I also posted this on the Outdoor Forum:

I need advice on the best way to protect outdoor spigots from the upcoming cold spell. It is supposed to be in the low single digits where I live, around 5. I've bought the foam containers that you slip over the spigot, but I'm not sure if that is enough.My house is on a slab so I cannot get to the spigot pipes behind the wall, and as far as I know there is no cut off valve to the spigots themselves.

Is there anything more that I can or should do to protect those spigots? Also, what about the underground water meters? Should I do anything to protect them? On a different thread on perhaps the home improvement forum, somebody suggested putting pillows wrapped in plastic bags above them, but I don't know if that is necessary.

Most of my indoor faucets are not on exterior walls. The only two that are will have the cabinet doors open, a heater blowing in, and water very slowly running or dripping.

Any other precautions that you guys, who went through this two years ago, recommend?

This is my first year in this house so I have no idea how well it is prepared for this extreme, way out of the ordinary cold.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Freeze-Miser-Outdoor-Faucet-Freeze-Protector-6000-01/320865205

Have used these for over five years with great success

I wrapped the bibs with incandescent Christmas lights and then installed the styrofoam faucet covers over them.

Texker said:

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I wrapped the bibs with incandescent Christmas lights and then installed the styrofoam faucet covers over them.

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Interesting idea. Were you able to find a short string of Christmas lights? Otherwise, a regular size string would seem to end up being too bulky to get the Styrofoam faucet cover over.

I used strings of 100 because I didn't use an extension cord so I needed the length to run from the outlet. Worked great.

Drip. I experimented with a few different methods over 4 faucets during Snowmageddon. I didn't use any supplemental heat like lights but the faucets that I dripped never froze.

chickencoupe16 said:

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Drip. I experimented with a few different methods over 4 faucets during Snowmageddon. I didn't use any supplemental heat like lights but the faucets that I dripped never froze.

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How cold did it get and how long did it stay below freezing at your place?

Is that all you did, or did you cover also and leave a spot for the water to exit the cover?

Since 1980 in Aggieland, exposed to North winter abuse
Redwood siding/R.3/R.13 wall, copper plumbing to 4 hose bibbs

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/shurtech-duck-brand-hard-faucet-cover-each/2208879

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hard-Outdoor-Faucet-Cover-1981/204759083

When we had a whole week below freezing predicted, then stuff inside with socks or better.

Knock on wood! No problems yet.
We do not drip - on a septic system winter fills up fast - but will run at least a DW/Washer at dawn on freeze days.

Jabin said:

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chickencoupe16 said:

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Drip. I experimented with a few different methods over 4 faucets during Snowmageddon. I didn't use any supplemental heat like lights but the faucets that I dripped never froze.

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How cold did it get and how long did it stay below freezing at your place?

Is that all you did, or did you cover also and leave a spot for the water to exit the cover?

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2 I dripped, one I covered, one I covered and dripped. The covered one froze but I caught it early and transitioned to dripping after some heat gun work. The others never froze. The covered one and one dripping were on my garage which has uninsulated walls.

I don't know how long it stayed below freezing but it got down to 8. I'm in College Station if that helps. Also my pipes were copper in the slab. Since then we've repiped with PEX in the attic, so that'll be interesting.

Dang, PEX in the attic sounds ideal. Isolate with a valve and drain in the winter.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Dang, PEX in the attic sounds ideal. Isolate with a valve and drain in the winter.

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I hope so but I'm not convinced. Granted we never lost power but I know how copper in the slab held up. PEX in the attic is uncharted waters for me though and the attic gets a hell of a lot colder than the slab.

Quote:

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2 I dripped, one I covered, one I covered and dripped. The covered one froze but I caught it early and transitioned to dripping after some heat gun work. The others never froze. The covered one and one dripping were on my garage which has uninsulated walls.

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I assume that the one you covered and dripped also didn't freeze? What did you do to allow the water to escape the cover? In other words, how did you keep the inside of the cover from becoming one huge ice cube?

It drained through the bottom of the soft foam. The house is brick so the faucet covers don't make a perfect seal at the grout lines. And no, it didn't freeze but being that the dripping ones didn't either, I'm inclined to say the cover wasn't worth it.

Gottcha. I was just thinking about the spigot. Our attics are foamed, so ideal for PEX. I've got all copper and am planning a PEX repipe. Eventually I'll be able to isolate our spigots.

