how cold does it have to be to worry about frozen pipes in the house

[RaceDiagnostics]

Other thing you can do is leave a tap dripping, well we can in Scotland at least as no water meters to worry about. Takes a lot longer for a pipe to freeze if theres a trickle of water passing through it, even if just cold water.

Not if you have an external cast iron down pipe, it will freeze instead.

 

[Cobbler]

Not if you have an external cast iron down pipe, it will freeze instead.

The house I grew up in had a cast iron soil pipe down the outside wall, in the winter of ‘63 a layer of ice gradually built up on the inside every time the toilet was flushed. After a while it was blocked solid, so no loo! Dad borrowed a fan heater from somewhere, a rare item in those days, built a sort of tent around it & with the heater gradually managed to thaw it out.

 

[gaz1]

its not the cold thats the issue in winter its compounded cold in empty houses because they are left to go cold and colder

houses can and do act like freezers and when your insulating them this can be even more so as they will hold the cold rather well just like a picnic box with a freezer pack inside of it

it you want to heat your pipes within insulation just fit them with underfloor heating wires

 

[arther dailey]

I remember my dad hanging one of those under the bonnet of his car to stop the block freezing in the 60's.

I used to hang one on my iveco truck bottom hose not many years ago , always did , engine warms fast , cab defrosts fast ,it was/is a no brainer.

 

[Ross365]

I remember my dad hanging one of those under the bonnet of his car to stop the block freezing in the 60's.

Ah, the winters of the 60's . My dad was a plumber's mate during the winter of '63; they were just so busy repairing burst pipes in loads of houses. It wasn't just cold, but it was cold for a very long time; I'm sure there was snow around from Xmas in to March. Long cold periods are really bad because that takes out the latent heat of fusion from water that needs to occur after it gets down to zero but before it turns solid.

I remember 1982 also when it went down to -22'C one night; that's not very common in central England, though probably fairly common further north.

I have an open fire place, very rarely used, but I'm building up a small stock of wood just in case for this winter.

 

[optima21]

Good detailed advice here from Optima21.

Please would you post the detail on here of your mechanical thermostat, and also the heated wiring you run along the pipe. Also, the supplier of the parts if you don't mind please.

I have the same heating system as Optima21, no combi and the tanks & pipes are in the loft. I believe it was 2011 January and the temp outside dropped to minus 7 degrees. My pipes in the loft froze, and when they thawed I had water running down the wall of my stairs. This was the year when people's condensate pipe from their combi boiler was freezing up. That stopped the boiler working if fully blocked by ice.

When the temp drops very low outside I open the loft hatch to let warm air from below rise in to the loft. It is a PITA with this system.

I used heated cable for a vivarium like this one, but other options may be available that have a higher/lower wattage/meter

Reptile Heat Cable for Vivarium 3m, 3.5m, 6m, 9m or 12m Models Available | eBay

These durable heat cables are waterproof, and very flexible, allowing you to concentrate the heat where you need it in the vivarium. Our high quality reptile heat cables are available in a choice of 5 sizes (3m, 3.5m, 6m, 9m and 12m).

www.ebay.co.uk

and a zero volt frost thermostat like this one (other options are out there)

TOWER FROST PROTECTION THERMOSTAT STAT STTRFSN 10A Volt Free Replaces Honeywell 5056141964829 | eBay

With neutral housing to blend in to any style decor. Designed for wall mounting, with 60mm fixing centres for back-box compatibility, and suitable for in-wall or surface-run wiring connection. The thermostat cover incorporates four breakouts for surface-run conduit.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[mart]

@optima21
Thanks for taking the time to post that info