How to Thaw Frozen Plumbing? Frozen Water Pipe Opening Methods

Some parts of our country are a bit more harsh in the winter months. Although each season has its own characteristics, there are some downsides. Let’s come to our main topic. Frozen pipes that appear in the winter months have a negative impact on our daily life. The air temperature required for the water installations to freeze must be at least 3 degrees below. Expansion occurs as the water pipes rotate. This will cause the water pipes to freeze as well as the water meter.

The rate of dissolution of frozen water pipes is determined by the amount of frozen water in it. The greater the amount of water flowing through the pipes, the more frozen water will be. Thawing the frozen water system can be done at home, or you can get rid of this problem in a much shorter time by contacting a professional plumbing company. How to open frozen pipes instead of waiting for the spring to thaw the frozen plumbing?

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Methods of Opening Frozen Plumbing

There are various methods that can be applied to thaw a frozen water pipe. Frozen water pipe can be thawed in the home environment, or it can be opened using professional devices by applying to specialist plumbing companies.

The main methods used in thawing frozen water installations are as follows;
• Opening a water pipe frozen with salt
• Opening a frozen water pipe with a pressure cooker
• How to open a frozen water pipe with a picnic tube?
• Thawing frozen water system with welding machine
• Opening a frozen water system with a blowtorch

1) Opening a Water Pipe Frozen with Salt

Salt application is the most commonly used method for opening frozen water installations. Opening frozen water pipes with salt is a method that can be used both at home by yourself and by plumbers. Pour a large amount of salt into a container. Add boiling water to it and dissolve the salt. Connect a hose to the mouth of one of the water pipes and pour the salt water you have prepared into the pipe. Repeat this process several times. After a while, you will observe that the frozen water pipes thaw and open. Depending on the degree of freezing in the plumbing, you may need to wait between 3 and 24 hours for the water to flow again and repeat the salting process.

2) Opening a Frozen Water Pipe with a Pressure Cooker

One of the most preferred methods of people who want to open a frozen water pipe at home is the pressure cooker application. Since the temperature of the steam coming out of the pressure cooker is very high, it will help to thaw frozen pipes. To open a frozen water pipe with a pressure cooker, attach a hose or pipe to the steaming part of the pressure cooker. Attach the other end of the pipe or hose to the spout of one of the faucets and let the steam flow. Dissolutions made with the pressure cooker will take a long time. It takes an average of 3 to 8 hours for the pressure cooker to melt the ice in the water pipes.
The large amount of water accumulating in the pipes will reduce the thawing rate of the frozen water installation.

3) How to Open a Frozen Water Pipe with a Picnic Tube

This method, which is applied with a picnic tube, is undoubtedly the most used method.
For this, a blowtorch is attached to the picnic tube.
The picnic tube is opened and ignited.
Heat the frozen part of the pipe with fire by means of a torch.
If the frozen water pipe is an iron pipe, you can easily solve your problem with this method.
However, care should be taken with plastic pipes. Because while trying to melt the frozen pipe, you can damage the plastic pipe. It would be the best choice not to use it in plastic water pipes.

4) Thawing Frozen Plumbing with a Welding Machine

Thawing frozen water installation with a welding machine is an application performed by professional plumbers. The current transmitted to the frozen water installation by the welding machine is quite dangerous. For this reason, the least used method for dissolving water pipes is the method of conducting current with a welding machine. The person using the welding machine must be a professional plumber and take all precautions against electric shock. In order for the welding machine to thaw frozen water pipes, the installation must be made of metal pipes. Welder trusses are attached to two points on the same pipeline. By turning on the electricity, electric current is sent to the frozen water pipes. The electrical current sent must be of low amperage and voltage. With the transmitted current, the frozen water will dissolve.

5) Opening a Frozen Water System with a Torch

Since the application of opening frozen water pipes with a blowtorch is a dangerous process, it should be done by professional plumbers. Pipes must be metal in order to apply the blowtorch. In practice, a blowtorch head is attached to a picnic tube. Then, flame is sent inside the frozen water pipes. The fact that the pipes are metal will cause the temperature of the flames sent from the blowtorch to increase and to be transmitted quickly. In this way, the ice in the frozen water system will become liquid. The application of opening the frozen water installation with the torch must be done by experienced plumbers.