We had a house that had PEX in an uninsulated attic. Never had concerns over leaks, but it did get cold enough to freeze a few pipes. It's to your benefit to drip a few faucets in really cold nights (for us, under 15*), just so you don't lose access to water.

Jabin said:

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Texker said:

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I wrapped the bibs with incandescent Christmas lights and then installed the styrofoam faucet covers over them.

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Interesting idea. Were you able to find a short string of Christmas lights? Otherwise, a regular size string would seem to end up being too bulky to get the Styrofoam faucet cover over.

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Try this:

https://savemaple.org/2022/01/25/1412/

Great idea. I had already been thinking along those lines since it seems impossible to get incandescent Christmas lights at this late date, and I have a bunch of candelabra bulbs lying around. I hadn't thought of night lights, though. Clever!

I wrap mine in towels. Has worked for last 2 cold blasts. I'm in ftw.

Just as a heads up, dripping your faucets only works if you have power and can keep the inside of your house warm. If you can't keep the rest of your house warm, you're just going to have pipe bursts in your walls.

Source:

Dripped faucets last year, thought I was good. Had nine pipes burst between garage and laundry room.

If you lose power, your best bet is to switch to draining your house.

Dripping seems like a terrible idea. Maybe that works for a few degrees below freezing, but if it gets really cold, a drip will start to freeze, especially with a little bit of breeze.


I think some of you guys are over thinking it a bit with light bulbs and DIY heat sources.. They have products for this sort of thing, no need to reinvent the wheel.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-6-ft-Electric-Water-Pipe-Heat-Cable-HC6A/202262328


I use a similar product in my downspouts to prevent ice build up (in Denver)

As mentioned above, if you lose power, you should consider turning off water main and emptying your water lines out.

I am rolling with the Freeze Misers this time around. There seem to be a lot of success stories with them. I tried most of the tricks in here two years ago and my outside hose bibs all froze over and had to be replaced.

62strat said:

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Dripping seems like a terrible idea. Maybe that works for a few degrees below freezing, but if it gets really cold, a drip will start to freeze, especially with a little bit of breeze.


I think some of you guys are over thinking it a bit with light bulbs and DIY heat sources.. They have products for this sort of thing, no need to reinvent the wheel.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-6-ft-Electric-Water-Pipe-Heat-Cable-HC6A/202262328


I use a similar product in my downspouts to prevent ice build up (in Denver)

As mentioned above, if you lose power, you should consider turning off water main and emptying your water lines out.

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Couple of questions:

1. Re the heat cable, it's dependent on that little button thermostat. I haven't figured out how to get that placed on a spigot close to the wall. Plus, the product has warnings not to use outdoors. (???) Any suggestions?

Also, I haven't been able to find any of those in stock where I live.

2. If I get frozen pipes, I also plan on turning my water off. But how do you empty your water lines out?

Jabin said:

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62strat said:

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Dripping seems like a terrible idea. Maybe that works for a few degrees below freezing, but if it gets really cold, a drip will start to freeze, especially with a little bit of breeze.


I think some of you guys are over thinking it a bit with light bulbs and DIY heat sources.. They have products for this sort of thing, no need to reinvent the wheel.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-6-ft-Electric-Water-Pipe-Heat-Cable-HC6A/202262328


I use a similar product in my downspouts to prevent ice build up (in Denver)

As mentioned above, if you lose power, you should consider turning off water main and emptying your water lines out.

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Couple of questions:

1. Re the heat cable, it's dependent on that little button thermostat. I haven't figured out how to get that placed on a spigot close to the wall. Plus, the product has warnings not to use outdoors. (???) Any suggestions?

Also, I haven't been able to find any of those in stock where I live.

2. If I get frozen pipes, I also plan on turning my water off. But how do you empty your water lines out?

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The one I have in my gutter is more of the roof style, made for outdoors. But they are much longer than you may need.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HM3BGB4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not sure what you mean by getting it on a spigot close to the wall. It's a thin wire/cable, like extension cord. You just wrap it around the spigot a few times. Then plop a faucet cover on it. The button is by the plug.


Turn off water, then open some faucets, and leave them open. If any freezing occurs, the water in pipes will have space to expand, since your lines are no longer an air tight system.

coastalAg said:

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I am rolling with the Freeze Misers this time around. There seem to be a lot of success stories with them. I tried most of the tricks in here two years ago and my outside hose bibs all froze over and had to be replaced.

