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Posted by Toller on October 22, 2007, 4:36 pm
I winterized my cottage today. Part of that is pumping out the toilets and
adding antifreeze.
But I got to wondering if it really matters; if the water freezes and
expands it has plenty of room to do so without breaking anything. Would it
actually break?
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Posted by hallerb@aol.com on October 22, 2007, 4:51 pm
> I winterized my cottage today. Part of that is pumping out the toilets and
> adding antifreeze.
> But I got to wondering if it really matters; if the water freezes and
> expands it has plenty of room to do so without breaking anything. Would it
> actually break?
yes at the trap, antifeeze is critical
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Posted by Mamba on October 22, 2007, 5:00 pm
>I winterized my cottage today. Part of that is pumping out the toilets and
>adding antifreeze.
> But I got to wondering if it really matters; if the water freezes and
> expands it has plenty of room to do so without breaking anything. Would
> it actually break?
The real answer is "sometimes". If the water is trapped, its' expansion
will crack most materials that try to contain it.
For my toilet traps in winter, I try to drain them as well as possible and
add some RV anti-freeze for the last flush. For my pressure tank and hot
water tank, if I expect a sustained hard freeze, I drain them. For light
freezes, I just drain a little water to allow for expansion, just in case.
If the freezing water has somewhere to expand to, chances of damage are
minimal.
Worst case is when water freezes a "lid" that won't shift, then starts to
freeze under the lid. Then it needs to go outwards...
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Posted by on October 22, 2007, 5:21 pm
>I winterized my cottage today. Part of that is pumping out the toilets and
>adding antifreeze.
>But I got to wondering if it really matters; if the water freezes and
>expands it has plenty of room to do so without breaking anything. Would it
>actually break?
>
YES
I used to rent a house and had some tenants that did not maintain
heat. Twice the toilet broke while the pipe did not. Clay will break
long before a metal pipe. There is no give in the clay.
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Posted by Doug Miller on October 22, 2007, 5:32 pm
wrote:
>I winterized my cottage today. Part of that is pumping out the toilets and
>adding antifreeze.
>But I got to wondering if it really matters; if the water freezes and
>expands it has plenty of room to do so without breaking anything.
In the bowl, sure. In the trap, maybe not.
>Would it actually break?
Do you actually want to find out?
You can add antifreeze every year for twenty years without spending as much
time, or money, as you'll spend replacing just one broken toilet. Does it make
sense to take a chance?
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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