Frozen water lines

Dave (Canada)

Temp up here has been around -35f to -12f since last Monday, and I was wondering if someone out here could explain the basics to me as to how the different thaw systems work to thaw copper in house, and 11/4 inch plastic intake lines from a lake source.
My neighbour has frozen lines in the house and outside, and over a beer we were tossing around the diferent ideas as to what tools you guys use and how they operate. The lake line is wrapped with heatcable and insulated. Thanks all, great site for info,
Dave

Steve Eayrs

Good ol' heat

is the best answer. But I also have a thawing machine, similar to a welder, where you hook cables to both ends of a metal pipe and it will thaw whats in between. Don't use it too much. I wouldn't trust it to leave it unattended, and it takes too long.
Best thing to do is attack the reason it froze to begin with...no heat. If it froze because its a poorly insulated place, (ever been under a trailer house?), I usually tell people to spend their money sealing up holes, insulating, etc.. If they are lucky the pipes will thaw, and the pipes won't be broken. And I don't have to spend my time climbing through a 70' cat box, and wonder if I will get paid before the pipes refreeze.
Plastic pipes? If plugging in the heat tape, or the above doesn't do it, then you wait until spring.
Steve