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If you replaced them, why did you not put in a freeze proof spigot? That was your chance to do it and never have to worry about it again.

62strat said:

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coastalAg said:

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I am rolling with the Freeze Misers this time around. There seem to be a lot of success stories with them. I tried most of the tricks in here two years ago and my outside hose bibs all froze over and had to be replaced.

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If you replaced them, why did you not put in a freeze proof spigot? That was your chance to do it and never have to worry about it again.

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I did, but then I moved.

Something I learned and did in Feb 2021 storm is to the outdoor spigot water supply line into my house which is wrapped several times and covered with a plastic bag foam insulated (bought from hardware store) I also stacked several bags of unwrapped mulch which can protect against wind and also provide some outdoor insulation to break against the elements. I would not think this is something that would absolutely prevent damage but when you can not find hose bib coverings...etc it can help. I did it as overkill.

I also placed a bag of mulch over the city water meter on the ground. Which kept snow and ice from getting into it and allowed for some insulation.

I also kept power in Feb 2021 storm for all of about 6 hours on that Monday and having the heat circulate the house was huge. I opened the inside attic door and allowed the heat to flow into the attic.

I dripped all interior faucets with hot and cold water running at pencil width.

I had no issues and felt lucky since my house was built in 1982. I have copper pipes by the way.

Honest question….I have these (replaced after 2021 storm). I assume this would still require a few layers of protection such as a cover but maybe not bulbs etc to heat…?

planoaggie123 said:

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Honest question….I have these (replaced after 2021 storm). I assume this would still require a few layers of protection such as a cover but maybe not bulbs etc to heat…?

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I'm in Denver and I've never covered my hose bibs.. 10 years running now. We are getting down to -20 this week, and the thought hasn't crossed my mind for a second. I've never seen any houses in my area with covered hose bibs either. These things clearly work.

They do have different lengths though. My backyard spigot, I can see the back side of it because it's in my unfinished basement, it's about 12" long. So that seal is 5-6" inside my house, through a layer of insulation.

Come to think of it, my side yard spigot is likely in my basement too. So maybe that's why these work so well here; Every house around here is a basement, and the spigots outside are likely below the elevation of the main floor, so they can install these really long ones and have them completely inside the home.

If the spigot is above finished floor, you can only go as thick as the wall, which still seems it would be pretty safe being in insulation 5" inside.

Soooo.. not sure I can vouch for your particular situation if that is what is going on.

Rexter said:

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Jabin said:

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Texker said:

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I wrapped the bibs with incandescent Christmas lights and then installed the styrofoam faucet covers over them.

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Interesting idea. Were you able to find a short string of Christmas lights? Otherwise, a regular size string would seem to end up being too bulky to get the Styrofoam faucet cover over.

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Try this:

https://savemaple.org/2022/01/25/1412/

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Rexter, did you actually ever do this?

The reason I ask is because that website shows the lamps right in the middle of the insulating container, right where the spigot is. If you move the light left or right, it might be too close to the Styrofoam.

I'm going to play around with it but thought I might learn from you based on what you might have already done.

If you lose power, this probably would work well too. Activate it, wrap a few around pipe/spigot with tape or something and cover. Supposed to last 10 hours, but could replace after 6-8.

I may try that. We have a stubborn one on a north facing garage wall. I prefer to not mess with electricity etc.

I just wrap them with a towel and then hit it with duct tape to hold in place. Dfw 2021, no issues…

I think the Freeze Misers ultimately provide the best protection.

During the '21 storm, there was a house down the street that had the pipe bust inside the wall. We had hard covers on our spigots and they froze, but didn't break. I'm pretty sure the R-value of a towel isn't much better.

A Freeze Miser would not only protect the spigot, but the pipe behind the wall and down into the ground. You just have to be careful installing them because they cross-thread awfully easy.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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I think the Freeze Misers ultimately provide the best protection.

During the '21 storm, there was a house down the street that had the pipe bust inside the wall. We had hard covers on our spigots and they froze, but didn't break. I'm pretty sure the R-value of a towel isn't much better.

A Freeze Miser would not only protect the spigot, but the pipe behind the wall and down into the ground. You just have to be careful installing them because they cross-thread awfully easy.

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I'm intrigued by the Freeze Misers but not sure how they are any different or better than simply manually dripping your spigots. Isn't that what they do but automatically?