Frozen Pipes

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Jeffd9008

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I awoke this morning trying to take a shower and found that my hot water would not come out. Considering I'm in IL and we just had lots of snow accommodated by very cold weather, I'm assuming it's a frozen pipe. No other lines seem to be frozen, both faucets in my kitchen and bathroom work just fine. The cold water however comes out just fine in my shower. I'm looking for some advice/tips to fix this problem and avoid a burst.

The pipes are also underneath my house (which is old)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you
 

Jadnashua

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Hot water can end up slightly 'purer' than the cold by the act of heating it, some air will often be released, and some minerals end up being deposited in the WH...so, without those 'extras' in the water, the actual freezing point can be slightly closer to 0-degrees C. That might explain why the hot lead froze.

Preventing it from happening may be harder, though. And, if the pipe froze solid enough, it very well may have damaged the pipe and/or a fitting or two. You may not find out until things melt, though. IOW, it may not leak until it warms up and the ice plug is gone.

Are the pipes going to that shower on an outside wall? Pipes tend to be installed in the middle of the wall, which means there may not be much insulation between them and the exterior surface. And, realizing that insulation only slows the movement of heat, and does not generate it...insulation in the wrong place can make the problem worse.

To save money, many people are lowering their thermostats, and that, along with the exceedingly cold weather much of the USA has been experiencing, frozen supply lines are not uncommon. It's small solace, but you are not alone!


A dripping faucet is constantly introducing above freezing water to a faucet, but with many of today's single-handle shower valves, you have no volume control, so that trick won't work.


The ways to prevent this from happening are to make sure the pipes are closer to the interior wall than the exterior; make sure there are no air leaks (an air leak can quickly freeze a pipe when it's below freezing...doesn't even have to be all that much below freezing), have some flow through the pipe, or add some heat to the pipe (heat tape is one way to do this).


Sometimes, a hot water recirculation system can help, but the cross-over point or return line would need to be close enough to the shower valve to transfer some heat there to avoid freezing...stationary water freezes much faster than moving water, but it's been so cold some places, some streams and waterfalls are in the news, totally frozen up.


Defrosting the line may call for simply raising the thermostat, blowing hot air on the wall, or into the wall, but in a typical shower supply, actually getting to the pipes may be problematic without destroying the shower. If the pipe split, that may be necessary unless you can tear off the exterior wall and approach it from that side. Neither is a happy solution.
 

Jeffd9008

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I have raised the thermostat already to try to alleviate it. I was advised to leave the cold water running as well so that some may possibly enter the other line and help thaw quicker, is this accurate? This just happened overnight so I'm hoping to start the remedy asap to hopefully avoid a burst.

I rent this home so im not 100% sure, but there is a small wall between my shower and a little cubbyhole. The closer to the ground i get when i feel this wall it gets much colder. I dont want to tear into this wall as i rent and im hoping raising the temperature as well as a space heater can do the trick. I can provide a picture if that would help.

It is also currently -6 here but is going to be about 30 tomorrow

Oh also, it's a double handle shower. One for hot and one for cold
 
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Jadnashua

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You might want to contact the landlord...providing a working shower is a requirement for an occupancy permit...he is required to solve the problem, and if the pipe did split, it could cause a bunch of additional damage when it melts. If you don't alert him, you may be responsible rather than he.
 

Jeffd9008

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Yeah, I've already done that. He's out of town atm. He's a nice guy though, that's why im trying to do everything i can to fix this problem so it doesnt cost him (which it would). I figured if i acted quickly, i could maybe have a better chance of preventing a burst. I could be completely wrong, but that was my theory
 

Jadnashua

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IF the pipe is burst, you probably wont' know until it thaws unless you can tear things apart and actually look. So, in some ways, a continued cold spell might save things verses making it worse in the interim!

Be prepared for that by listening carefully at the wall and anywhere along that pipe's path...if you do hear something, turn the main water line off.
 

Nukeman

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Since you know that the problem is with the hot only, you may have a better solution to protect things. You could kill the water heater (shut off breaker or turn off gas) and then close the cold feed valve to the WH. You will be without hot water (which isn't fun), but if the pipe did split, it would only dribble out the water that was in the line when it thawed out instead of continuing to flow and flood the place.

You may shut it down for a day or two if it is going to warm up and then check it again later when it may be thawed.
 

barrygreenwell

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