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Water Pipes Freeze in crawl space

7 years ago

The past few winters have been really cold - below freezing. Part of our kitchen is over a crawl space. Unfortunately, it is the area with the sink and dishwasher. Twice we have had the pipes under the sink freeze. Last year, a plastic fastener for the dishwasher plumbing broke because of the cold.

My husband put electrical heater wiring on the pipes in the crawl space a few years ago. He also insulated the pipes. We would appreciate suggestions.

Background - the house was built in 1938 and a previous owner extended the kitchen past the original footprint. The rest of the house is over the basement. A last resort would be to extend the basement to include the 10 by 10 foot crawl space, but that would be really expensive, because if would have to be dug by hand.

TIA

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Comments (5)

User
7 years ago
Did he use the flat yellow heated wiring? If so, that is the absolute worst kind to use. Call a mobile home company and have them install the kind they use. It works much better. And, when/if the electricity goes out, open the faucets to let the water trickle. That should prevent the lines from freezing(the DW hookup should be under the sink).
klem1
7 years ago
There's two many possiable variables and I don't feel like covering them all to make certain you get right information to fit your situation. One thing i can tell you that apply's universaly,copper pipe is best for preventing freezeing. Reason is because heat travels through copper better than iron,plastic/pvc doesn't conduct heat at all.
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Also insulate crawl space. We glued insulation to concrete walls. Wow its always nice in there. plus put down plastic on dirt floor. At least half way done in way. Unfortunately he threw in some left over gravel on dirt floor. wrong move.Slowly removing it and putting down plastic. Duh.... we were able to buy the foam board cheap from a guy in a local classified ad paper. Also have fiberglass between the studs. Unfortunately Hubby installed the vapor barrier years ago( when we were younger and less knowledgeable) toward dirt floor rather than up under flooring. Duh>>> We have copper so I used those foam tubes on them. Hubby has did some work in crawl space adding (water lines, running dsl lines, redoing some electical etc, adding electrical, running tv lines, etc) over the years and I need to go in there and put back up fiberglass etc Just my humble opinion for a long time home owner DIY er Jean
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An interesting idea, but, for the reasons you have identified, it could be something you come to regret. It just seems like a lot of work and expense for something with modest benefits. In my view, it would be a pain to have them located in a crawl space where they won't be as easily observable for leaks, etc., so you'll have to remember to crawl in there to do regular inspections. Further, installation now and any future maintenance and/or changeout in a space like that would not be fun.
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Depending on the configuration of the run, you may be able to use a simple electrical heat tape on the line that freezes. It won't help if the freezing is inside the wall, though (neither would the crawlspace radiator).
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Three feet of the pipe is exposed in the crawl space. I agree with the other comments that the buried line outside the cabin doesn't appear to be six feet down. The cabin was originally built to be a three season home, two years ago we remodeled and added a furnace. Do you think having a heated pipe on the inside would help with the buried pipe on the outside of the cabin? Not sure how far the well is from the crawl space. To answer the last question: I am confident that the line is freezing as the pump is working and tries to draw water. Did not notice a lower water flow in the late fall.
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User
7 years ago
Having lived in a mobile home for 22 years, and having the experience of frozen pipes five times, I must disagree copper pipe is best. Until I learned the flat yellow heat tape was garbage(used on copper lines), mine froze three times. When I finally learned which tape to use, the copper never was a problem, until mice/raccoons/possums/whatever ate away the wrap---and then the copper froze in spite of the tape two more times.

Neighbors/customers had plastic and had much fewer problems.
Elmer J Fudd
7 years ago
"One thing i can tell you that apply's universaly,copper pipe is best for preventing freezeing. Reason is because heat travels through copper better than iron,plastic/pvc doesn't conduct heat at all."

This is 180 degrees wrong. Right facts, wrong conclusion.

Heat (of anything) travels from hot to cold. Copper is an excellent conductor of heat (also electricity), so water in a copper pipe will lose its heat (that's what getting colder is) to cold air faster than water in a pipe that isn't as good a conductor of heat.

PEX pipe expands and doesn't break when subjected to freezing temps and will return to its original shape when it thaws. One has to be careful to use connections that won't give way under the freezing. A good plumber experienced with PEX connections should be able to fix the problem.
sherwoodva
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you all for your suggestions. When the weather cools in the fall, we will have a plumber take a look at the whole set up. Expensive, but cheaper than moving.

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