Going to have a deep freeze here

[Horace]

It'll be below freezing here for two days or more, starting early friday morning. I have heard from some that we should shut off the main water valve and drain the system to keep pipes from bursting. But that seems to be an overreaction according to many. I think I will risk it and just shut off the irrigation system valve. We never had to do anything in preparation for the 4 months of freezing weather in Wisconsin. I will be taking my potted fig tree into the garage. The flowers in the ground, planted with care on Thanksgiving, will be dying.

[Mik]

Even in Texas they have to be buried below the frost line. How deep are your irrigation lines?

[Horace]

@Mik said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

Even in Texas they have to be buried below the frost line. How deep are your irrigation lines?

Irrigation lines are about 8 inches down.

[George K]

Should they be drained?

[Catseye3]

@Horace said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

shut off the main water valve and drain the system to keep pipes from bursting. But that seems to be an overreaction according to many.

I'd say so. If you're worried, you might think about opening the in-house faucets enough for a trickle to keep the water moving along.

[George K]

@Catseye3 said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

you might think about opening the in-house faucets

Yeah. We had a pipe on an outside wall burst at the Cheddarshack with some disastrous results.

[Mik]

There should never be a pipe on an outside wall in Wisconsin unless it's a hose bib. And then they should have the freeze plug.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Catseye3 said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

@Horace said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

shut off the main water valve and drain the system to keep pipes from bursting. But that seems to be an overreaction according to many.

I'd say so. If you're worried, you might think about opening the in-house faucets enough for a trickle to keep the water moving along.

That was always the recommended trick in Canada when it got really cold. I suspect it's more to do with designing for the climate than anything, as we never had any issues despite really cold winters. In the UK, things often got ugly when we had a cold snap. As a student in Manchester I remember having a bath full of water that steadfastly refused to drain.

[Jolly]

Leave some water dripping, preferably in a couple of places with one at the farthest distance from where your water comes in the house. Might want to prepare to lose your electric, although I don't think this front has much precipitation. That's why folks should have wood heat or gas logs for the every ten years emergency.

Pay attention to outside faucets (most don't have a drain bib on them down here) and put a faucet insulation cup on them or wrap them in old socks with duct tape on the outside to keep the cloth dry.

Good luck.

[blondie]

Here, irrigation systems get blown out, taps drained, and the water shut off to them in October. We’ve pipes for a bathroom in a basement on an outside wall, but I presume they are insulated. That shower, toilet, sink is used daily.

[Copper]

I just blew out my irrigation system yesterday.

I had been waiting for a warm day, we never got one.

I could probably get away with not blowing the lines, but we have freezing weather coming all weekend so I figured better safe than sorry.

The hose bibs here don't have drains in them. They do have cutoffs so I shut them off, but there isn't an easy way to empty them.

I played round # 257 today, I think I can get over 260.

[Renauda]

I crimped in butterfly shutoff valves inside the house about ten inches behind the frost cocks leading to the hose bibs. In late October I close the butterflies in house then open the hose bibs and leave them open until the spring thaw in April. In that way the frost cocks have completely drained and remain free of all water pressure from behind throughout the winter months.

[Aqua's Sister]

@Renauda said in Going to have a deep freeze here:

the frost cocks have completely drained

Heh.