Comments on: Is it OK to run my faucets on drip to prevent freezing pipes if I have a well? http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/ Everything about Commercial Kitchens Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:13:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: GenevievesMom http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/comment-page-1/#comment-12604 GenevievesMom Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:40:19 +0000 http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/#comment-12604 The fact that you're on a slab is exactly the reason you should let your faucets drip. If a pipe breaks under that slab, you've got a huge mess on your hands. The steady trickle of water will not strain your well or your water softener. But if you don't do it and you get a frozen pipe, it will bust and as soon as it thaws you'll have a flood. I grew up in Northern Michigan, with a well, septic tank and water softener. The water trickled in the sinks all night long for half of the winter and we never had any problems. BTW, that hard burst you're getting is because you have to bleed the lines. Turn the hot water on a little more hot than the cold, make sure all of the faucets in the house have a trickle, not just a drip, and when you turn on the water, turn up the cold first, then increase the hot. Sounds complicated, but just think of the physics of it...the hot water pipe is next to the cold water pipe. Running it all night keeps the pipes warmer, so when you turn up the water first thing, increase it in the cold so that you don't get a scald. The "bleed" is when you do this and bring down the pressure behind the faucet. The fact that you’re on a slab is exactly the reason you should let your faucets drip. If a pipe breaks under that slab, you’ve got a huge mess on your hands. The steady trickle of water will not strain your well or your water softener. But if you don’t do it and you get a frozen pipe, it will bust and as soon as it thaws you’ll have a flood. I grew up in Northern Michigan, with a well, septic tank and water softener. The water trickled in the sinks all night long for half of the winter and we never had any problems.

BTW, that hard burst you’re getting is because you have to bleed the lines. Turn the hot water on a little more hot than the cold, make sure all of the faucets in the house have a trickle, not just a drip, and when you turn on the water, turn up the cold first, then increase the hot. Sounds complicated, but just think of the physics of it…the hot water pipe is next to the cold water pipe. Running it all night keeps the pipes warmer, so when you turn up the water first thing, increase it in the cold so that you don’t get a scald. The "bleed" is when you do this and bring down the pressure behind the faucet.

]]> By: Larry m http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/comment-page-1/#comment-12605 Larry m Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:40:19 +0000 http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/#comment-12605 Dripping won't hurt it but it sounds like so much insulation has made your attic to cold,put a vent up there and let in some heat from the house,you might want to think about a high pressure switch put on your water system,with this it won't let it build up to much pressure in the bladder and there cheap Dripping won’t hurt it but it sounds like so much insulation has made your attic to cold,put a vent up there and let in some heat from the house,you might want to think about a high pressure switch put on your water system,with this it won’t let it build up to much pressure in the bladder and there cheap

]]> By: George O http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/comment-page-1/#comment-12606 George O Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:40:19 +0000 http://the-commercial-kitchen.com/is-it-ok-to-run-my-faucets-on-drip-to-prevent-freezing-pipes-if-i-have-a-well/#comment-12606 Listen to your brother in law. Is the cause of the water blowing out kinda hard in the morning, because there is some ice build up in the lines. Suggest you open one of the valves to a faster drip, and notice if the blowing kind of hard still exist. You did not say where your water heater is located, if you have hot water lines in your ceiling, be sure and crack the hot water valves. They will freeze before the cold. Listen to your brother in law.
Is the cause of the water blowing out kinda hard in the morning, because there is some ice build up in the lines. Suggest you open one of the valves to a faster drip, and notice if the blowing kind of hard still exist. You did not say where your water heater is located, if you have hot water lines in your ceiling, be sure and crack the hot water valves. They will freeze before the cold.

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