Discussions

This is the first time in decades that we need to ask this question. The pipes to three water bowls are frozen underground and my husband is wondering if there is something that can be put down the pipes that will thaw them out. This had to be something nontoxic as the bowls are used to water cattle and horses and I don't think there is a means of flushing any toxins out of the pipes. What an unbelievable cold spell this has been!!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kim was getting messaged yesterday from a friend on Facebook about her frozen up water in a trailer, and I was asked if I had any solutions, after hearing everything they had tried I suggested it likely wasn't the trailer, we heard back from her around 8 and they had tracked it down to their pumpshed. I know the pumpshed at Bens place is well insulated and always seems warm but there was an hose on the floor this morning that had frozen, and also the sump pit had ice on the top of it, not sure if you folks had a pumpshed or just a system in the house.  
One suggestion I have heard about thawing lines out is to rig a pipe or hose to the exhaust of a vehicle and force warm exhause down the line, we used this idea once to thaw out a frozen sewer, but only used it to thaw the outer pipe and the inner one thawed by itself.  
We have gone to plastic water bowls and found one frozen yesterday, the drain pipe for the bowl is placed to close to the heating element, and when the pipe melts through, as they all do, it allows cold air to get ahead of the heater. Simple plug of insulation fixed that propblem. Thought I might add this for anyone who has the plastic Richie waterbowls.  
Sorry I don't have any other suggestions but checking the source, and the exaust idea.

can't be froze right at 8 feet yet. I have used a piece of steel wire before. Keep heating the steel wire red hot and push it down the pipe. Slow but it does work. Trouble is now that it has froze you may have a long winter.

I have had four freeze in my house, one cold and three times on the hot water pipe.  
 
A plumber friend of mine has been working so much he has forgotten where he lives.  
 
I am doing everything right: heat on in the house, heat tape on the pipe, regularly running the water, leaving cupboards open.

Maybe a dumped question Did you check of there is power going to the drinkers.Maybe the breaker went in the panel box?

it is likely froze under the water bowl. You will probably have to open it up from the top or side depending on which type of fountain you have. if you have a copper pipe that is smaller than the water line coming up from the ground you can attach a funnel to it and pour boiling water out of a kettle into it and it doesnt take that long and its open. a small plastic line works as well but is a little on the flexible side as it heats up. A hair drier stuck under blowing down the pipe works as well but takes a little longer. Make sure it is not in a pump house pit or such as with lack of snow this year, under ground hoes are freezing up more. Mine was froze this morning 6 feet below the ground in a pit. I have an uninsulated building over the pit with to much air holes.

An old trick to thaw frozen copper lines is to hook up a welder from the point where it goes into the ground, and at the point that it comes out of the ground. Takes low amperage and about 12 hours, but does work.

I have a tool I built for thawing out waterlines under ground.

I agree the frost shouldnt be down that far yet,even driveing over it,shouldnt be down that deep,First try hair dryer pointed down stand pipe under waterer,Next u can also dump pail or 2 of hot water down stand pipe,Sent u a PM also if u want to contact me on another thing u can make ,that would get open it open pretty quick Good luck, With low snow levels this winter and very cold weather gonna be a lot of freeze ups

We have been here 10 years and it is the first one of  
water taps have frozen. Cold water in the kitchen only.  
 
I followed to the source and I can see where it is frozen.  
 
I am going to do the open the cupboard trick and just hope no other pipes freeze. My experience tells me this is only the start of a general freeze up. It is a house with a unheated basement.  
 
 
That weld suggestion sounds like something the city of Brandon used to do for frozen city lines. I saw them do that when I was reaaaal young. I am sure they use similar now.  
 
Edited by Doug, 2017-12-31 16:28:13

I do not have a hair dryer, pipes "lightly" froze. I went to Home Hardware and Ken suggested a heat gun. A hair dryer I will never use again, a heat gun I will.  
 
Heat gun was a lot cheaper. Heat from the warm edges first. I left the taps dripping last night, will again tonight. I want to sleep without worrying.  
 
So far, I have solved all of my frozen pipe problems for a grand total of $75 (seventy-five). Every time they find a new way to freeze, I find a new solution.

