoid laying pipes near reinforced concrete structures, the probability of freezing increases significantly;
• If the price of the issue is not a problem, then a special heating cable can be laid next to the pipe, so if you freeze, you can easily and quickly get rid of the problem;
• It is necessary to produce heat insulation pipes;
• In places where pipes pass through the foundation, the walls must be insulated with glass wool or polyurethane foam;
• When laying plumbing underground, it is worth using a pipe diameter of at least 50 mm, pipes with a lower value will freeze faster;
• Polyethylene pipes tolerate the process of multiple defrosting much better. Polypropylene pipes after several "defrosting" may burst;
• If there is a pause in the use of the pipeline in the winter, it is necessary to drain the water from the system.

In conclusion

We express confidence that after reading this article, you can easily restore the working capacity of the sewage system or water supply system. And in the presented video in this article you will find additional information on this topic.