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In the poconos they put them like a foot below out in the field . ideally there should be no water in the field runs if everything is pitched right .. but over time the ground settles and the pipes shift and water gets trapped and freezes out in the field
His condition would have been better if it were a 4 inch waste line with good pitch.
don't use the antifreeze, it prevents freezing, it doesn't help thaw something already frozen. it won't mix with the frozen water until it thaws out and that would have fixed problem on its own
the steaming fix, not sure it is way to go, it will still refreeze if you get another winter blast, pipes are too high in soil to be insulated by the ground itself.
maybe you could dig down to it and wrap insulation around pipes if you didn't want to make it deeper.
The wierd thing is, this has never occured before. 17 years here, and the tanks are 10 years old. I think it is in part to the freak weather pattern of the last month. I will however look into digging the line deeper come spring.
Rickcin, this is very noob of me, but can I go from a 2 1/2" metal pipe to a 4" PVC?(I still need to find out how large the opening is on the drywell too)
The wierd thing is, this has never occured before. 17 years here, and the tanks are 10 years old. I think it is in part to the freak weather pattern of the last month. I will however look into digging the line deeper come spring.
As suggested, check the pitch of the line. You don't want water standing in it even if it is deeper.
If you could empty the line to the blockage- and we're assuming the blockage is in-fact ice- you could pour a calcium chloride/water solution down the drain- that will certainly melt the ice. The drawback is if the blockage is a solid 5' (your shortage to the well), it probably wouldn't sustain the heat long enough to melt the entire blockage.
If the frost level ( frozen ground ) is below the invert level of the pipe, you have little chance of defrosting the pipe until the air temperatures warms up.
It also depends if it’s just a low point that froze or if the entire length to the drywall is frozen.
The wierd thing is, this has never occured before. 17 years here, and the tanks are 10 years old. I think it is in part to the freak weather pattern of the last month. I will however look into digging the line deeper come spring.
Rickcin, this is very noob of me, but can I go from a 2 1/2" metal pipe to a 4" PVC?(I still need to find out how large the opening is on the drywell too)
this came to mind but check if there isn't a crack in line somewhere, cold air/water might be seeping into pipe to cause freezing
Going from one material to another, metal to pvc, sometimes doesn't work well because the materials expand/contract differently
the problem may have been 17 years in the making and just now become noticeable
Calcium chloride is a possibility, as suggested above. It shouldn't be as harsh on the bacteria as rock salt, and it is both exothermic and lowers the melting point. Hot water is not a great idea unless you have a way to constantly circulate it and reheat it. If you have access to the blockage from both ends, and an electric welder, you can do a trick with running the low voltage high current through the ice. Google how it is done, understand the risks, and be careful. The amount of steam needed would be significant, but is the safest option.
The wierd thing is, this has never occured before. 17 years here, and the tanks are 10 years old. I think it is in part to the freak weather pattern of the last month. I will however look into digging the line deeper come spring.
Rickcin, this is very noob of me, but can I go from a 2 1/2" metal pipe to a 4" PVC?(I still need to find out how large the opening is on the drywell too)
Yes, A pvc pipe would be better for flow and frost protection however, pitch is a very important factor since running water is much less likely to freeze than sitting water. If the pipe has a god amount of continuous pitch, the water would flow into the drywall prior to freezing.
Just freezing this year, could have just been the perfect stormy!
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