We heat the metal-plastic pipe underground

Life in the private sector during the winter is full of problems and difficulties, and it is up to the owner of this house to solve them. And often problems arise precisely with communications at home. For example, a water pipe freezes.

This situation is unfortunate in itself. Therefore, everyone should know how to quickly warm up a metal-plastic pipe underground. What to do if the water in the pipe froze, we will tell in the article.

Of course, you can always call a specialist who will come and fix everything in a couple of minutes. But doing it yourself will be profitable and easy.

Heating of a metal-plastic pipe: preparatory work

Warming the pipe in the ground is not difficult. Just do it right and quickly. You can’t slow down here! Every extra minute can aggravate the situation, which will lead to not very good consequences.

Before starting work, it is necessary to find a freezing point. It is worth focusing on open areas where air circulation occurs. It is worth paying attention to the place where the water supply passes from the ground to the foundation. As a rule, the pipe does not freeze further than 1 m, since the temperature of the earth is positive deeper.

There are several ways to detect a frozen area. The first is tactile, which involves checking with your hands. In places of freezing, the pipe will be cold and dense. If you can’t reach it with your hands, then using an infrared thermometer will help. The second way is to use a probe. The probe is passed deep into the pipe until it hits an ice block.

After determining the place of freezing, you can proceed directly to the process of heating the pipe itself. But before that, it is necessary to determine in what way it is easier to do this?

Methods for heating a metal-plastic pipe

There are many practical ways to remove an ice jam that can be put into practice. They differ only in the complexity of execution and efficiency.

Here are a few working ways to heat a metal-plastic pipe at home, available to everyone.

Heating with hot water

In situations where the freezing point is not deep, ordinary hot water will help. The method is simple and time-tested, as it is based on the natural physical laws of nature.

Procedure:

1. After finding the place of freezing, clear the workspace. There should not be any extra objects or debris around.
2. If possible, disconnect one end of the water supply. This is necessary so that the ice can go outside during expansion, thereby freeing up the internal space.
3. If the freezing point is above ground level and you can get to the frozen area, then this greatly simplifies the work. Here it is enough to wrap the problem area with a cloth, and then gradually water the pipe with warm, and then hot water. The method is effective only with fresh ice formations.

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1. When getting by hand is not possible, then you need to use improvised means. For example, a hose of a smaller diameter. It is placed in a frozen pipe until it stops. Hot water is gradually poured into the inserted hose until it starts to come back.
2. This should be done until the ice melts and water can freely enter the house.

In cases where the pipe partially protrudes in the house, and the ice plug is not deep, you can use another method.

A container with heated water is placed under the pipe. Due to the release of steam, the pipe gradually begins to warm up, breaking through the ice jam. The method is simple but slow.

When working with boiling water, you should remember a few basic rules:

• In order to avoid burns, it is better to limit the working space and not touch it with open areas of the body. Even from heated steam, you can get severe injuries;
• The metal-plastic pipe expands under the influence of boiling water, respectively, with careless handling it can easily burst. Therefore, it is not necessary to pour boiling water immediately, but first slightly warm water and gradually increasing the temperature of the water.
• After the start of heating, water will come out of the hose. Which, most likely, can slightly flood the house. It is better to prepare for this in advance, keeping a tool for pipe installation on hand.

These methods will help answer how easier it is to defrost a metal-plastic pipe without financial costs. There are other ways that will require more careful preparation, but their effectiveness fully justifies the effort expended.

Use of specialized equipment

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In the conditions of Siberia or the Far East, everyone in the house should have an «alarm kit». It should include all the necessary tools and devices used for heating metal-plastic.

An excellent option for thawing a pipe is a steam generator. With it, you can warm up any congestion in a matter of minutes.

Operating procedure:

1. Disconnect one end of the pipe located in the apartment;
2. Put on the adapter from the steam generator on the free end;
3. Gradually release steam at medium intensity and gradually increase the temperature.

As a rule, specialized devices are already equipped with the necessary measuring sensors. They provide additional protection against unforeseen circumstances.

One has only to remember that the steam coming out of the machine can have a temperature of more than 100 ° C and they can easily get burned.

When working, follow the safety rules and use protective equipment!

Another effective device is a hydrodynamic machine. The principle of its operation is simple — it pumps a stream of water of a certain power, which breaks the internal congestion.

It is even easier and much safer to work with her. The water supply nozzle is simply inserted into the frozen pipe, after which the ice crushing process begins. The resulting masses of water come out, so buckets and basins will be required during work.

Suddenly, a metal-plastic pipe froze at home right on the surface (this often happens in cases where the walls of the house are thin)? An ordinary household or building hair dryer will help!

To defrost water in a metal-plastic pipe using a hair dryer, you will need to find a place of ice blockage and act on it with hot air from the hair dryer cavity. At first it is better to work at low speeds, then gradually increase the intensity and temperature of the air. If the pipe has recently frozen, then it will turn out to warm up quickly.

As practice shows, in private houses, pipelines freeze and freeze quite often and in the most unexpected places. But with the right approach, even a non-professional can cope with the problem in a matter of minutes. And you don’t have to spend money on it.