Warming up the soil in winter: technology and 8 methods, which one is better to choose

How to defrost soil

Four ways to defrost soil:

Freezing occurs constantly every winter. In spring, defrosting occurs from the sun. If you have time to wait for warmer weather, then this is the easiest option.
Water, ignition of solid fuel to defrost frozen soil. A commonly used method is fuel combustion. For example, firewood that is covered with sawdust from a carpentry workshop. After they burn out, the coals smolder for a long time, preventing deep freezing of the soil. And everything is slowly defrosting. To use this method you need special construction equipment. Jackhammers are used and the trenches are quickly backfilled.
When building large houses, the bottom method of defrosting the soil is used. For this method, a heated solution of sodium chloride is poured into the boreholes. This chemical solution melts ice well. But for this method you need to drill holes and drive holes to a depth of 0.7-0.8 from the frozen depth. They are placed in a checkerboard pattern and a distance of 0.6-1 m is maintained between them. If the soil is frozen deeper, then defrosting will take approximately a week.
A mound of hot coolant. For this method, crushed stone, sand, slag and production waste are taken at 100 - 200 degrees Celsius. The mixture is poured directly onto the ground in an even layer. Afterwards, you should fence off the work area and cover the coolant. You can clean the place and start working in 20-30 hours.

Any of the proposed methods is effective and requires time and money. Often you have to resort to certain means and equipment, as well as the services of specialists. But if, nevertheless, you do not have the opportunity to postpone construction for an indefinite period of time and have to work in cold weather conditions, then problems with soil freezing cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is worthwhile to deeply study the problem and how to solve it in order to properly work out the soil with less time and budget.

The lack of water in the water supply in a private home can be due to various reasons. One of them is the formation of an ice plug in the pipe. Such a nuisance occurs if the temperature outside is very low, and the rules were violated when laying the water supply. You can try to fix the problem yourself, but it requires considerable effort. Let's consider the answer to the question: water in a pipe underground has frozen - what to do in this situation?

Which method is better to choose?

Each method of soil heating has certain pros and cons. The simplest and least expensive method is to use hot sand. Ordinary quarry sand is used as the material for the procedure.

It is heated at the factory to a temperature of 180-250 degrees, after which it is delivered by vehicles to the desired location. To reduce heat loss, sand needs insulation. It takes about a day for the soil to warm up. Then the cooled coolant can be removed and subsequently used for other purposes.

On average, a cubic meter of such material is enough to impact an area of 4 square meters. The use of hot sand in the construction industry is considered one of the cheapest and most effective options.

Another great option is to use thermomats. This option has the following advantages:

no risk of environmental pollution;
complete safety for people;
high efficiency;
no need for preliminary preparation.

Warming up the soil can be done in different ways. Each of them has certain pros and cons. This allows you to choose the most suitable option.

Causes of pipeline freezing

Before we figure out what to do if the water in the water pipes freezes, let's figure out why this might happen. Main reasons:

laying pipes at insufficient depth;
a small layer of insulation, its low quality or complete absence;
insignificant or zero water consumption in severe frosts;
abnormal weather conditions.

As a rule, pipes running outside freeze, either outside or underground. But in the absence of heating and significant subzero temperatures for a long time, a problem may arise in the room or at the point where the pipe enters the wall.

What benefits does fresh material applied correctly?

When applied correctly, fresh manure warms the soil and allows seeds or seedlings to be planted weeks or even months earlier.
Moreover, the process of rotting takes 2–4 months, when the roots grow and reach the heating layer, it will completely rot and turn into high-quality humus, which is a source of humic acids.

In combination with a heated greenhouse, the use of animal or bird excrement to warm the soil allows plants to be grown year-round in many Russian regions , and near the Arctic Circle allows plants to be planted in mid-spring.

Finding a traffic jam

Before deciding how to thaw a frozen water supply, you should first find where the ice blockage has formed in the pipe. Most often they form at the joints of elements, but sometimes the structure freezes along its entire length. Search methods:

Visual inspection of external pipes. Due to the fact that water expands in volume when it freezes, ice plugs cause the plastic elements to expand. In addition, these areas feel cooler to the touch than others.
Internal check. If it is not possible to inspect the pipeline, you should partially disassemble it and insert a flexible cable into the hole. As soon as an obstacle arises in the way of its progress, a traffic jam is detected. To determine its location, you should measure the length of the inserted cable.

The solution to the problem of how to warm up a frozen water pipe depends on whether there is open access to the problem area, or whether it needs to be warmed up from inside the water supply system.

Internal heating of pipes

Let's consider what to do when the water in a pipe underground freezes. If the soil is shallow and not very hard, it is worth digging a trench and using the methods described above. If this is not possible, internal heating should be carried out. The main methods are based on the application:

steam generator;
homemade boiler;
hot water.

All methods require the possibility of penetration into the pipeline. If it is missing, you should disassemble or cut out part of the structure, first turning off the water supply.

