Pipe freezing due to no electric or gas?

[Dianne25]

My electric and heat was just shut off today. Temperature will be below freezing, around 15F. I live in a 4-unit condo which I believe the water main lines are shared. Will my pipes burst over night for that day and do I need to have my pipe drain?

 

[Terry]

No heat? I would turn off the water and drain down. Do you think your unit will drop below 32 for the day? That would be a quick drop.
Do you have South facing windows? Will the power be back tomorrow?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[CountryBumkin]

You might want to leave the water running very slightly at the interior faucets. Moving water doesn't freeze as easily as still water.

 

[Dana]

The indoor temp will roughly track the average outdoor temp if left unheated for a few days, somewhat higher due to passive solar gains through the windows. It'll take a few days to get there too, due to the thermal mass of the house and it's contents. As long as all the plumbing is inside the insulation boundary & air-tightness boundary it shouldn't be a problem as long as the AVERAGE daily temp is above 25F or so. Even north facing low-E windows will have some amount of solar gain, even on cloudy days, though it's east and west facing windows that will have the highest direct gains this time of year on sunny days.

Basements with un-insulated slabs will usually stay above freezing as long as they don't leak much air. It'll be even warmer if the foundation walls are insulated.

If it's an air-leaky house and it's windy, and there is plumbing is in an exterior wall it could be a problem.

Plug your ZIP code into a Weatherspark.com dashboard, and eyeball the average temperature expected over the next day or three using the cursors. If it's below 25F for an average temperature, drain the potable water systems on the above-grade levels at least. The basement will be just fine if the foundation is insulated or doesn't have a lot of above-grade exposed foundation. Seal any clothes dryer vents etc. to minimize air-infiltration until the power & heat come back on.

 

[Dianne25]

You might want to leave the water running very slightly at the interior faucets. Moving water doesn't freeze as easily as still water.

My electric and heat was just shut off today. Temperature will be below freezing, around 15F. I live in a 4-unit condo which I believe the water main lines are shared. Will my pipes burst over night for that day and do I need to have my pipe drain?

No heat? I would turn off the water and drain down. Do you think your unit will drop below 32 for the day? That would be a quick drop.
Do you have South facing windows? Will the power be back tomorrow?

Power won't be turned on until Monday. I am at an end unit with some trees blocking the sun. I believe I have windows facing south.

 

[Dana]

You'll get some solar gain from the windows, even if they're facing the woods.

What is the AVERAGE (not the overnight low) temperature you are anticipating?

If you're on natural gas or propane, are you able to manually light the kitchen range? (Don't sleep in the place with the range running.)

 

[Dianne25]

Power won't be turned on until Monday. I am at an end unit with some trees blocking the sun. I believe I have windows facing south.

I'd called, explained and complained to the gas and electric companies and even discuss the possibility of my pipes bursting. They are unmoving. Power won't be turn back on until Monday, gas a month later (around Feb 25th). Will leave water running slightly until then. One good thing I think is that the main water is shared. The other side is that I am at the end unit and that may be where the main water valve.

 

[Dianne25]

You'll get some solar gain from the windows, even if they're facing the woods.

What is the AVERAGE (not the overnight low) temperature you are anticipating?

If you're on natural gas or propane, are you able to manually light the kitchen range? (Don't sleep in the place with the range running.)

I have no gas until the 25th of February. At the moment, average low temperature is in the teens.

 

[Reach4]

Are you and your neighbors moving out until 25 Feb or until Monday?

 

[Dana]

The average low temperature doesn't matter nearly as much as the average daily temperature. The average will usually be approximately the difference between the daily high and the daily low. So if it's getting up to 35F during the day and dropping to 15F at night the average will be about 25F. That will be just fine for a day or two as the house slowly cools off.

Buy some battery operated digital thermometers that will log the high & low limits put one in each room (including the basement) that has plumbing fixtures. (The crummy $8-10 AcuRite humidity and temperature monitors found in box stores or even Wal-Mart, keep and display the high and low temps as well as the current temperature.)

As long as the indoor temps remain above 35F even at night you don't have much to worry about.

When the power comes back on, a couple of $40-50 1500W radiator type space heaters can usually keep the important parts of the house fully up to temp, and well above freezing all over.

 

[Dana]

The weatherspark projections for temps in Bethlehem PA over the next couple of days is an average of about 28-29F, rising to WAY above freezing on Monday. As long as your plumbing isn't routed in an exterior wall there really isn't much risk of a freeze-up at all before the power comes on.

 

[Dianne25]

Are you and your neighbors moving out until 25 Feb or until Monday?

I had people who moved out and did not tell me that they shut off the heat/electric today. So, making along story short, they didn't want to come back out to re-connect, even though they were just there

 

[Jadnashua]

If pipes are in external walls and they are not well air-sealed, it doesn't take much moving frigid air to cause the pipe to freeze.