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MSE News: Big Freeze: don't let burst pipes ruin your Christmas
Former_MSE_Guy
Posts: 1,650 Forumite
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
"There has been a four-fold rise in the number of households reporting burst pipes during the bitter cold snap ..."
"There has been a four-fold rise in the number of households reporting burst pipes during the bitter cold snap ..."
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Comments
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So should I take out the Water Supply Pipe Cover that South Staffs Water want me to pay for?Practising Scrooge and stingy old miser.0
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Any good guides to draining your water supply?
Do you need to drain down header tank etc? Is it possible without access to loft space?
If your boiler is controlled by a seperate timer, will it still operate in frost mode if the timer is set to off, or do you need to change it to on but set the boiler low?
Is frost mode on boilers likely to prevent other pipes from freezing or will it just protect your boiler? If not and you leave CH on for a few hours whilst away is it best to leave all rads on? Or just one?
Don't have a thermostat on the CH so it's all timer and boiler settings here...
So many questions.
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Whats the collective wisdom on turning off the stop valve before you go on holiday? I'm going away for about 10 days over the Xmas period and am concerned that a burst pipe anywhere in the system potentially floods the house.
I plan to leave the heating on a low setting, but boiler PCB is playing up a bit, and very occasionally stops working, causing me to need to press the reset button, which always does the job. Obviously if I am away for a long period, I won't be able to do this.
My understanding is that the heating system is self-contained (and there would remain a small amount of water in the loft unit that could top up if needed), so surely a prudent precaution would be turn the mains water off at the stopcock and then drain the cold taps in the house? (The hot water taps are drawn from the mains water as well and are heated by means of an exchange)
If it helps anybody, I have a Gledhill BoilerMate linked with a Potterton Boiler.0 -
Or read the advice in the News Article above!
You mean this comprehensive guide?- Ensure loft water pipes and water tanks are insulated.
- Know where your stopcock that turns off the incoming water supply is, and make sure it works.
- Ensure your home is still warm. If you are away for a long time it may be worth draining your cold water system.
:T0 -
Very helpful info offered.
We found out last night that our boiler wasn't working and of course with it being so cold we panicked at first, but we then found the user manual online for our boiler and read the troubleshooting section about what can cause the boiler not to light.
Turns out that the condensation pipe was frozen, so after using my hair dryer on it, my husband managed to thaw the pipe and got the boiler working again, phew.
Off to get pipe lagging later as we never thought to lag that pipe.0 -
Yp, burst pipe, carpet and underlay knackered, insurance ok
BUT!
My excess is £50.00 EXCEPT for water damage £250.00
Didn't tell me that when I bought it (CHECK THE SMALL PRINT!!!)
No Choice so ripped off by MORE THAN Watch them all:(0 -
No mention of outside taps yet. The most likely to cause problems as they're... outside!
Mine froze and the ice water inside the pipe expanded and pushed the joint apart inside the boiler cupboard at 4am. Fortunately I was awake making a cup of tea so it only sprayed for a few seconds. I could have been asleep or away though.
Isolate, and leave the tap on to avoid.
If your loft is well insulated, sometimes best to leave the hatch open a bit to keep the loft air temperature above freezing.0 -
Its a jolly good idea for any householder to familiarise themselves with all their services before severe weather or other problems occur, so they ideally take pre precautions, or at the very least direct any tradesman they call in to fix a problem to where everything is. A nice warm summer day when you can go in the loft etc without freezing to death is ideal.0
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Off to get pipe lagging later as we never thought to lag that pipe.
My plumber has done nothing else for the past 2 weeks than thaw out condensate pipes. Part of the problem is that a lot freeze at the point of exit through the wall .... so not easy to lag without a bit of brickwork involved.
Fortunately our boiler has the condensate collected in a chamber - and simply pumps it out when the reservoir is full. So the fast outflow doesn't freeze in the same way a steady drip does.If you want to test the depth of the water .........don't use both feet !0
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