Steam generator

To defrost the pipe, you will need a steam generator - a device that produces hot water vapor under pressure. Stages:

Fill the reservoir with water.
Connect a heat-resistant hose with a small diameter to the steam generator.
Insert the hose as far as it will go (until the ice plug) into the water pipe. At the same time, there should be free space in it for melt water to drain.
Turn on the steam generator. Wait until the ice begins to defrost. This usually takes 5-15 minutes. It is necessary to monitor the amount of water in the steam generator tank.

When solving the problem of how to heat water in a plastic pipe underground, if there is no steam generator, you can use an autoclave. The heat-resistant hose should be connected to the fitting of the device.

Homemade boiler

You can warm up a plastic water supply using a homemade electric boiler. This method is not suitable for metal structures. It involves working with high voltage, so care must be taken.

Take a copper wire with two insulated cores (cross section - 2.5-3 mm).
Separate the wires and move them apart.
Remove the winding from one wire. Bend the second core in the opposite direction along the wire.
Wrap the “bare” part tightly 3-5 times around the fold. Trim off the rest.
Depart from the turns 2-3 mm. Expose the end of the bent wire. Wrap it around the insulated wire 3-5 times. Trim off the excess part. The turns of the first and second wires should not touch.
Attach a plug to the other end of the wire.
Insert the “boiler” into the water supply until it stops.
Plug the plug into the socket. When exposed to heat, the ice should begin to melt.
As the plug decreases, the “boiler” should be moved deeper.

A mobile steam generator will help heat a pipe in the ground in a fairly quick time

Tip: When using a steam generator or “boiler”, you should ensure the outflow of melt water. It is necessary to periodically turn off the device and use a thin hose and compressor to pump it out of the pipe.

Hot water

The essence of this method comes down to exposing the ice in the pipe to hot water. To “deliver” it to the plug you can use:

Esmarch's water level and mug;
pump.

Greenhouse application options

Here are the main methods of application and the forms of manure necessary for this , which we described in detail here:

improvement of soil structure (humus or sapropel);
mineral or organic fertilizer (humus, sapropel, mineral water, liquid fertilizer);
mulch (humus);
heating the soil (fresh manure or droppings).

To improve the soil structure, humus or sapropel is spread over the soil surface and dug up. The substances contained in these fertilizers loosen the soil and are especially effective in cases where the greenhouse or greenhouse is filled with clay soil.

Humus and sapropel can also be applied at any time of the year to improve soil fertility, because both materials contain many useful nutrients. We described the use of these substances in more detail in this article (Humus compost from manure).

Mineral water is used when the condition of the plants indicates a lack of mineral fertilizers, and liquid fertilizing is used if they lack nutrition. However, they must be used with caution, observing the dosage, otherwise they will cause harm instead of benefit.

Prevention

Recommendations for preventing water from freezing in pipes:

The pipeline must be laid below the freezing level of the soil - at a depth of 120-140 cm. If this is not possible, the elements should be carefully insulated.

Insulation of polyethylene water pipe

It is worth using pipes with a diameter of more than 50 mm. The thinner the pipe, the deeper it should lie.
To prevent water from stagnating, during installation it is advisable to make a slight tilt towards the source.
If there are reinforced concrete structures (beams, foundations) near the water supply system, they should not be allowed to come into contact, since the level of thermal conductivity of reinforced concrete is higher than that of the soil. Between the beams and pipes it is worth laying insulating material, for example, polystyrene foam.
Pipes in an unheated basement or at points of entry into the walls of buildings must be insulated with mineral wool, glass wool, or foam.
In severe winters, it is better to immediately lay a heating cable near the pipes. Self-regulating systems are produced that turn on when necessary.

A self-regulating heating cable will be reliable protection against freezing of the water supply system

It should be taken into account that polyethylene pipes can withstand freezing/defrosting better than propylene pipes.
If the water supply is not used during the cold season, it is better to drain the water.
If there is a high risk of pipes freezing, you can resort to a wasteful but effective method of emergency prevention - constantly keep the tap open so that a small trickle of water flows.

Freezing of the water supply is a problem that owners of private houses periodically face during cold winters. You can remove the ice jam yourself. The easiest way to restore the patency of a pipe that has external access. If the structure is in the ground, then certain devices will be required. In difficult cases, it is better to seek the help of specialists who have a powerful apparatus for breaking ice - a hydrodynamic machine.

In our country there are severe frosts in winter. It is during these days that communications at home may be in serious danger. If sewer or water pipes are not insulated enough, they may simply freeze. In this case, there can be no talk of any comfortable living. How to defrost a sewer pipe underground in a private house, and what methods exist for this? This is exactly what we will talk about.

What causes freezing?

Before we talk about how to warm up pipes, it’s worth talking about the main reasons for freezing of drains in them. There may be several of them, let’s name the main ones:

Very often, sewer pipes are laid above the freezing level of the soil. This fact is the most common cause of freezing drains.
Poor thermal insulation. Even when laying sewerage below the freezing level of the soil, it is advisable to insulate it.
Insufficient slope. If the pipes are laid without a slope towards the septic tank or cesspool, or if it is insufficient, then the drains can stagnate and, as a result, simply freeze.
Blockages that form also lead to water freezing. If wastewater begins to accumulate in one place, then in severe frosts it will certainly freeze.