Cold

Eight am on the twenty sixth of January and as I set down at my computer I can see that it is seventeen below zero. I think that is a record low for this date, if it’s not it should be. All in all it has been quite a winter here in beautify Big Rapids. We aren’t running water yet, but at least two places further north are.

Running water for those who don’t know the joys of cold weather is keeping a pencil thin stream of water running to keep the pipes from freezing.  It usually works although there have times they freeze anyway. That’s when you get the fun job of trying to thaw them out.

 There are two ways for your pipes to freeze. The first is all because of the frost. As the weather goes from warm to freezing the frost gets pushed deeper and deeper until it is wrapped around your pipes and they freeze. The other is for them to be poorly insulated or not heated properly.

If you can reach them and they aren’t plastic, you can use a torch to heat them. If they are in the ground you can hire a guy to hook up his welder and send an electric current through them to heat the water and melt the ice. Of course there is always the chance that when they thaw them they will be broken and flood your house.

If you can’t get the water running don’t worry. You can always melt snow; after all there is lots it around. Remember spring will come sometime and than the water will be on again.