Thawing water pipes

[Living The Dream]

I think our main water line is frozen at our office where it comes in from outside. Has anyone used their TM to thaw out a water line by shoving a smaller line into the water line and blasting it with hot water?

 

[Dolly Llama]

if there's a casing around the incoming water line you can get hot water into, yeppers hot water will work

if no casing, use a heat gun.

edit to ask.
city water w/meter or well and pump?

..L.T.A.

 

[Living The Dream]

if there's a casing around the incoming water line you can get hot water into, yeppers hot water will work

if no casing, use a heat gun.

edit to ask.
city water w/meter or well and pump?

..L.T.A.

City water. The incoming water line appears to be pex.

 

[FB19087]

The few times I've had the issue I used a heat gun at the meter (most likely to freeze....but I'm not in Montana

 

[Dolly Llama]

City water. The incoming water line appears to be pex.

if it's coming straight up out of a casing you can see, pour scalding hot water down the casing.

is the shut off valve before meter operable?
if so, you can disconnect the meter to verify if freeze is upstream or downstream of meter


..L.T.A.

 

[BIG WOOD]

City water. The incoming water line appears to be pex.

I just had my pex bust for the last time underground a month ago.

If it busts...shark bite will bandaid it until you’re able to update your main line

 

[Dolly Llama]

I just had my pex bust for the last time underground a month ago.

municipal line or well?
How did it burst?

..L.T.A.

 

[BIG WOOD]

municipal line or well?
How did it burst?

..L.T.A.

It was originally a well, but the city water pvc pipe tapped in to that pipe 15years ago. That pex was around 25-30yrs old.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Pinhole leaks started appearing. After the third hole leak, I gave up bandaiding it and rerouted another trench with a new pipe

 

[FB19087]

That pex was around 25-30yrs old.

Is it actually pex or old gray polybutylene (pb-1)?

 

[Living The Dream]

if it's coming straight up out of a casing you can see, pour scalding hot water down the casing.

is the shut off valve before meter operable?
if so, you can disconnect the meter to verify if freeze is upstream or downstream of meter


..L.T.A.

It's just coming straight out of the ground with no casing from what I can tell. Looks like whoever plumbed it did a shitty job. I'll try and take a picture and show you how it looks.

 

[Dolly Llama]

old gray polybutylene

there was a YUGE class action settlement over that crap in the early 90's(?)

One of our accounts owned a dozen new condos plumbed with it.
Right from the get-go they had pipe bursts.
Everyone on the street of the first phase (40 units) were popping pipes
The second and third phase 40+40 units got copper

we were out there a couple times a month to fix broken pipes and dry carpets til they replaced all the plumbing

..L.T.A.

 

[Living The Dream]

@sOOper hero

 

[Dolly Llama]

dayum
Out of my league now


point a torpedo heater at it, open a sink faucet and got for a snowmobile ride

..L.T.A.

 

[Living The Dream]

dayum
Out of my league now


point a torpedo heater at it, open a sink faucet and got for a snowmobile ride

..L.T.A.

We've had a heater on it for a couple days now with no luck. Hopefully the city will step in and help us out or I'm going blast some hot water in there.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Is it actually pex or old gray polybutylene (pb-1)?

Is it actually pex or old gray polybutylene (pb-1)?

 

[Dolly Llama]

What is Qest pipe?
Polybutylene (PB) was a plastic manufactured between 1978 and mid-1995 for use as piping in home plumbing systems. ... Pipes made from polybutylene were installed in up to 10 million homes in the Unites States during that period.



lta

 

[BIG WOOD]

What is Qest pipe?
Polybutylene (PB) was a plastic manufactured between 1978 and mid-1995 for use as piping in home plumbing systems. ... Pipes made from polybutylene were installed in up to 10 million homes in the Unites States during that period.



lta

I was told that was pex. Maybe I was wrong

 

[KevinD]

Easy to thaw that out.
Cut the line and install a ball valve shutoff.
Open the ball valve and send the hot high pressure line down the line to thaw it out.
When it thaws pull your line and shut off the ball valve.
Reconnect the piping.

 

[Living The Dream]

Easy to thaw that out.
Cut the line and install a ball valve shutoff.
Open the ball valve and send the hot high pressure line down the line to thaw it out.
When it thaws pull your line and shut off the ball valve.
Reconnect the piping.

That's the plan right now.

 

[FB19087]

I was told that was pex. Maybe I was wrong

That is polybutylene......it can be blue/black/grey but most I've seen is grey


the chlorine (they think) breaks it down

 

[Hack Attack]

What is Qest pipe?



lta

Dux quest is the one here that has me attending a wdr about once a month

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