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Frozen water line HELP

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Big Muddy rancher

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:help: The over flow line from my spring comes from the spring cribbing down to the trough. In the real cold weather the trough froze over and the line froze back up to the cribbing and now I have no overflow. I can get to the bottom of the line as it is open but can't get the ice up the hill to melt out. I tried using my truck exhaust but that hardly touched it.. Any ideas? :cowboy:
 
How long is it? Do you have power nearby or a generator? I might try some heat tape if you've got a place to plug it in.
 
SASH, the line is shallow buried running up hill about100 feet. No place to bury heat tape and a long way from power. I was wondering about my pressure washer an feeding it with some hot water from 5 gallon jugs. a, then shooting it up the line. :cowboy:
 
SASH, the line is shallow buried running up hill about100 feet. No place to bury heat tape and a long way from power. I was wondering about my pressure washer an feeding it with some hot water from 5 gallon jugs. a, then shooting it up the line.
Click to expand...

Boy that is a bit of a pickle. Sometimes when we are out on construction sites and need to draw frost, we lay down a layer of coal about 6" thick and get it burning. It works really well. If you had access to some coal and know where your pipe is, I'd lay it down a strip of coal about 2' wide and light it. Don't know how practical it is but I bet it would work.
 
Big Muddy, Sounds like a mess you have there. If there are no elbows at either end of the pipe I would get just the right amount of dynamite and see how far you can shoot a slug of ice! :nod:

Using the "RIGHT" amount is another question though.

Hope you get it working!
 
GEEZ Mike with friends like you who needs enemies. :D I have heard about guys like you but mostly read about them on the OBIT. page. :roll:
I could wait till it really warms up but could use the little pasture that the over flow empties into. :cowboy:
 
Get an old watertype fire exstinguisher and pumphot water down the line . I can give you the phone number of a guy up here could probably give you some ideas-Vern Klassen-236-4525-he's the guru of frozen waterlines.
 
If you can get to both ends, and if it is steel pipe you might be able to thaw it out using a welder. Use fairly low apreage and use about a #4 wire betweenwelder and one of the ends of the pipe. Of course you would need either a generator or a generator welder. I have thawed pipes out that way several times.
 
BMR,
Had something similar happen years back. Nothing worked in our situation. Laid out some black plastic pipe for the remainder of winter over ground. Worked. Later used the pipe for something else.
 
have you tried a steamer? shoots hot steam down the line and in about one minute it is thawed. I have used it on lots of frozen lines and it works great.
 
How big of a water line is it? chances are it isn't froze back in very far.
We had a 2 inch line freeze solid a couple years ago, so we hooked up a sump pump and pushed a garden hose up the frozen line as the sump was running. Nothing cuts ice faster than running water.
 
Here you go Big Muddy, get you some "Iceworms", turn 'em loose in that pipe and in a few hours the water will be runnin'! :shock: :wink:

See link for price:



http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/iceworm.htm
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
:help: The over flow line from my spring comes from the spring cribbing down to the trough. In the real cold weather the trough froze over and the line froze back up to the cribbing and now I have no overflow. I can get to the bottom of the line as it is open but can't get the ice up the hill to melt out. I tried using my truck exhaust but that hardly touched it.. Any ideas? :cowboy:
Click to expand...

Get a small hose long enougth to go the distance and fit it to a backpack weedsprayer filled with hot water and push it through the line.

Guys at the local plumbing shop unthaw lines like this all the time.


I unthawed my waterlines to my outdoor boiler with the same small hose attached to a garden hose.Worked real fast.

good luck.
 
BMR,

Frenchie has a darn good idea there, we use a small weed sprayer container and pump with 3/8 or 1/2 inch anhydrous line. We ve thawed water line out that was frozen 15 feet in the ground this way. Fill the sprayer with good hot water and pump away. Unthaws in minutes! Go get some anhydrous line cut off 50 ft tie it on to the sprayer jug and your ready to roll. If you need more assistance Ive got a lot more inventions for thawing out frozen water lines. email me :cowboy:
 
Jinglebob said:
Wonder why a guy in Manitoba would have lots of ways to thawe out a waterline? :)
Click to expand...

Maybe his adress is "TUNDRAVILLE" .

These have all been good ideas I tried my pressure washer filled with hot water but I think I need to feed a longer line in. I wish I could adapt my pressure tip to the hose and not use the wand as i could get up up the line farther.

Thanks again for the ideas, even Dynamite Mike, :cowboy:
 
Get pails of hot water and a pump to feed into a small line and feed the line in the frozen pipe. The jet of hot water will thaw pipe as fast as you can keep pushing the smaller pipe in .
 
You could do as we in Alabama do. Just take a break sitting by the fire till it worms up outside. It seems that people are in such a hurry. Why break your neck working on things that will take care of themselves anyway. However if you drink a little too much resting by the fire then dynamite is always the best solution. "Hay y'all hold my drink and watch this."
 
Sounds like a good job for some whiskey. Pour half down the pipe, light a match, if that don't work just drink rest of the whiskey. By the time you get the whiskey drank, who cares about a frozen water pipe.!!!!

Just kidding... Good Luck!
 

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