The last two nights have been really cold for us. I think last night we touched into the teens and the night before into the 20's... We have had some other freezes this year, but not for as deep or long.
So, the electricians came to set the "T Pole", which means temporary pole. They set a wood pole with a meter can and a very basic breaker panel with some outlets on it. This has to be set according to the standards set forth by the local utility company. Unfortunately, the guys were still working on setting the pole when the utility company came by with the actual meter, which is the process of hooking into the big green transformer box on the lot. Since the electricians weren't done, they had to come back, and when they did, didn't like something about the pole?? I wasn't really involved, but the electricians had to go to HD for more parts. Long story short, we now have a T pole set and ready to go, but it will be at least monday before the Utility company comes back to connect it.
The electricians also set the "floor boxes", which are basically grey PVC outlets that sit in the concrete that are fed by "flex" conduit from some wall in that room. I have of course learned to never take anything for granted by now, so I helped them make sure they found the walls correctly. You have to hit the wall in the middle of what will be a 2x4 sill plate. That means your 1 inch pipe has to be inside a 3.5 inch spot. These aren't as big of a deal as the plumbing, however, because they are smaller than plumbing pipes and they just serve as conduit for running wires.
BUT, I was sitting around Friday not doing really anything, but waiting. Going through a mental checklist of "what if" type things for the concrete pour. Just as I was walking away, said goodbye to the electricians, I happened to shake the riser pole on the drain system to see if it still had water in it... And I realized, OF COURSE it does, and so does the entire drain plumbing system, and it is going to dive into the TEENS tonight.... CRAP!! I could lose the entire drain plumbing system... STUPID!!! So, off to the truck, I grab a shovel and dig out the "cleanout", which for some reason they had buried again about 4 feet down. I borrow the electricians portable drill and drill a hole in the end cap and drained the thing...
The lesson here is simple. When things happen that are non-standard, like cold temps, you need to get yourself thinking "outside" the box, or you are going to miss something seemingly obvious.
I hope I don't have any cracks in the plumbing, but Monday the weather is back above feezing for a few days, so I will pressurize the drain lines again and check them before they pour on Tuesday...
What a du mas I am...
Well, the cold doesn't end there. Last night it was very nippy, and we have lots of neighbors still out of town for the holidays. I ended up checking on a few of their homes, and their spigots were not covered. One neighbor had ice from the spigot all the way to the ground, so I am pretty sure they lost a pipe. I wrapped that one up and then turned off their water. Thinking if it thaws I will prevent a major flood inside their house.
For the record, I never even considered installing standard uninsulated sill cocks on my house (as is the "standard" here). I am going to use 12 or 14 inch "freeze proof" sill cocks, that have the actual valve way back inside the house, where it is toasty warm. With an ICF house, the inside of the wall is technically "warmer" by design in winter, but that makes the outside of the wall technically "colder" by design, so you can't rely on the house "leaking" heat into your outdoor pipes to keep them warm enough not to freeze. I am also trying to minimize the amount of "outdoor" plumbing that is hooked to the "inside" of my house. Kind of stupid really to have water flowing through your house to wall spigots that you could just as easily hook up a good old fashioned water "hydrant" outside, just like we had on the farm. We will already have a pressurized sprinkler manifold all around the house... just hook into that thing...
Also, these "tankless" water heaters everybody talks about. Well, for some reason people call them "instant", which isn't true at all (you have to wait for the hot water to come down the pipe). Down here, to save a buck, they install them on exterior walls so they don't have to vent the flue gasses through the roof. But, they are on a "cold" wall. We had some neighbors almost lost theirs from freezing. Again, the freezing is one thing, but when the pipe is broken and then it thaws out the next day...FLOOD...
OK, so why I am on my rant. I originally liked the concept of these "tankless" systems, but they come with problems. First would be what I just stated. Are they more effecient... Probably yes. They don't have standby losses as much so you only heat the water you use rather than the water you "may" use. But what I don't like about them (other than their initial cost) is that they don't work with any kind of "recirculating" system to truly get "instant hot" water anywhere in your house. Look into the Grundfos "Comfort System" and you will see a really nifty pump that allows you to already have hot water charged into your hot water supply lines and ready to go, without having to run 2 gallons of water down the drain waiting to wash your hands or take a shower.... but, you need a tank as a storage medium for this to be efficient.
The absolute best option, I think for creating hot water is a solar system that is augmented as necessary with the following systems in order of (cost) efficiency, not necessarily real efficiency. (example... an electric tank is perfectly efficient, 1 to 1 before standby losses, but that doesn't mean that that watt of resistive electric is less expensive than it's equal amount of heat from a gas source, which may be cheaper, and geothermal can give you upwards of 7 or 8 watts of heat for your 1 watt of input...resulting in a Coefficient of Performance COP of 7.0 or 8.0, as defined...)
1. Desuperheater (from your A/C system when it is running, this is free and helps your A/C out)
2. Ground Source Heat pump
3. Air Source Water heater (if you live in a warm climate)
3A. Non condensing gas or propane tank heater (less loss up the flue)
4. Tankless Gas
5. Tankless Propane
6. Tank Gas
7. Tank Propane
8. Tank Electric
And I don't know about the tankless electrics. Heard both good and bad about them depending on application, incoming water temp, climate, etc.
And whatever you do, do NOT put your hot water heater in an attic, especially a vented (non conditioned) attic... With that kind of thinking you may as well just put the dang thing out in the back yard, and hope for the best... At least when the pipes break it won't flood your house.
As far as solar hot water goes, that is a big subject, but the coolest (hottest??) system out there that I like the most is the "Evacuated Tube" solar hot water. They use a "heat pipe" inside a borosilicate "evacuated" glass tube to superheat a working medium that then condenses at the top of the pipe inside a hot water manifold. They are super efficient even in very cold temps, and can create temps in excess of 400 degrees F... HOT! But again, don't confuse heat or temperature with cost efficiency...they are more expensive. I just happen to like them.
Wow, how did I get on that subject... I am still working in the mud stage... Depressing.
OH, and after saving everybody else’s pipes last night, I went out to the lot at 2 AM in the morning and guess what.... My little temporary spigot was frozen up like a rock. When I put that in, I actually bought a shutoff valve that had a drain screw on it, so I could drain back the pipe if I thought it would get cold, but I couldn't fit that valve into the box, so I dismissed it... Instead I insulated the crap out of the iron pipe... Well, I should have stuck to my guns and made room for that valve... Du mas (as my wife would say)... It's going to cost me 3 dollars now...
got to go......
Update.. OK, trip to HD revealed a new valve was actually $5 and change. Mine probably would have survived until I broke off the handle ;-)
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