Freezing pipes
 

The weather people keep telling us to protect our pipes from freezing. What, if anything, are folks doing to keep their water from freezing?

I cover the outside faucets with these from Lowes. The threshold for pipe freezing is 20°, so there really isn't too much to worry about.

https://images.homedepot-static.com/...80-64_1000.jpg

If you are worried, open cabinet doors under sinks that are on outside walls.

If you have water service to sinks outside (like in your outdoor lanai area), DO NOT open the cabinets! In fact, you could put a pitcher of warm water in the cabinet below those outdoor sinks, but keep the doors closed. Indoor plumbing shouldn't be a problem. The insulation that helps to keep your house cool will also help to keep your house warm.

Turn on outside water features.
Open the faucets that are on pipes that might freeze. Note you want a very very slow drip. The problem is the pipe freezes and as the ice expands it puts pressure on the the pipe between the ice and the faucets. Thus opening the faucets a little can relive the pressure. Be sure to do both the hot and cold, not just one.
Do cover the outside faucets as mentioned above.
Probably drain the back flow on the sprinkler and cover it with insulation or at least a few towels. You will need to turn off the water to the sprinkler system.
If you get up to go to the bathroom you could run the water in areas you think you have a problem.
If you have a hot water circulating pump leave it on all night. But remember it may not reach all pipes.
I assume pipes in the garage will not get below 32 but that could be wrong tonight.
Detach hoses from outside faucets.
Note I am assuming we do not have substantial insulation in the outside walls for block homes. If you do then you should be ok for a lot of your plumbing.

Freezing pipes
 

Coming here after 69 years living in Northern NJ where Temps often were in the single digits and living in a 69 year old home with ZERO insulation other than literally a sheet of aluminum foil and with copper pipes on outside walls and never having a frozen pipe I doubt 1 or maybe 2 nights with POSSIBLY 26-30 degree outside temps then temps going up to 40-50+ during the day should cause much concern other than to plants. [emoji16]


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Freezing Pipes
 

REMEMBER....It's not the freezing that causes all the problems, but the thawing!

When I move to Paradise many years ago I thought my worrying about freezing pipes were over. if it's going to be this cold I may as well shovel snow. I should have rented one month in January before I bought. No I'm not going to leave I'll just pass it on how cold it is in January in The Villages and make sure you bring your winter gear with you if you plan on visiting

It is not a bad idea for manufactured homes to let at least the kitchen faucet do a slight drip overnight when a freeze is predicted. Other homes are fairly well protected per a plumber I knew.

FL has one bad month per year...January...and then only some few mornings that month.

A slight safety factor/margin is the reported air temp (where ever it is taken) is likely to be as much as 10 degrees colder than the side of one's home.

This morning's reported temp for TV right now on The weather Channel...25 and sunny. The ambient temp where the controller (outside) for our pool and spa is 33.
We have the automatic freeze prevention cycle on our pool/spa and outdoor water features at 39 degrees to allow for wind chill.

Wind chill doesn't apply to inanimate objects.

The sky is not falling.....................

Only that it drives the temp to ambient more quickly:

Does wind chill affect inanimate objects?

Yes. The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to more quickly cool the object to cool to the current air temperature. Object will NOT cool below the actual air temperature.

I will have another glass of Kool aid and put my ski glove and jacket on, then go and see how many people are playing golf or picked ball. The sky will not fall in Paradise

I am glad to see that you have some understanding of wind chill. However, why you would set your freeze protection device to come on at 39F and then indicate you did this to allow for wind chill is a mystery. You don't need to allow for wind chill. Now, there can be some issues with evaporative cooling and shallow water depths but that would also require a large dew point depression.

enclose what you want to protect with a 60 w light bulb-you'll be good to go (work light)

Freezing pipes
 

So you think a week or 10 days of cold weather is worth shoveling snow and living with months of winter!! Never!!!

We arrived down here looking for our home on Jan 6 or 7 LAST YEAR and the first morning it was like it is today. I wanted to sell the house we hadn't moved into yet. After a few days it was all forgotten. [emoji3][emoji3]






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My user name should be EdF(formerly from)NJ and glad to be gone. [emoji3]

The only time I ever had a pipe freeze was when there was a strong wind blowing against a building I owned. It cooled down the pipe in the exterior wall overnight and the pipe froze. Without the wind, I think the morning temperature increase would have prevented the freezing. So, I think that the wind chill can be a factor in pipes freezing.

The wind can impact the time rate of change of temperature but not the temperature itself. Wind chill is a very specific biological concept - it refers to the perception of temperature by skin. If the temperature is above freezing, no amount of wind will cause pipes to freeze. Using the term "wind chill" with inanimate objects makes no sense.

An overnight temp of 25F with no wind might not freeze a pipe because the building it is in can retain it temp above 32F all night.

But a 25F and a 10mph wind could make the building lose heat fast enough to freeze pipes before the morning warming heats it up again.

So the lower the equivalent chill temp is the more likely pipes will freeze.

The original chill index was made by measuring how long it took for a bottle of water to freeze for a given temperature and wind speed.

Wind chill - Wikipedia

I'm over by Southern Trace in a house built in 1984, and the only thing we do is cover the outside faucets.

My metabolism isn't everyone's, but just to represent the minority viewpoint ... I love the (relatively) cold temps! I've been here 8 years and have never used the furnace. It's currently 55 degrees inside and I'm quite comfortable in shorts and a fleece top. Fresh and brisk! :coolsmiley:

(The summers, however, are Not My Jam.)

Absolutely, you are correct. The wind is a huge factor to consider when trying to prevent pipes from freezing, especially with changing temperatures. That is why they sell insulation covers for outside hose bibbs. The insulation slows down heat transfer by induction, and also serves as a wind blocker and prevents the hose bibb from freezing by convection.

Yikes!

I have to laugh at people who call 20 degrees bone chilling. Bone chilling is when you step outside and your face hurts. Yes it is cold but it is not minus numbers, not for an extended time and there is not any accumulation of snow. That is enough for me.

I placed a glass with about an inch of water in it outside on a table before I went to bed. No ice, just some good cold water. Temperature is one part of the equation. Time is also a part. It takes several hours to freeze water in pipes.

Good little experiment there. Throw that glass of water up in MN now and it would probably freeze before it hit the ground. It looks like it needs to be boiling water. Which freezes faster, hot water or cold water?