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Frozen pipes.

I plumbed faucets for both hot water and cold water lines underneath the utility sink in the basement a few feet from the floor drain. The hot water tank is beside the utility sink. I can drain all water lines and the tank in about fifteen minutes to prepare the house for freeze up (pull the fuses for tank first). We regularly see -50 winters. Ice storms are not uncommon = extended power outages. Doesn't sound like we will get hit with deep freeze this time. Temps are hovering around zero F and wind right now is 70 kph. Supposed to be windier tomorrow. Hard to tell how hard it's snowing. What's coming down now and what's just blowing around from yesterday?
 
I truly don’t miss the times my pump house would freeze up from when I lived in east Idaho
 
Got the water going in the kennel building again. Blow dryer to about 30 feet of line. The main shutoff valve was even frozen. Played with the one working heater and had one side at 57 and the other at 32. Left a small stream running at the end of the line to keep it open. Hope it's going to last through the night. The wind hasn't really let up much and now it's shifting direction a little. Give it a week. We'll be up in the 50s again!
 
In a fully depreciated mobile home in Gunnison CO, back when it was cold there our pipes used to freeze every few weeks. Landlord brought his arc welder, hooked leads to watermain and an indoor faucet. Took a while, then magically the water would begin to flow.Mobiled below zero are challenging.
 
My daughter just texted me a bit ago, plans are to all meet at my son's and do our Christmas today but she lost power a half hour ago, 4000 residences and they estimate it's back up at 3:00 this afternoon. Big problem is that it's +9 out there and so there's no leaving the cat, no leaving the house, and our Christmas is shot. I have to drive to my daughter's to pick up gifts then drive another hour and a half to my son's to celebrate.

I know that +9 sounds like a heat wave to some of you, but in the not so sunny South that's a big deal since the houses aren't built for it and the infrastructure doesn't support it too well.

Merry Christmas to one and all!
 
I spent a lot of my teenage winters working to fix split water lines under the cabins at my family's marina in Tennessee. My dad could never get the concept of insulation firmly fixed in his head.

David
NM
 
Those of you who have frozen pipes and laughed at my tip for cold weather camping in an RV might want to reconsider it now. Line the toilet with a quality kitchen waste bag (or garbage bag) and after you've done your business throw it outside to freeze. No need to go the paper plate route. When this storm blows over, take the parcels to the landfill or burn them in the fire pit and save the gas. Glad to help.
 
With all the drafty old houses, pipe lines and water tanks my family owns I am no stranger to frozen pipes.
The best story was quite comical for my brother and I, not so much for dad.
Started with the water tank in the corral at where I grew up. The old wooden tank had been in the corral for as long as I can remember and one of my ancestors only used one inch pipe for an overflow when they installed the tank. The result was the overflow was frequently vapor locking or plugging with dirt. Normally you could take few feet of smaller pipe and clear the blockage with a few quick plunges. We even had a length of pipe at the tank for when it was needed.
One winter morning it was 25 below and the over flow was plugged again. Water was running over the top of the tank and had a good start on building a sizable glacier in corral. Thinking the overflow plugged with dirt or vapor locked dad grabs the smaller pipe and starts plunge the blocked overflow pipe. Try as he might, the overflow pipe would not clear. This was because it was frozen sold were it dumped into creek 100 yards away, but dad didn't know this at the time, he thought it was just some very stubborn dirt causing the blockage. The plunger pipe was not working so dad decides that he would try to blow out the clog with the CleanOfilter. For those of you that do not know what a CleanOfilter is, it is a portable air tank, an inch and a half pipe with a flange and valve is connected to the bottom of the tank. Fill the tank with 100 psi of air, place the flange on a tractor air filter and release the valve. Poof and the dirty filter is clean.
Dad figures he puts 100 psi in the tank, put the CleanOfilter on the overflow pipe and trips the valve and the blockage would be blown out. As he is nearing the tank my brother and I are questioning the wisdom of this plan. He replies "I am sure it will work, you got a better idea". As he leans out over the tank to put the CleanOfilter on the now submerged under three inches of water overflow pipe, my brother and I start to retreat. Good thing we did. Dad trips the valve and it looks like someone had thrown a hand grenade in the water tank. Water exploded everywhere. The CleanOfilter turned into a rocket and takes his arm with it up into his jaw. Dad is soaking wet from his shoes to the top of his head in 25 below weather, his arm is stretched out and his jaw is bruised. My brother and I are both laughing uncontrollably. Dad is cold and pissed, and us laughing didn't help his disposition.
Short time later I figured out the bottom end of the overflow pipe was frozen. Piled some scrap wood on it and lit it on fire. Overflow was working fine in short order.
 
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