whoopsie

[Chris D 101]

Just want to share a story.... Been heatin my downstairs for about 3 months now with my englander 13 when my wife said we were runnin low on wood :gulp: Well, I went to turn on the hot water baseboard and guess what .The pipes were frozen in the basement from lack of use :lol: Well I grabbed my wifes hairdryer and went to work . I had the downstairs heat flowin about 2 hours later. Just lettin people know because I never even thought about that problem :red: MAKE SURE U INSULATE YOUR PIPES!! :lol:

 

[webby3650]

Sounds like you need to make sure the warm air can get to the pipes. Insulating them will keep the warm air they need from getting to to them! Insulation might extend the amount of time before they freeze, but when they do, it could take a very long time to defrost.

 

[North of 60]

Sounds like you need to make sure the warm air can get to the pipes. Insulating them will keep the warm air they need from getting to to them! Insulation might extend the amount of time before they freeze, but when they do, it could take a very long time to defrost.

Well said.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just want to share a story.... Been heatin my downstairs for about 3 months now with my englander 13 when my wife said we were runnin low on wood :gulp: Well, I went to turn on the hot water baseboard and guess what .The pipes were frozen in the basement from lack of use :lol: Well I grabbed my wifes hairdryer and went to work . I had the downstairs heat flowin about 2 hours later. Just lettin people know because I never even thought about that problem :red: MAKE SURE U INSULATE YOUR PIPES!! :lol:

You make me proud . . . seems like every year I hear of someone who has managed to burn down their house by attempting to thaw their frozen pipes with a plumber's torch instead of doing the safe (albeit a bit slower) thing like you did.

 

[Shari]

This is also a concern of mine: When I get a stove installed, how do I get heat down into the basement? Our stove will be on the first floor of our ranch home. House is about 1750 sq. ft. with equal size basement, 12 courses tall. All water lines are in the basement. Would just setting up a fan by the basement steps be enough??? If the fan will work, what to do - pull air from basement or push it down?

Shari

 

[begreen]

Let the boiler/furnace run occasionally, especially when it's bitter cold outside. Once or twice a day during very cold weather isn't going to break the bank. It will exercise the equipment and significantly raise the temp of the pipes.

 

[cgeiger]

hmmm - is a lot of your basement exposed (above grade)? If so, is the exposed portion insulated? Also, is there any way for cold outside air to penetrate your basement, especially near the pipes you mentioned? This could be contributing to the freezing problem. Perhaps others can comment and/or correct me on my science but below the frostline I would assume temps stay above freezing (ergo the "frost" line). Thus, a properly insulated basement even with no heat (assuming the upper floors were heated, however) would not drop below freezing, no? Would it stand to reason then insulating the above ground portions of the basement and sealing any air gaps in insulation, windows, doors, etc. would then prevent or at least greatly reduce the chances of freezing temps occurring in the basement?

One thought for your basement would be to consider some kind of safe space heater with a thermostat that's set to keep it just above freezing, so as not to use too much energy. Not sure on codes and such and maybe that's an awful idea but it's a thought. My central air system has registers in the basement, so I can always turn on the fan only to move some of my upper floor air down to the basement.

 

[firefighterjake]

We've had some pretty cold days so far in Maine (although nothing like the temps Wolfkiller in Alaska is getting or you folks in the mid-West) and so far the pipes have been OK . . . I would suspect that using hot water on a daily basis (showers, dish washer, washing machine, etc.), insulation, ground temp (dirt/ledge floor) and the occasional use of the oil boiler (on those nights when I don't get up during the night to add wood to the fire) are probably giving me enough heat to keep things from freezing.

In the next few days we're supposed to get some negative degree days so I may run the oil boiler once or twice during the day for a few minutes just to keep things warm in the crawl space.

Another option besides running the system manually is to purchase a device that hooks to your thermostat which allows your heating system to automatically come on for a set period of time . . . I forget the name of the company, but I do know at least one member here has installed it and is pleased with it.

 

[neverrude]

Here's what I found.

" What about a second thermostat wired in parallel to the original thermostat, but located in the area where you are having the pipe freeze problem?

You could use the mechanical kind of thermostat set almost all the way down. No batteries to worry about replacing. Then it would kick in when required.

That way your extra heating costs would be minimized while still accomplishing the goal of preventing your radiant heat pipes from freezing. Plus no batteries required which is another environmentally friendly plus."

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