Water Not Running

Hambden Bob wrote:Yes,they're Expensive,SharkBite Fittings rule the day

The best part for me is that when they first came out I phoned the company, curled my tongue just right & they sent me two brass 3/4" couplings and two 1/2" for testing purposes. I still have them in my tool box for an emergency. Heeheee~!

My first apartment was on the second floor of an old house.

Once, or twice a winter the water feed to our floor would freeze. The landlord would call a plumber who just used an electric welder. He clamped the cables to the pipe above and below the freeze area - then turned on the welder. Pipes were thawed in just a few minutes. Not sure what amperage setting he used, but it worked like a charm.

Paul

Just saw on the news tonight somebody caught their house on fire using a salamander to thaw frozen water lines. If you can get to the frozen pipe, a hair dryer works great

As one who also suffered frozen pipes I started to address the situation today. The copper lines for our bathroom vanity are presently on the outside wall. I started ,today, to drill holes in the vanity floor behind the drawers for the soon to be relocated water lines.
Though this freezing only happens when the temps get down like we just experienced the comments about the repeated freeze/ thaw and it's effect on copper lines prompted me to remedy this.
So thanks for the posts!!

I keep 2- 1/2" and 2- 3/4 shark bite caps in my plumbing box. You can jam one on a pipe running full pressure and stop it until you can make a repair. Then they come right off with a little tool. Lifesavers. I have several shark bites in my house and have never had an issue with them. On water and hydronic heat pipes.

And none of my pex has given me an issue either. As mentioned above, the fittings could possibly be a weak point, but you can almost always run it with no hidden fittings, it's quite flexible.

Scottaw wrote:the fittings could possibly be a weak point,

I dunno! They really did their homework on these..... the brass ones are certified so it's legal to use one in a wall and have no access point, just like a soldered fitting. You can drywall them in & forget 'em. Personally I'd have a hard time burying one in a wall, but, they have passed certification!

Like "Freddy" said they are legal. Just because they are legal, doesn't make them good. Like a lot of things they serve a purpose. Quick and easy with the shark bite, fix it the right way later when you have the time and proper fittings.

I have a couple of the shark bites in place but only in the unfinished basement and where I can see them. If a fitting is going into a wall I don't use them there. I had a pin hole leak near the water heater recently and used them for a quick fix and there were two couplings that had a leaky end and wouldn't seal up, flipped them around and the leak flipped also. swapped them out and no leak. They weren't the shark bite brand but another name, I am guessing a china supplier.

I got lucky, I only had 1 cracked 3/4" line to the master bath shower. It was leaking right down through the hole in the insulation and on the dirt floor. I found no other leaks.

Now I'll have to fix the holes in the insulation but, thats for another rant/thread.

Glad you made out OK ! At least you now know where your weak on warmth and insulation for that run. You'll add it to your list !

I used to have the 1st floor zone freeze up where it went through the bathroom, back when the Mark I tried to handle 100% of the heating duties. Whenever temps got into the single digits, I found that zone wouldn't work ... because that's when we needed it to supplement. Only section cold enough was the bathroom .. which is also one of the coldest rooms in the house. The previous owners removed insulation in order to build the sink/cabinet setup. Boy is it drafty in there! The tub is FREEZING cold when you first step into it ...

I thawed that pipe with a heat gun - I could reach the exposed section above our oil tank, right before it went up through the floor. Eventually the heat made it's way up the pipe. Lucky for me, that's happened 5 or 6 times ... and no leaks! I'm amazed. Would be so screwed if it did. Would have to gut the bathroom to reach the pipe for replacement ...

Sunny Boy wrote:The landlord would call a plumber who just used an electric welder. (to thaw pipes) He clamped the cables to the pipe above and below the freeze area - then turned on the welder.

I think you'll find it wasn't actually a welder... it looks like one, but the voltage & amperage is different. Yes, people have used welders... some get lucky, other burn the house down or melt the solder out of the joints causing leaks all over. Even the real deal is best used on steel pipes, but will work on copper if you are careful. A pipe thawing machine makes 3 volts at 200 amps or 6 volts at 300 amps. I'm thinking welders are usually 3 or more times that voltage.

Freddy wrote:

Sunny Boy wrote:The landlord would call a plumber who just used an electric welder. (to thaw pipes) He clamped the cables to the pipe above and below the freeze area - then turned on the welder.

I think you'll find it wasn't actually a welder... it looks like one, but the voltage & amperage is different. Yes, people have used welders... some get lucky, other burn the house down or melt the solder out of the joints causing leaks all over. Even the real deal is best used on steel pipes, but will work on copper if you are careful. A pipe thawing machine makes 3 volts at 200 amps or 6 volts at 300 amps. I'm thinking welders are usually 3 or more times that voltage.

Quite possibly. The landlord said it was a welder and I was always at work when ever the plumber showed up. Plus, the Landlord, he'sa no speaka da gooda englisha. So it could have been anything with wires attached.

Paul