It most likely is frozen from underneath the water bowl maybe two or three feet down in the ground. You can put heat under the waterbowl such as a ceramic heater and wait, but that can take a bit of time. You can take a three or four gallon garden sprayer, the ones you buy to spray weeds in the garden that you manually pump up with the spray wand, and get some 1/4" hard plastic line, such as air brake line, and adapt it to the wand on the garden sprayer. Then fill the water sprayer with hot water and pump it up and then insert the hard plastic line into the water bowl line and let the hot water spray down while slowly putting a bit of pressure on the hard plastic line. As the hot water cuts thru the ice blockage, you will feel it slowly going further into the pipe. You can add salt to the hot water if you want as it can help get thru the block sooner.  
Once you get the line flowing again, if the line is inside a 4" pipe, you can get a 7 or 8 foot piece of 2" ID poly pipe same type as the water line feeding the water bowl, (presuming the water line is 1 1/4" which is most common) and tape a 9 foot heat tape to the outside of this 2" pipe as you coil it around the pipe and down. Then slide this 2" pipe with the heat tape on it over the 1 1/4" supply line going down into the ground. This will keep it from freezing again. You can also use a TEE fitting and the small wire type of heat cable that goes right inside the water pipe. We have used both and they both work okay. If you don't have a garden sprayer, you can also use a metal container and solder a 6 foot piece of 1/4" copper tubing to the bottom and then do the same basically as using the garden sprayer, slowly push the copper tubing down the pipe while it gravity flows down...but this is a bit more clumsy to use.  
Let me know how you make out....we have a lot of cattle so have years of dealing with these things unfortunately...lol. :-)

water line.We have used a 1/4 hp pump in a 5 gallon pail of hot water with a garden hose hooked to the pump and slowly apply pressure to hose while pushing inside frozen one.We have also had copper tubing pipe connected to the garden hose to unthaw water hydrants.It works quite well as long as you have a plug in close to where you are working and I know all cattle waterer's don't have one in them.Good Luck

Maybe call a plumber. I believe they can thaw it out with a steamline.  
 
Could try a large syringe with boiling hot water. More heat trace around the hose.

I remember my dad had this problem at the barn he used steam too. So when I built my system I run all my water pipes in a 4" abs pipe and this solved any frozen lines and if it did happen I only had to run a fan from my heated pump room down the 4" line or just disconnect and pull them out no 90 elbows all 45

redGreen said "water line.We have used a 1/4 hp pump in a 5 gallon pail of hot water with a garden hose hooked to the pump and slowly apply pressure to hose while pushing inside frozen one.We have also had copper tubing pipe connected to the garden hose to unthaw water hydrants.It works quite well as long as you have a plug in close to where you are working and I know all cattle waterer's don't have one in them.Good Luck "

The garden sprayer with the small hose is what we also use. Thawed three water bowls last week.

I must apologize that I didn't explain my first question right (I didn't quite understand what my husband meant but I knew it was not at the waterbowl end). The problem is actually between the well and pump house ... A distance of about 30 ft underground. This well has been in operation since the 80's without problems. He would like find something that could be put into the pipe at the pump house end that can eat through the ice inside the pipe. It must not be toxic. We are fortunate to have a second pump house sitting directly over a well but no water bowls working has created a lot of extra work.

There was mention in one of the above comments of an inline heat tape, and we have used this on one of our waterbowls that did have problems with a freezing water supply line. There is a line that goes in though a water tight fitting, this is the tee that was mentioned, and you can get what ever length of tape that you need to do the job. It is a very low voltage system and from what I remember about the one we installed it was not supposed to use power if the temperature of the water was above a certain level, sort of a smart tape. The part that comes out of the tee has a plug in on it and you can just plug it in.  
We bought ours up in Reston, but I think that if you check at home hardware they should know what you are asking about.

We used the 1/4" stiff poly tubing hooked to a cheap pump you put on a drill. Pump the hot salty water into the pipe as you work the tubing forward through the ice. You have to catch the water as it comes back out.

Get a water suction tool at princess auto , fill it with 5 gallons of hot water, open your water inside your waterfowl and push the little plastic waterhole from your tool as you release the water from tool. the hot water will melt the ice in water line as fast as you can push it down.

 
 
Hope the link works

So try again  
 
https://heatline.com/retro-line?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhuWL5p232AIVUp7ACh2u1wXIEAMYAyAAEgKJ0_D_BwE  
 
If you scroll down there is a YouTube video that does a pretty good kid of explaining the system  
 
Hope this one works

Everyone for your suggestions. ALL of the responses have been very much appreciated. I can't relay these messages until tonight but hopefully we can beat this problem.