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That time my boiler froze solid at -40 in Edmonton and the plumber said I'd be waiting 3 days
I ended up wrapping the pipes in shop towels and pouring hot water over them every 4 hours for 2 nights straight while the rest of the neighborhood told me I should have let the taps drip, so has anyone actually tested if that trick really works in extreme cold or is it just something everyone says?
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simonmoore23d ago
Oh yeah, the drip trick is basically Canadian folklore at this point. I tried it one winter when it hit -45 and my tap just froze solid anyway, so I spent 4 hours with a hair dryer and a space heater just to get a single drip going again. Kinda feels like the people who swear by it have never actually been in a situation where the wind chill makes your eyelashes freeze shut. More of a "this worked in my mild -20 winter" kind of advice.
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Lol nobody's talking about how your pipe insulation material makes or breaks this trick. Cheap foam stuff is useless once windchill hits, but the rubber kind actually buys you enough time between drizzles.
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adam_anderson620d ago
The drip trick failed me at -40 too, but wrapping pipes in those rubber insulated sleeves actually kept mine from freezing solid.
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