Possible frozen line between main and meter

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Craigpump

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Two weeks with no water?

My wife would have been gone 13.5 days ago.

Here is what I have done to thaw frozen buried water lines.

Run a hose from a neighbor and back feed your house through a spigot

Remove the pressure relief valve from your water heater and install a boiler drain that you can connect a 1/2" piece of hose to that is long enough to reach your meter

Cut the pipe coming into the house, install a valve so you can shut off the water once it starts to flow, slide the small diameter hose down the pipe and open the boiler drain to allow the warm water to flow through the hose and thaw the ice block

Be prepared for a mess

Put everything back together and don't forget the pressure relief valve!
 
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Reach4

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Cut the pipe coming into the house, install a valve so you can shut off the water once it starts to flow, slide the small diameter hose down the pipe and open the boiler drain to allow the warm water to flow through the hose and thaw the ice block

Be prepared for a mess

Put everything back together and don't forget the pressure relief valve!

If the pipe between the main and the meter (in the driveway pit) is frozen, do you think he would be able to feed that warming pipe through the meter and the in-pit shutoff valve? I could see the shutoff valve being rodable, but I would think the meter would block the hose.

Tom Sawyer's compressor method would have that same limitation, I expect.

Regarding the hose from the neighbor, that could give some temporary water for flushing and showers even if the water supply line remained frozen. I wonder if taping a heating tape to that hose would keep it from freezing once the big flow stops. Would keeping a tap on solve that?
 

DonL

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Attempt #2

View attachment 23498

I called the water company Monday. All I wanted was for them to see if I had water going to the meter (that way I would know if what I did worked or not for sure) and they completely refused.


Please do post pictures of that heat gun when you are done.

Wagner is good, but may yield the same result as the other brand.

It may have a better fuse link.

Just judging by the number of bricks, that line should be below the frost line.


Good Luck.
 
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shadowjfaith

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I really didn't expect the heat gun to work in the basement as I wasn't going to leave that one on all night. Fire hazard in the meter pit way out in the driveway I'm okay with, but my basement is another story. I don't really expect it would melt as too much heat escapes. The pit was almost completely sealed off not letting the heat escape which is what caused the melt down, but I can't replicate that in my basement nor would I want to (fire hazard stuff again).

I do like the back feeding of water to my water heater and running that down the pipe. This does solve some of the issues I would have had with my line-in-line method. It not only gives constant water, but for the most part will be hot.

As for the mess I have a sump pump so I wouldn't be too concerned as long as it keeps working.

I've missed too much work to take off to accomplish this so hopefully I can arrange something with the neighbors for this weekend.
 
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