jamesw
Member
Registered: 28th Jun 02
Location: Station Town, County Durham
User status: Offline
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Was pretty cold here last night (-5) anyway got in after work today and noticed when I flushed the toilet something didnt sound right. After that tap in the bathroom sink was a bit erratic - turned it on and water was trickling then all of a sudden it let rip with loads of pressure as if pipe had been blocked - tried kitchen sink and similar so feels to me as if pipes may have frozen slightly.
Anyway me being a numpty realised this is 1st time we have had this problem however an outdoor tap had been fitted in the summer and I have forgotton to follow the instructions of shutting off the indoor stop tap and leaving the tap open.
Anyway have shut it off inside and had the hair dryer out and managed to leave it cracked open outside. Could this have been the cause - is it possible for the ice to flow back in the system so to speak, just wondering if maybe I also have another issue.....
Cheers
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
User status: Offline
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We've had to wrap our outside tap up for the reasons you have discovered. Unfortunately we don't have an indoor stop valve for that tap only one to open/close the supply to the whole house. 
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dannymccann
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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We have an outdoor tap.....what are these precautions we need to take? If it helps we are in a new house that has plastic pipes rather than your usual copper equivalents....
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ash_corsa
Member
Registered: 15th Apr 04
Location: Shrewsbury
User status: Offline
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Outside tap jacket!
Danny - water inside a plastic pipe will still freeze mate, if theres no external pipework you should be ok, but best to isolate the tap supply, then open the tap and let any water run out, then whack a tap jacket or equivalent round it.
Just done mine tonight but i dont have a tap jacket, but if theres no water in the pipe it should be okay.
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Limecat
Banned
Registered: 25th Jun 05
Location: The Internet
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Water expands at anything below 4 degrees (yes, 4 degress and not minus 4 degrees) so anything you can do to reduce that is of benefit.
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dannymccann
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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O I see  Is it really going to matter that much? My last house didnt have a jacket on the outside tap and the bloke I rented it from was a plumber, and my mum and dads house theyve never bothered?
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John
Member
Registered: 30th Jun 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by LETGSI16V
Water expands at anything below 4 degrees (yes, 4 degress and not minus 4 degrees) so anything you can do to reduce that is of benefit.
It doesn't, it contracts between 0-4 degrees and expands again at both sides of that.
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mattk
Member
Registered: 27th Feb 06
Location: St. Helens
User status: Offline
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water is at its most dense at 4 degrees, once it turns to ice it expands by 10% of its volume and when it turns to steam it expands by 1600%
if you can turn it off its best to do so, ours is on at the moment and is fine though, its quite sheltered though, plastic pipes will still freeze and burst
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by ash_corsa
Outside tap jacket!
Danny - water inside a plastic pipe will still freeze mate, if theres no external pipework you should be ok, but best to isolate the tap supply, then open the tap and let any water run out, then whack a tap jacket or equivalent round it.
Just done mine tonight but i dont have a tap jacket, but if theres no water in the pipe it should be okay.
You can also wrap any old clothing/rags around the tap as well, we've been doing this for years and have not had any issues doing this.
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ash_corsa
Member
Registered: 15th Apr 04
Location: Shrewsbury
User status: Offline
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The pipe lagging used on the proper tap jackets tends to offer more insulation than a shitty old dishcloth but i can see what your saying.
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ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Tap jacket stops you from looking like a pikey too.
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
User status: Offline
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People judge you based on what you wrap around your tap do they?
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