Safely Thaw Frozen Water or Heat Pipes in Winter

Abst： You know, heating the pipes too quickly can cause them to burst while heating too slowly does nothing at all. Then, how to safely resolve this problem?

As far as we know, water or Heat Pipe frozen in winter can really a headache thing, and it will take a long time to get them back into service again.

Firstly, you need to try to find out the reasons why the pipes froze in the first place. If the heat was out for a period of time, good change that’s the cause, but you would know if the heat was off. A bigger culprit could be a draft blowing directly onto an exposed section of pipe in a crawl space or unheated basement. Any opening in a foundation wall or sill plate of any size will allow cold air to enter and if it is windy outside it can be like a wind tunnel. Exposed water piping absorbs the cold air and once the heat stops circulating or you turn the faucet off, the water flow stops and the freezing cycle begins. Especially in extreme cold temps, freezing can occur in as little as a few minutes.

Then, once frozen, only some type of heat source can thaw the pipes. Heat directly applied to the pipe with a torch flame can be very tricky. By placing the flame tip in a position where it just barely touches the pipe and running the flame along the pipe you will see a layer of forest appear almost instantly at the area where the pipe is frozen. If you have located it quickly enough and it is only a few inches long, a few passes of the torch should clear the plugged section. However, if the frozen section is longer, you will have to slowly pass the torch back and forth along the entire length of the frozen section.

Remember do not hold the torch in one place on the pipe, or you will cause the water inside to boil, turn to stream and burst the pipe. As the pipe thaws out, the frost will disappear as you pass the torch over the pipe. If it is a water supply pipe, leave the faucet turned on while you work and it will help alleviate any pressure buildup in the pipe and also tell you when the water has stated to run freely again. However, if you cannot clear the blockage this way, you may have to cut the pipe to allow the frozen water and slush to exit the pipe more quickly.