TX freeze and outdoor hose bibs

[colonelkirby]

Just saw a notification from the city to 'Cover pipes and allow outdoor faucets to slowly drip to prevent them from freezing'. Any TX folks leave outdoor hose bibs to drip? We always cover but that precludes allowing them to drip. My guess is that its poorly worded and they mean to drip 'indoor faucets that are on outside walls'. Thoughts?

 

[mas985]

Allowing the bib to drip, indoors or outdoors, reduces the probability of freezing, causing an ice dam and bursting the pipe. For hard freezes of long duration, it is a good idea. By allowing a small drip, it gives a pathway to relieve the excess pressure that builds up as the ice expands. This is also why it is a good idea to leave all pool valves in open positions and for both pipes in the case of a 3-way valve.

 

[Mdragger88]

I have never heard this suggestion.
I do have a leaky spigot on the front of my house though so maybe it’s doing me a favor

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I suppose it’s a good suggestion for people that live in milder climates with plenty of water but I can tell you that it is very frowned up here in the desert southwest. Then again, our hard freeze times are measured in hours, not days, and so it’s really not an issue for outdoor spigots. All I do around here is make sure all of my hoses are coiled up into their boxes, the spigot is turned off and then I put a spigot cover over it. For any above ground pipe, we simply put foam insulation around it (looks like black pool noodles) and then seal it up with 20mil black vinyl plumbers tape. After that, you can put an insulation bag over it. Some people just throw old bed sheets or bath towels over the pipes. My neighbor, who is rather crafty, actually got some heavy duty fabric material and sewed together her own insulation bag that was stuffed with fiberglass insulation by her husband. It was actually a very pretty pattern she picked out unlike the drab tan ones you get at the hardware store.

No reason to waste water around here by letting it drip …

 

[mfifield01]

I cover my outdoor faucets. I do drip one cold and one hot inside my house. Hot doesn't make sense, but I had it freeze up in '11.

 

[Newdude]

Hot doesn't make sense, but I had it freeze up in '11.

Hot is only hot when it's running (being heated). Once you shut the valve, it's sitting hot water. Hot water freezes before cold water because the change in temperature drops so quickly to get to ambient temp, then blows right by the cold water temp (more stable) on its way to freezing.

We all did the experiment in grade school, but it was eons ago for most of us. Put a cup of hot and cold in your freezer and check it out.

 

[mas985]

Hot water freezes before cold water because the change in temperature drops so quickly to get to ambient temp, then blows right by the cold water temp (more stable) on its way to freezing.

Called the Mpemba effect but it has been disproved by several scientific studies. It just depends on how you do the experiment and how careful you are to eliminate extraneous factors.

But even so, it probably does not apply to a dripping bib as that is an entirely different cooling mechanism than the inside of a freezer.

 

[Newdude]

it probably does not apply to a dripping bib as that is an entirely different cooling mechanism than the inside of a freezer

Oh yeah. The point was that the hot water pipe is just a pipe that had hot water in it after the heater ran. Once the furnace shuts off, it's now the 'on its way to cold water' pipe.

Make them both drip and your chances are better.

 

[WBW]

I've always covered my outdoor facets and never had any issues, even 2 years ago. On the north side of our home, I take extra precautions and wrap the facets with socks, etc, and then cover them with insulated covers.

 

[Jimrahbe]

My guess is that its poorly worded and they mean to drip 'indoor faucets that are on outside walls'. Thoughts?

C,

That would be my guess also..

It is the only thing that make sense to me.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mas985]

Yes, the conventional wisdom is let faucets drip that are on outside walls. More specifically, outside walls with poor insulation and areas where you cannot open to the inside such as the cabinet below a faucet.

But as was pointed out by others, there are other mechanisms that you can use as first choice to prevent freezing. The drip method is kind of a last resort for extreme freezes. Even that can fail if the dripping water freezes fast enough. The colder the weather, the faster the drip needs to be.