shadowjfaith
New Member
Not sure where else to turn, but I figure a plumbing forum might be best. Story laid out below of everything that's happened so far with my exact question at the end.
I have been without water for seven days now and I have had 5 service techs out from the water company. The first looked at the meter, said he didn't think it was frozen and proceeded to check my line where it enters the house. My line does not have any insulation in the hole so a draft does blow over the line and he said it was frozen there, believing him I then heated the line up myself with a heat gun for well over 30 minutes, when that failed I called a plumber whom was also unsuccessful in both the line coming in and thawing out the meter with a blow torch.
The second and third techs didn't do anything, other than telling me I needed to remove the gravel from the pit (which i complied and called again) and showing up a 2 am and claiming to shut the valve off on my side of the meter according to the notes left in the system (I do not have a valve on that side or a curb box for that matter, the only valve I have is on the main side in the pit).
The fourth tech looked at the meter and said it wasn't frozen, but then in a cocky manner said he would open it and show me it wasn't. After cracking the meter open he was hit by back flow from my line to the house. No water coming from the main, but the meter wasn't frozen as he was able to open it. He called out a fifth tech with a larger truck whom proceeded to do the same and saw the wasn't any water anywhere (as the previous tech had emptied the rest of my line). Before calling dispatch he said it didn't make much sense to him (he has been a service tech for them for 24 years) and that they would send out a larger truck to check the main line. After he got off the phone he was informed to tell me by his supervisor my line was frozen (this is where I was really upset as both your techs said it wasn't and now someone who has never even seen my situation is telling me what's wrong). The tech said he didn't think it was right and advised me to call a supervisor myself and explain the situation. After a few hours on and off the phone I was informed that my line was frozen (where did they get this idea when your experts say it's not) and they would not be sending out any more trucks.
I understand if my line is frozen as you can't do too much about that other than dig it up, and the water company is not held responsible for frozen lines, but how can you tell for sure (as they never proved it was frozen)? Is there anyway that I or a plumber determine if my line is frozen between the main and the meter as if it's not frozen as it doesn't make much sense to be I will be waiting till spring for them to unclog something that could have been fixed in the first 24 hours.
Any advice for my situation is greatly appreciated.
I have been without water for seven days now and I have had 5 service techs out from the water company. The first looked at the meter, said he didn't think it was frozen and proceeded to check my line where it enters the house. My line does not have any insulation in the hole so a draft does blow over the line and he said it was frozen there, believing him I then heated the line up myself with a heat gun for well over 30 minutes, when that failed I called a plumber whom was also unsuccessful in both the line coming in and thawing out the meter with a blow torch.
The second and third techs didn't do anything, other than telling me I needed to remove the gravel from the pit (which i complied and called again) and showing up a 2 am and claiming to shut the valve off on my side of the meter according to the notes left in the system (I do not have a valve on that side or a curb box for that matter, the only valve I have is on the main side in the pit).
The fourth tech looked at the meter and said it wasn't frozen, but then in a cocky manner said he would open it and show me it wasn't. After cracking the meter open he was hit by back flow from my line to the house. No water coming from the main, but the meter wasn't frozen as he was able to open it. He called out a fifth tech with a larger truck whom proceeded to do the same and saw the wasn't any water anywhere (as the previous tech had emptied the rest of my line). Before calling dispatch he said it didn't make much sense to him (he has been a service tech for them for 24 years) and that they would send out a larger truck to check the main line. After he got off the phone he was informed to tell me by his supervisor my line was frozen (this is where I was really upset as both your techs said it wasn't and now someone who has never even seen my situation is telling me what's wrong). The tech said he didn't think it was right and advised me to call a supervisor myself and explain the situation. After a few hours on and off the phone I was informed that my line was frozen (where did they get this idea when your experts say it's not) and they would not be sending out any more trucks.
I understand if my line is frozen as you can't do too much about that other than dig it up, and the water company is not held responsible for frozen lines, but how can you tell for sure (as they never proved it was frozen)? Is there anyway that I or a plumber determine if my line is frozen between the main and the meter as if it's not frozen as it doesn't make much sense to be I will be waiting till spring for them to unclog something that could have been fixed in the first 24 hours.
Any advice for my situation is greatly appreciated.