An Article In The Local Council Magazine About How To Protect Your Home During Cold Weather Said That...

[sandyRoe]

...letting a cold water tap run won't stop pipes from freezing. Was that a lie? If water doesn't sit in a pipe how could it freeze?

[steg]

Waterfalls can freeze

[ivor4781]

if you let your tap drip fast the water cant expand in the pipe so the pipe should not burst,thats what i think anyway,get ya pipes lagged.

[atalanta]

I've seen pictures of frozen waves on the sea on a UK beach. That's moving, and it's salt, too.

[Georgiesmum]

Niagara Falls freezes!

[sandyRoe]

I was thinking of a neighbour's house a couple of Christmases ago when it was really cold. The water in the underground pipes into the house wasn't frozen but while they were away for a few days the pipes inside froze and burst, flooding the place. If they had left a tap running they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and expense.

[Peter Pedant]

I think they are saying there is no alternative to adequate heating

I certainly wouldn't leave a tap running and go to bed ! thinking o that is OK then.

Yeah waterfalls freeze but not often in the UK. Brum 1981 the temp went down to -20'C and the sewers didn't freeze ( they said at the time because of the moving water ) but the rats came out of the sewers and started attacking kids....

[Peter Pedant]

I am being waited on hand and foot at a frenz house after a hip replacement and my own house I have left the heating on

One burst pipe in a lifetime is enough !

[sandyRoe]

PP, I'm sure all here in AB will join me in wishing you a speedy return to your feet. Be careful on the ice, though. A slip now isn't what you need.

[hc4361]

If I leave my house for any time I turn the water off at the stopcock outside my house and drain the taps.

[Hopkirk]

Even when water is moving in the pipe a layer of ice could build up which would slowly narrow the bore, a bit like the way a vein in your body can slowly get clogged.

Eventually the narrowing of the bore would slow the water to a stop and it would be blocked.

[Clanad]

A couple of observations... shutting the water off at the 'stopcock' and draining the taps will do nothing to protect the pipes from freezing inside the house. With the pressure source now removed by shutting off the stopcock there's no pressure to move the water within the pipes... opening the taps will only remove the slight amount of water within the taps fixture.

Secondly, letting a tap drizzle may not be of much value either, since, at least here in te U.S., the taps to the bath, etc., are served by to seperate pipes full of water... the hot and cold. Letting the cold water run will only provide some sourt of protection to the pipes leading to the water heater. The water coming out of the water heater to serve the house will only heat the internal water for a few feet and then gradually turn cold. Did'ja ever notice how long it takes for warm water to come out of the tap when it's first turned on?

At any rate, these are observations based on our systems here and may not be valid elsewhere...

By the way, here in the western 'Tundra" of the U.S., our service water pipes coming from our well as well as service water to our friends who live in town are buried a minimum of 6 feet and in some cases 8 feet to protect against suceeding weeks on end of -10 degrees (F)...

[sandyRoe]

Bad as our weather can be, we rarely experience permafrost.