I'm posting this for a friend of mine who went away last weekend when the temps were record low negative numbers. He had what he thought were frozen pipes when he returned. The plumber he called out told him the pipes inside the house were not the problem but rather the pipe outside had frozen. He told them since they were not home to use any water and didn't leave a faucet cracked open this is why it happened. He suggested they contact the water company which they did, but were told this wasn't a water company issue and they would have to get someone to dig up the yard to gain access the pipes that were frozen. I know they don't have that kind of money to afford that and I just wondered if there was anything they could try in order to get the pipe thawed. Thanks to anyone who offers any help or suggestions.

if the pipe is metal, a welder can hook up his electric welding unit and thaw the pipe.
the welder will need access to the underground shut off which should be at the sidewalk.
all this may need a plumber as well to disconnect the inside pipe from the house piping so the welders electric current will go towards the street not back into the house.

quote; so the welders electric current will go towards the street not back into the house.

The current flows BETWEEN the two welder's connections, NOT back into the house.

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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hj, i have hired welders to thaw a frozen underground water main.
they must disconnect the water meter inside the house and remove the electrical ground from the main. they go to the road box to access the underground shut off, put an underground key onto the stop to make a halfa** connection and then clamp one wire to the main as in comes thru the foundation and another clamp on the underground key.
they must disconnect inside to keep their high voltage from going into the house. irregardless of where they clamp..

high amperage

low voltage



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

If the water service is frozen, then so is the ground around it. I doubt there is going to be a whole lot of digging going on.

I have used my 225 amp arc welder to thaw out frozen copper pipes, so I speak from first hand experience.

The output of a stick welder is floating because the pri and sec windings are isolated. Voltage developed at the secondary when current is flowing is <20 V, so there really is no danger. I can't imagine why packy's welder felt the need to disconnect the meter and the house ground.

I take my amp clamp along and set the welder to 70 to 90 amps on 1/2 in copper and about 150 amps on 3/4 copper. Line usually thaws out in about half an hour.

in my case the 3/4 copper pipe was about 40 feet long and buried 3-4 feet deep under frozen soil.
no doubt there was a lot of volts/amps needed to thaw it.

The welders I used NEVER had to do that rigamarole. The "circuit" is from one wire, through the pipes, to the other wire. SO there is NO "connection" for the power to go anywhere else.

ah, so that is how you spell "rigamarole"...

Agree George. An electric welder's secondary winding is isolated, above ground. The high amperage (not volts) runs from clamp to clamp. Years ago I had a house with a frozen galvanized main about 100 feet from the meter. I borrowed a 200 amp welder, but didn't have 100 feet of welder's leads, so I cobbled together surplus romex wire, extension cords, etc. to make the long lead. It was a joke. I ran it on high for hours, the homemade long lead steamed and smoked all afternoon. Never did thaw the pipe The ground thawed out after a week, and come to find out the 50 year old galvanized pipe had burst; it was only buried about 12" down here where the frost line is 18-24".

Good thing I lived 1/2 block away from a tool rental company to rent the ditch witch.

to my former friends listed above.
i will now prostrate myself and submit to whatever punishment you deem fit.
actually i would ask the old time gentleman welder who had me disconnect the inside piping but he died a few years ago.
one thing i did learn from him..
neither of us could engage the 6 foot long underground key onto the stop so we had to shine a light down the curb box to see the orientation of the head of the stop. he went to his truck and got a small mirror. he then reflected the sunlight down the shaft and it was as bright as could be. i had in the past used my flashlight but you can't shine the flashlight and then manuver your eyeball over the hole at the same time.

Hey, packy, this underground key you mention, was this a regular key used to turn off curb stops and this key was held against the stop with some pressure (maybe a weight placed on the handle of the key) to make the contact or was this something else which actually clamped on to the curb stop? What did it clamp on to, the handle?

it was a regular curb stop key. yeah, the welder clamped onto the key. there was no weight that i remember.

I carry on my truck an exterior mirror off a '67 Ford Econoline. Nothing beats it for peering down a 6" well casing. Used it yesterday with my flashlight to 'see' up a stud cavity.

quote: i will now prostrate myself and submit to whatever punishment you deem fit.
Nay, rise up noble friend. I must confess the rest of my story: I labored to connect the new water line to my meter after the sun went down; not having had a shower after many suns. As I was laying face down down on the ground, passers by noticed me laying there in my muddy coat. Next thing I knew, the local constable came by in his patrol car, shining spotlights, and stopped. I asked what was the matter, to which he replied: We got a call there was a drunk passed out on the side of the road!