Frozen PEX tubing

thebugguy · #1 12/01/06, 10:12 AM

Folks-

After receiving a call from DW a moment ago, I was wondering if any of you had experience with PEX tube plumbing lines freezing up. We've had a couple of cold days (highs in the 20s, lows around 12 with strong north winds) and apparently last night our kitchen hot water pipe froze. Unfortunately, I can't diagnose the problem from here at work, but the obvious solution is more insulation (or letting the faucet trickle overnight).

After reading that PEX is "freeze resistant" but not "freeze proof", I was wondering how big of a deal this is. I've lived in houses with nightmare problems of PVC freezing and cracking, and am wondering how big a deal to make of this.

Any thoughts or experiences?

cheers,

thebugguy

Ed Norman · #2 12/01/06, 10:38 AM

We had our upstairs NE corner bathroom freeze last winter for a day. The pex made it fine and there are no leaks.

whistler · #3 12/01/06, 10:42 AM

I can't help you with the PEX issue but one way to keep kitchen pipes from freezing is to open the cabinet doors at night. This, of course, allows the heated air to fill the cabinet space.

Whistler

mpillow · #4 12/01/06, 10:47 AM

When Pex came out my husband had to test it....he is in the plumbing and heating field and wouldnt use it or sell it if it didnt hold up....he put it in the deep freeze for a couple weeks and it held up fine.....we've replaced most water lines in our crawlspace with it...after having to fix a few frzn/burst copper ones over the years.....but having said that ....a heat tape may be easier in the short term...

Here in Maine his business has a hard time keeping Pex in stock....its very popular for good reason.

thebugguy · #5 12/01/06, 10:48 AM

Whistler-

Excellent, elegant suggestion. As we're in for more cold weather, I'll try this. We can even move the kitchen island (really a table on wheels) out of the way and get some radiant heat from the woodstove directly on the kitchen plumbing.

If the freezing problem is elsewhere in the line, I'll have to get more creative...

cheers,

tbg

WindowOrMirror · #6 12/01/06, 12:48 PM

Our newer lines (PEX) have frozen several times and they're fine. You really only have to worry about the connections.

MELOC · #7 12/01/06, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whistler

I can't help you with the PEX issue but one way to keep kitchen pipes from freezing is to open the cabinet doors at night. This, of course, allows the heated air to fill the cabinet space.

Whistler

yeah, that helps. my kitchen is a bumpout and the plumbing runs along the exterior and uninsulated walls. i need to open cabinets if it is in the low teens and windy. it does help.

thebugguy · #8 12/01/06, 03:52 PM

Thanks for the comments, folks. I'm off to see what's to be done...

cheers (I hope),

tbg

whistler · #9 12/01/06, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebugguy

Whistler-

Excellent, elegant suggestion. As we're in for more cold weather, I'll try this. We can even move the kitchen island (really a table on wheels) out of the way and get some radiant heat from the woodstove directly on the kitchen plumbing.

If the freezing problem is elsewhere in the line, I'll have to get more creative...

cheers,

tbg

You are very welcome.

Whistler

Dutchie · #10 12/01/06, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebugguy

Thanks for the comments, folks. I'm off to see what's to be done...

cheers (I hope),

tbg

Just put a hairdryer on it ......

hoofinitnorth · #11 12/04/06, 07:32 AM

Pex should be fine with a minor freeze as you described - just heat it up a bit (CAREFULLY) and it should melt the ice and be fine. HOWEVER, IF you see expansion in the tub, you can do one of two things: cut out the piece and replace it altogether (very easy with a crimp tool that you can rent or buy from a plumbing supply place), or you can hire a professional company to come in and thaw and reshrink the PEX. There are people that do this for a living but they mostly do full floors of houses or larger projects since it's so cost-effective and simple to fix a little freeze like this, especially if the plumbing is run in open walls or crawlspaces.

thebugguy · #12 12/04/06, 08:39 AM

Folks-

Thanks for the suggestions. By the time I got home from work it had thawed itself out on it's own with no apparent leaking. We now leave our sink cabinet doors open at night, and I run the hot faucet for 10 to 15 seconds whenever I get up to add wood to the stove (a couple times a night?). With mid-to-low teens each night since Thursday night we haven't had a problem.

If this hadn't worked, I'd have something of a project on my hands as the kitchen water line runs from the utility room under the slab and pokes up into an exterior wall at the back of the sink. There's not a heck of a lot I can do about better insulating the part of the line in the slab running up next to the edge of the house- if this froze routinely, I'd be screwed. And, to better insulate the foot or two of tubing in the exterior wall, I'd have to at least tear out the back of the sink cupboard and a couple square feet of drywall, if not completely remove the sink and drywall and start over again. Wasn't looking forward to that possibility.

Anyway, so far so good.

cheers,

thebugguy