Frozen Slushed Snow Melt

AL_29

Thanks for the tips. I gotta tell you I got lucky as can be this morning. I showed up about 8 am and the frozen areas were partially melted. It warmed up to 25 all night and I had the Tekmar Control on a 17 hour run time. I refired the system and away she went.
AL

AL_29

Snow Melt

I spent all day working on frozen snow melt lines. I found the landscapers cut thru one of my loops sticking outside the drive a little. I got all but three loops going. The three loops in question go to three stairs and a stoop all above grade. Anyone have any idea how to thaw these pipes with out setting up a tent and temp heaters. Anything ideas would help.
Thanks
AL

Constantin

One thing I would consider...

... is a pressure switch for the future. Wire it to the central house alarm. If the pressure drops, the central alarm can let the HO know via a supervisory code that something is amiss. Hence, future hacking of the PEX tubes will not cause you this sort of mess again.

As for cures, my only suggestion (and it's a bit left field at that) is the following:

Presumably the tubes in question are fairly large in ID. Find a smaller pex tube that you can insert into the larger PEX tube. Undo the large PEX tubes at the header. Install a T fitting at the end of the big PEX tube as shown below. Use a barrel of hot water (perhaps a portable water heater) and a pony pump to push hot water down the small PEX pipe, and back via the large pipe. Once you break through, flush the circuit with lots of air or glycol and seal it.

Yeah, it's a crazy idea but if the ID is large enough and the water hot enough, it might just just work. On the other hand, your tent idea may work better and is potentially a lot less messy. Best of luck!

Constantin

One thing I would consider...

... is a pressure switch for the future. Wire it to the central house alarm. If the pressure drops, the central alarm can let the HO know via a supervisory code that something is amiss. Hence, future hacking of the PEX tubes will not cause you this sort of mess again.

As for cures, my only suggestion (and it's a bit left field at that) is the following:

Presumably the tubes in question are fairly large in ID. Find a smaller pex tube that you can insert into the larger PEX tube with some margin. Undo the large PEX tubes at the header. Install a T fitting at the end of the big PEX tube as shown below to "lance" the ice out of the snowmelt system. Ideally, the reducing bushing would be made of a heavy rubber type material with just the right hole size to keep splashback to a minimum.

Use a barrel of hot water (perhaps a portable water heater) and a pony pump to push hot water down the small PEX pipe, and back via the large pipe (exits via lower T fitting into bucket) . Once you break through, flush the circuit with lots of pressurized air or glycol and seal it.

Yeah, it's a crazy idea but if the ID is large enough and the water hot enough, it might just just work. On the other hand, your tent idea may work better and is potentially a lot less messy. Best of luck!

Gordy

Sorry

For your miss fortune. An Idea depending on the area you have to thaw.

You can rent electric thermal blankets for curing concrete, and for ground thaw purposes. They are about 1400 watts each. They are I believe 5' or 10' by 20'. Thay can be daisy chained together. Lay them out on the drive wayplug them in, and walk away let them work.

There is also a ground thaw machine where you throw down tubing, and the boiler is in a self contained trailer. Usually you have to put concrete curing blankets over this setup to.


This all would work unless the drive is a mile long.


Gordy

AL_29

Thanks

Thanks for the info. I have an axiom feeder pump that is going to be wired into a honeywell whole house automation system. The house is about 30,000' still under construction. I wish I would have had an alarm hooked up already. The job supervisor is pissed cause I don't have everything running in the house. Had a long discussion with him about running equipment while sanding drywall and installing trim. NOBODY GETS IT.
I will try the electric blankets too.

hot_rod

Hosed

My former company once thawed an entire driveway snowmelt. The homeowner bought a LOT of garden hose and spread it out on the driveway. Then he covered it with insulated concrete blankets, very similar to InsulTarp. They then connected the garden hose to an old indirect tank fired by the original snowmelt boiler. A few days later the system was thawed.

The original installer had put an autofill on the snowmelt system, bad idea.

hr

Gordy

Claims

Buy the ground thaw machines are a foot of frost in 24 hours.

I tend to think that would depend on type of soil, moisture content ect..

If the driveway is 6" thick concrete it may work pretty fast.

I should note with the electric blankets depending on how many you would need. Electrical circuts need to be addressed to acomodate the wattages.

Gordy