Keeping pipes from freezing

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joslinm

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Trying to get this fixed before cold weather.
I have an unheated garage inside home. Gets down as low as 35 or so during coldest below zero weather. The drains for the water softener and the home boiler go into a vent pipe from the outside. During the coldest weather, they freeze. Need opinions on best way to keep them from freezing.
 

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DonL

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Heat tape is what I have found to work. Ditch the heat lamp.

You have to add heat, because Insulation alone may not be enough. A heat lamp is not a very safe way to do it. And is a waste of power.


Good Luck.
 

joslinm

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Heat tape is what I have found to work. Ditch the heat lamp.

You have to add heat, because Insulation alone may not be enough. A heat lamp is not a very safe way to do it. And is a waste of power.


Good Luck.

the heat lamp is in the enclosed, insulated area where the water softener is. The heat from it does not get to where the 2 drains go into the side of the 3 in PVC. It's ok to wrap heat tape around that pipe?
 

DonL

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You need to run the heat tape down the Bottom of the pipe.

No need to wrap it, just add some heat. Do Not wrap PVC with a heat tape.

Enclosing a heat lamp may work, IF something does not go wrong, but I would not do it.


What ever you do just be safe. Sounds like your mind is made up.


I have a hard head too.


Have fun.
 
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joslinm

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You need to run the heat tape down the Bottom of the pipe.

No need to wrap it, just add some heat. Do Not wrap PVC with a heat tape.

Enclosing a heat lamp may work, IF something does not go wrong, but I would not do it.


What ever you do just be safe. Sounds like your mind is made up.


I have a hard head too.


Have fun.

Nope, not made up at all. That's why I'm asking for ideas. The heat lamp has been there for 15 years and is on a thermostat. But that isn't the problem. The pipe outside of the enclosed heat light area is freezing because the cold air comes strait in from the outside through the vent pipe.
You say just run the heat tape along the bottom of the 3 in PVC? It's only abut 3 ft and then goes down about 2 ft through the concrete. Can you buy that short?
Thanks for your advice
 

Jadnashua

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A heat lamp, especially when it turns on/off maybe a lot, is a recipe for disaster when you are relying on it to prevent freezing...they just don't last that long. Heat tape doesn't have a filament and will last years.

Another thing to consider...the worst time could be a power outage on a cold night...guess what, the electrical based solutions won't work. If you're going to enclose it, could you essentially make it part of the heated envelope of the house?
 

joslinm

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A heat lamp, especially when it turns on/off maybe a lot, is a recipe for disaster when you are relying on it to prevent freezing...they just don't last that long. Heat tape doesn't have a filament and will last years.

Another thing to consider...the worst time could be a power outage on a cold night...guess what, the electrical based solutions won't work. If you're going to enclose it, could you essentially make it part of the heated envelope of the house?

The enclosure exists already for over 10 yrs now and works fine. Just looking for a solution to the drains freezing at the point where they go into the vent pipe
 

DonL

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You say just run the heat tape along the bottom of the 3 in PVC? It's only abut 3 ft and then goes down about 2 ft through the concrete. Can you buy that short?
Thanks for your advice


I have seen them as short as 3 feet, But you can use a longer one and leave the excess in open air.


Good Luck.
 
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