Frozen pipes

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I know, this is old hat for most of you, but my furnace stopped runnning during this very cold weather and my pipes froze under the trailer. The main has heat tape and was OK but the lines (polybutalene) in the underbelly must have gotten very cold, some froze and split and we had a big flood. On the north end they also froze but have not split yet. I am heating with a wood stove which keeps most of the house pretty warm except the back rooms. My questions is since the furnace was not working but my house was heated, is this to be expected that the pipes would freeze or is there something wrong with my insulation and unerbelly? This is the first year I've had trouble but it's also the first time I had the heat off during such very cold temps. We redid some of the underbelly this fall and in one of these areas this is where the pipes split.

Thank you all for your help!

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In most mobile homes it's the heat radiating from your heating ducts running under the floor (next to your water pipes) that keep the pipes from freezing. If you're only heating the living quarters with a wood stove, none of that heat is getting into your sub-floor where the pipes are run. Without that, the sub-floor doesn't get much warmer than the belly and your pipes are bound to freeze in these single-digit temperatures. Insulation alone is not sufficient to prevent that.

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Laurann, We have the same situation in our home since we also use alternitive heat. I only run the furnace in extreem cold just to keep the pipes warm.
One alternative may be to run the pipes inside the home. I have seen people build a box that runs along the the bottom of the wall. Greg

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Hi,

Just another 2 cents here...

In extreme cold also open your lower cabinet doors to allow the heat to get in there as well. You can also run the fan on the furnace to help circulate the warm air into the ducts.

Sorry I did not see what area you reside in, but during extremely cold temps it is always best to run your homes furnace.

As Robert pointed out in another thread, you folks that live in the extremely cold areas should not let the water "drip" during the night, let a small stream of water run.

I believe there is an informative article for this in the "Articles" link above.

Stay warm,

~Yanita~

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i live in north iowa and found that using pex piping is very easy and fast and run it inside along the floor by outside wall i hooked washer,tub/shower toliet sink and ran 25 ' to front kitchen sink all in an hour and a half and i didnt know anything about pex or plumbing

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Hi,

If heating your home with a wood stove is your primary heat source this would be the best option for you...run all water lines inside the home, and encase them in a box type structure so they do not get damaged.

Happy Valentines!

~Yanita~