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Brad Adams
02-07-2014, 10:39 PM
Just received a call tonight for another frozen waterline to thaw. Normally this wouldn't be so bad... but this is the sixth waterline this week that has froze five feet underground. Its been below zero so long here that water lines and sewer lines are freezing five ft underground. I hate being a plumber when its this cold.

Brian Kent
02-07-2014, 11:10 PM
I am so sorry you have to do this, and so glad for people like you that keep the water flowing.

Graeme Lunt
02-08-2014, 3:01 AM
Could be worse - another 40+ day here. Too hot to go in the shed where it's 44 degrees.

Rich Engelhardt
02-08-2014, 7:21 AM
Too hot to go in the shed where it's 44 degrees.
LOL! I'm chomping at the bit for it to get up in the 40's so I can work in the garage!

I hope that 44 degrees is Celsius.

If not, you have my vote for having the most ice water in the veins instead of blood!

David G Baker
02-08-2014, 11:29 AM
Water must be left on in a pencil thin stream 24 hours a day even if it is warm outside the frost is still surrounding the underground pipes and will continue to freeze them if the water is not moving. My well line is 4 feet below the surface and I haven't had a problem yet. The coldest that I have seen here in Mid Michigan this year is 17 below and that was just one overnight but it has not been above 30 degrees in a while so my frost line may be getting close to the 42 inches that is norm for my area.

ray hampton
02-08-2014, 2:38 PM
Water must be left on in a pencil thin stream 24 hours a day even if it is warm outside the frost is still surrounding the underground pipes and will continue to freeze them if the water is not moving. My well line is 4 feet below the surface and I haven't had a problem yet. The coldest that I have seen here in Mid Michigan this year is 17 below and that was just one overnight but it has not been above 30 degrees in a while so my frost line may be getting close to the 42 inches that is norm for my area.

bury them pipes deep and keep the water moving at a drip, how far under the water is the pipes bury when the pipes cross a river

Mike Olson
02-08-2014, 8:48 PM
how the heck do you thaw a water line that is 5' underground?

Larry Edgerton
02-08-2014, 9:18 PM
I dug out my car hauler the other day and we have so much snow that there is no frost in the ground where its not plowed. I was surprised as it is the most consistently cold winter I can remember in my life. Below zero or single digits every night for about two months. I'm a couple hundred miles North of David.

Brad Adams
02-08-2014, 9:57 PM
how the heck do you thaw a water line that is 5' underground?

I use an eighth inch jetter hose and nozzle. Hopefully they get along with neighbors, to borrow water from them for the jetter. Went out this morning at 7:30 and got back home at 7 tonight. I had two frozen water service lines and one apartment building with frozen boiler lines. Already have another one frozen to thaw tomorrow. The worst is yet to come. Once it warms up the frost drives down deeper.

Lee Reep
02-08-2014, 10:30 PM
Just received a call tonight for another frozen waterline to thaw. Normally this wouldn't be so bad... but this is the sixth waterline this week that has froze five feet underground. Its been below zero so long here that water lines and sewer lines are freezing five ft underground. I hate being a plumber when its this cold.

I hope you are being rewarded well, financially, for your efforts when the weather is so miserable. I pity our trash guys here that ride thru our neighborhoods on the back of the truck, and stop every few houses to dump the trash cans. Maybe they stay warm doing all that lifting ...

Julie Moriarty
02-09-2014, 8:07 AM
The other day, on the weather on TV, they said Chicago is having its coldest winter in 30 years. It's the 8th coldest, dating back to 1871. We're also getting close to the top of the list in snowfall too. Right now this year ranks 5th in snowfall, going back to 1884. I think Mother Nature is reminding us who is boss!

Jerome Stanek
02-09-2014, 8:10 AM
The other day, on the weather on TV, they said Chicago is having its coldest winter in 30 years. It's the 8th coldest, dating back to 1871. We're also getting close to the top of the list in snowfall too. Right now this year ranks 5th in snowfall, going back to 1884. I think Mother Nature is reminding us who is boss!

could that be why they say the weather goes in 30 year cycles