So these things just run when water temp gets cold and then once warm water reaches it shuts off again? How much water / how often does it run?

Waiting for an answer but seems to be a "smart drip" system where it runs when water in faucet is cold and drains till warm again. I think this might also limit risk of drip freezing and eventually building up around faucet.

We have a garage wall spigot that always freezes so may give this a try rather than cover. Can't be much worse.

Edit: saw a video where they put a bucket under faucet to catch water so that helps avoid mess.

Jabin said:

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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?

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I guess so, but they won't leave as much mess, and you can leave them on all winter so you don't forget to drip a spigot on a cold night, so I guess it depends on your discipline. We typically get below freezing 5 nights a week here, so they're ideal.

They contain a wax that contracts when it gets cold and allows the water to flow when it gets below a certain temperature (37*F). The colder it is, the more it shrinks, and the more it flows. Also, it's reacts to the water temperature, not the ambient air. And when the internal spring wears out, they fail open.

planoaggie123 said:

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So these things just run when water temp gets cold and then once warm water reaches it shuts off again? How much water / how often does it run?

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It doesn't seem too bad - just a drip. It got down to 20*F last night, and here's the amount of water.

Not bad. I will give that a try. With being in a low insulated garage wall mine may run a bit more but can't image too much. Will toss a bucket under. Will leave faucet covers for 2 others that have not historically given me issues.

Jabin said:

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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?

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There's a wax inside that applies pressure against the sealing surface. When the wax freezes at 37F it reduces in volume, allowing water to flow through. Once the water temperature rises above 37F, the wax will liquify and expand, resealing the pipe.

This acts like a thermostat for the pipe that increases the water flow through the pipe to keep it from freezing. You dripping the faucets might not drip it fast enough to overcome freezing during the coldest temperatures.

I just go to my Manabloc manifold and shut off the posts to the 5 outdoor spigots...one of the best decisions I made when I renovated our home years ago---installing a 36 port Manabloc manifold system!

Jabin said:

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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?

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It's not any better at all except they have the ability to regulate that action. A drip of one drip per second will keep a hose bib unfrozen at 18 degrees. If it gets a lot colder, you may need more dripping to keep that from freezing. When you drip, it's a constant amount forever. The freeze mizer simply allows it to drip as required and can drip more or less as needed.

I wrapped in a kitchen towel and covered with the hard styrofoam covers… and two of three spigots were at least partially frozen today. They started as a dribble but then in a few seconds we're up to full blast. Re wrapped, replaced covers and am hoping for the best tonight. I may be getting Freeze Miser for future updates use. I am not feeling real warm and fuzzy about two of my spigots freezing despite the covers. One was on an east facing wall and the other on a west facing wall.

Not sure if what I've done is the best way, but I built a covering around my exterior water softener and shot a 150watt heat bulb in there and have been fine. I did the same thing to the spigot that extends out far from house by my pool equipment and the heat lamp is keeping everything toasty. As long as I have power it's holding up

Gary79Ag said:

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I just go to my Manabloc manifold and shut off the posts to the 5 outdoor spigots...one of the best decisions I made when I renovated our home years ago---installing a 36 port Manabloc manifold system!

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That's pretty cool! Where is it installed exactly? Or where would someone install it in a slab foundation home?

Rascal said:

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Gary79Ag said:

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I just go to my Manabloc manifold and shut off the posts to the 5 outdoor spigots...one of the best decisions I made when I renovated our home years ago---installing a 36 port Manabloc manifold system!

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That's pretty cool! Where is it installed exactly? Or where would someone install it in a slab foundation home?

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It's a 36 port manifold that I have home runs to each faucet, etc through out the house. It consists of 14 hot ports and 22 cold ports. I even ties a hot port to the cold port for the spigot by the garage so I can use my power washer with hot water to clean the vehicles, etc. However, manifolds come in various sizes depending on your needs. When I renovated the house, it bypassed all the copper tube plumbing in the slab with the exception of the main 3/4" main feeder line that connects to the main cold line port of the manifold. Reason for going this route is because the house had a slab leak and most all the houses in our subdivision that were built in the early 70's had slab leaks so I wanted to avoid future slab leak issues and went the manifold route.

My manifold is installed in a central closet that also contains the water heater, however the manifold can be installed pretty much anywhere inside of the house, however it needs to be located were it cannot freeze during the winter. The house that I'm currently renovating across the street to eventually move into has it located in the garage. Both houses are slab foundations and in each case the houses were gutted to the studs during the renovation process, so it was convenient to make the conversion.