Frozen pipe had been drained

[LisaW]

Hi. In the fall, I drained my outside line and shut off the interior valve that provides water to the outside line. I still had a burst this winter in the outside line and there was moisture seeping through the drywall - this gave me the clue to the break. When I turned the valve back on to test for a break, water gushed out the wall as I would have expected. Would a drained line with a shut off valve still have had water in it to leak and show moisture in the drywall? Thanks.

 

[Gary Swart]

Assuming this is a frost-free faucet and you left a hose connected. If so, that prevented the water from draining.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[LisaW]

Assuming this is a frost-free faucet and you left a hose connected. If so, that prevented the water from draining.

'Thank you, but no - nothing attached. In the fall, I turned off the valve to the line, opened the faucet until all the water came out, then closed the faucet.

 

[Reach4]

My guess, based on your new info, is that you do not have a frost-free faucet, and that your shutoff valve leaked enough water through to fill the pipe that froze. If you had left the spigot open during the winter, that would have been less likely to happen, I think.

Anyway, replace the spigot with a frost-free spigot, and that problem goes away. Maybe do that to the other spigot too, if you have one.

 

[Terry]

It may be that the shutoff valve does not close all the way. In that case, leaving the outside faucet open to drain may be better.
Normally, if the isolation valve is off, and it has been drained down, you're fine.
Lateley I have been replacing those broken sections with PEX. It has a bit more give when freezing.