Frozen Pipes Explained

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bobalong

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http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2014/01/you_know_the_drill_run_the_pip.html Can't leave water running on a boat all winter, but the simple explanation of why pipes freeze applies to boat pipes.
 
Sort of. IMO the running water stops the freezing because it is not allowed to get cold enough. As for the pressure theory freezing itself expands water by about 9%. Remember that open containers can also burst. That is what breaks bottles and pipes. I guess you would have to see where it burst to know if the water was still liquid or not when the pipe burst.
 
Bruce has a key point. Ice tends to expand "out" at least as much as "up." Look at a frozen pond. If it has a bank, the frozen ice buckles, doesn't just thicken.
 
Well glass can crack and beer cans are flexible enough to swell but it has been a very long time since I have been around beer in a can so memory may fail me.
 
If open containers couldn't crack from freezing, there'd be no need to drain swimming pools up north.
 
People drain their pools? I believe they winterize to protect the plumbing, but if you completely drain it, the pool could pop out of the ground

I've never seen an open container burst
 
Drain pools up north ? Hell it's been below 10 deg. several times this week in So Indiana, and my pool is never drained, that's pool liner suicide. And that tin can shaped candle holder on my patio set is frozen but not broken.
 
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