Water is surely something none of us can live without... And the sound of trickling water is one of the most relaxing sounds in nature. Nevertheless.... One does not want to hear the sound of trickling water in the chicken coop at 7pm when it's 22 degrees out. Sigh. At least the plumbing made it till January this year!
Someone should invent self warming or non freeze or non burst pipes!
Someone should invent self warming or non freeze or non burst pipes!
One can assume you have already wrapped the pipes in the foam pipe wrap. How about running electric seed starting heat wire along the pipe?
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, all the pipes are wraped in foam insulation. Unfortuantely it is very difficult to wrap 100% of the length , especially around multi discharge connections (I commonly use one faucet to drive 3 or 4 hoses). That is definately a weak spot that breaks.. have one of those today. Also, in the chicken coop, I had the wire element on it as you suggest, but becasue that plumbing is 2 successive T's, its very difficult to get good coverage, and any untouched length of pipe will freeze.
ReplyDeleteMy plan is to pull it all out and replace it with 2 hanging buckets and nipple feeders, with a electric bucket warmer in each, and rubber hose feeding it. That way the rubber hose can freeze and stretch without breaking but the water in the bucket stays clean warm and fresh for the chickens till the hose thaws.