Happy holidays friends

I am among those dopes who forgot this year to winterize my two garden hose bibbs. Weather has already been subzero here in Chicago and is currently 12 deg. F. I do not have frost-proof hose bibbs. Normally, at the end of fall I detach the hoses, turn off the supply valves in the basement, and leave open the bibb valves for the winter.

As of last night, I have detached the outside hoses, and closed the inside supply valves (lever-type ball valve on copper supply lines). Not surprisingly, when I tried to open the bibbs to allow for expansion, I found them frozen.

Question: Can I just leave well enough alone, or should I use a heat gun to thaw the bibbs long enough to let out trapped ice (and the water behind it)? With the bibb valve left open, it could then refreeze as it always does but with room to expand without breaks.

(FYI: One supply valve is 3' from the exterior wall and has the small drain cap; the other, added after a pipe burst a few years ago, is 12' from the exterior wall, and has NO drain cap. Both are mounted below grade. I suppose I could open the drain cap on the one that has it...but...I've never used it before and risk causing a new issue.

Thanks for any opinions.

gregger (the dope)

 

How hard would it be to just wrap a couple short heat tapes on the pipe... plug them in and leave them to thaw on their own? That would probably be better than trying a torch.

 

Not very hard, if I owned them! I see that Frost-King 6' tapes are $22 each at Home Depot. Could add to my collection I suppose!

Is it important to free these valves now and "unlock" any pressure, or can I leave well enough alone until the next thaw in weather?

Thanks!

 

Damage is done every time there is a freeze thaw cycle. Sooner the better... but if it's already frozen you could probably wait for warmer weather. If you have shut off valves that won't shut because they are frozen open, I would put the tape on now.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. As long as the water is shut off, it won't get worse. Leave the outside faucet on, and it will eventually drain itself. Once the weather warms up a bit, turn on the water and see if you need to replace anything, or if you got lucky!

 

When we made ice skating rinks we would take a bucket of warm water and pour it on the faucet to thaw them out!

 

Thanks all for the advice. I'll sit tight. One of the bibbs valves did open up with just a little more effort; one is stuck good but maybe I'll hit it with a stream of hot water to see if that frees it up a bit.

Take care all and Happy New Year!

 

Open the supply valves in the basement and let the (outside) hose bibb hold the water. But be vigilant in case one of the bibbs had cracked as a result of freezing, thaws out a little, and water gushes out of the crack and all over the place. I would suggest shutting off the main water valve after everyone goes to bed at night and when everyone goes out for the day.

If/when a bibb thaws, naturally or by pouring warm water over it, verify that there is no cracked pipe there and then open it and let it gush for a minute. Now shut off the respective supply valve and let the bibb drain.

 

I forgot the post a final update: I left the supply valves closed and the bibb faucets open. I was half-lucky; the one in back (always in the shade) thawed out and was undamaged; the one in front (gets more sun exposure) was indeed cracked and needed pipe repair. I am thinking may the sun exposure on that bibb contributed to the freeze/thaw. In any case, I will invest in the tape style heaters to prevent future incidents. Thanks all for the advice.