How Pipes Freeze

**hemmjo** · Feb 7, 2022, 06:24 AM

There is a thread somewhere on HMT about freeze damaged plumbing pipes. I would add this to that thread, but I cannot find it.

I stumbled onto this article on the Journal of Light Construction site.

This link is to the specific article.

This is the PDF of the article.
How Pipes Freeze.pdf

**katy** · Feb 8, 2022, 09:35 AM

Years ago I had a frozen pipe like that, happened in the winter, found it in the spring. I hammered the pipe back into shape, soldered over top of the split and no more leak.

**Karl_H** · Feb 13, 2022, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by katy

Years ago I had a frozen pipe like that, happened in the winter, found it in the spring. I hammered the pipe back into shape, soldered over top of the split and no more leak.

Same here. Except I couldn't find my hammer, so I cut the pipe back where it was in shape, soldered a new piece over the gap and no more leak.

**kb4mdz** · Feb 14, 2022, 07:50 AM

I can personally attest that the 'split' is not the only way pipes will freeze & burst.

In Dec. 83, my new wife & I were renting a ranch house in Nashville TN. In typical TN fashion, there was no basement, just a crawlspace, with vents in the foundation. We both grew up near Buffalo, NY, in houses with basements, and did not know how to deal with crawlspaces. We did not know, nor did the landlord prompt us, to close the foundation vents in the winter.

We went back home to WNY for Christmas & New Years, and that was a terrifically cold & windy year, all across the US, and esp. in Nashville. While we were gone the prevailing winds in Nashville were from the North and hit the front of the house, streamed thru the crawlspace and out the back. Every copper water pipe in the crawlspace burst, but not often by splitting. Almost every one had pushed off the elbow at the end where it turned to go up to fixtures. Just completely broke the solder joint and pushed the elbow right off the pipe.

We came back from our vacation to a river of ice down our driveway to the street; a neighbor had seen it, had tried to get the water dept. to shut it off, but the wouldn't do anything without say-so from the landlord, so however long the water was flowing and freezing, it took several more hours to get the landlord involved.

Yes, ice can be stronger than solder.

**hemmjo** · Feb 14, 2022, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by kb4mdz

I can personally attest that the 'split' is not the only way pipes will freeze & burst. ...snip... Yes, ice can be stronger than solder.

I am not arguing that the joints did not fail, but I do question the quality of those solder joints.

I have seen pipes with a large "bubble" in the pipe where the pressure deformed the pipe, but it did not break. I have seen fittings, 90's, split open between the solder joints. The pressure will escape from the weakest point.

Freezing water can generate over 40,000 PSI, if it is contained, unable to expand, in something that can hold that much pressure, if not, the water WILL break the container.