how to thaw buried black poly well line?

[pybyr]

First, thankfully, this is not my own well line-

But I've been asked to help with a situation where there is a frozen-up buried black polyethylene well line from a drilled well, with an in-well deep well submersible pump. The pipe runs underground to and then through a building with an old stone foundation.

Long story short, the water was not being used much, and during the January cold, an outdoor draft was creeping down the inside of the foundation.

Once the pipe froze there, it was impossible to run water, and then, with the water sitting motionless in the pipe, I think it froze back underground as well. A portion of the line runs under a town road, and although there was foamboard laid over the pipe before the trench was backfilled, the non-moving water was probably a sitting duck for freezing there after no water had been run for days on end.

I helped thaw the inside of the pipe within the cellar, and also air-sealed and insulated so that the indoor part of the freezing should not recur. But, unfortunately, there's still no water coming out.

The pump (indeed the whole well) are rather new, and had no sign of trouble until the freeze up.

I'm familiar with the concept that metal underground lines can sometimes be thawed using electric current from a welder, etc., to get the pipe to heat up. But, of course, black polyethylene won't conduct electricity.

What equipment/ methods, if any, can be used to try to get some heat back into the buried portions of the pipe in hopes of thawing it out?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[hensonconst1]

what is the frost line depth in VT

 

[pybyr]

I'm sure that the pump is on- the pressure switch makes contact, and when I manually "fiddle" the pressure switch, there's a spark at the contacts.

Thanks, Deffy, and I'll welcome any other suggestions, too.

Trevor

 

[hensonconst1]

this is a long shot and i never tried it before but i wonder, if you pour hot salt water down the line, if it would unfreeze the water just like putting salt on your walkway does??

i'd think if it worked then all you had to do was waste a few gallons down the drain when it was flowing again.
if you try it, let me know if it worked

Good luck it is only 18" here my former father-in-law used to build a fire along his water line to thaw it but 36" I know that wont work the salt water idea seems likely but i dont know

 

[Ugly]

If you put a barrel heater in a pail of water you can use the water hose trick on a drill pump to criculate hot water down to the blockage in a circulating fashion. Just let the outcoming colder water spill back in the bucket to heat up and return, keep the drill speed low to allow the barrel heater time to keep up or be prepared to wait for it to catch up. Works well, done it a few times.

Can usually get a barrel heater at a rent all and drill pumps are cheap hardware store items....

pouring water down a hose might take forever if the blockage is thick is all I'm thinking.

Regards
Ugly

 

[peakbagger]

About the fastest way (which isnt very fast) is to get hold of a roll of 1/4" plastic tubing and a small circulating pump. Fill up a bucket with hot water and pump the water with a small pump through the tubing as you slide it into the line well line. The hot water will melt the blockage and will recirculate it back through the line into the basement, If you set it up right, the water will go back into the bucket so you dont need to lug in much water. Keep reheating the water in the bukcet as needed. As long as you can find a long enough length of tubing, you can thaw out quite a length of line. Keep in mind you are messing with watert and electricity, be careful!

Pouring hot water down the line without recirculating wont do much unless the blockage is right close to to the end of the pipe.

Typically a buried pipe covered with snow will usually not freeze. Its usually freezes under a plowed area or an area that has a lot of activity where the snow is packed down. Odds are once you break through those areas, mos of the line is not forzen

 

[mjbrown]

old timer next door to me says separate the pipe and pour ethanol or gas line antifreeze into the pipe. he says he did it plenty when he was younger and his froze all the time. says the ethanol or gas line antifreeze will eat a hole thru the ice block. ...i dont know, just sounded like a good suggestioon to me, and 9 times out of 10 the old timmers aren't as foolish as they sound.

mike

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

In Alaska we used to use 1/4 plastic line fed down through to the blockage. This was attached to hot water. even coolers full in the back of pich-up trucks worked. Slow and steady delivery of heat to the blockage.

Good luck!,
Mike P

 

[Tarmsolo60]

air brake line(cut the end at a 45) is rigid enough to push through till you get the ice them pump hot water through it and push the line in more as it thaws. this works great with steam also but i've only done that with copper main lines. Frost line here is 4'.

 

[billb3]

Can you put off fixing it until June ?

 

[DAKSY]

Try heating it from BOTH ends...Put an electric heater blowing at the end inside the home...
If you can get a lead cord to the well head, you could drop a lead light down into the
pipe & cram some fiberglass insulation in the pipe - above the lead light - to contain the heat...
I realize you said something about passing under a road, & maybe that's a stopper...

 

[pybyr]

And the answer is (in case this helps anyone else who comes across this thread): I found out that I could rent a wallpaper steamer tank for $35.00 from my friendly local tool rental place, including a long nylon hose (30ft) for snaking up the water pipe. After using the steam to melt about 6 ft of ice(and even after, of course, turning the pump off) I took a shower in ice water. I'd never before have thought I'd be glad to be showered in ice water, except in this case, it meant _problem solved_. Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement- the ideas I got on here are what made me decide to roll up my sleeves and tackle it.

 

[pybyr]

.

next time it gets that cold,drip the faucet=live & learn,eh?[/quote]

Easier if it were my place, where I've taken far more extreme measures to get by in a pinch, but, instead, it's a community general store, with many staff, many of whom are volunteers.

If anyone knows of a diplomatic way to get everyone on the same page, in terms of letting the faucet drip, I'm all ears!

 

[Tarmsolo60]

clamp on self piercing icemaker valve, out of peoples reach left running slightly to the drain of your choice