Do-it-yourself water supply heating

Contents

What is important to know about plumbing
Why you need to heat water pipes
Water heating methods
The choice of the optimal method of heating the water supply
The main mistakes in the installation of water heating
Popular questions and answers

Frozen water supply in winter has always been a nightmare for owners of summer cottages, private houses and country estates. Any reliable means of heating the water supply was only the laying of pipes to a great depth in the ground. But where they come to the surface, the danger remains real and unavoidable. And today, methods and technical means have appeared to eliminate this threat. We invite you to familiarize yourself with them

It is impossible to imagine a modern private home without running water. If you plan to live in a private house all year round, then it becomes necessary to protect it from freezing water in the pipe and inevitable failure.

The possible consequences are the most catastrophic. It’s not so bad if you have to live without water in the tap and toilet until spring. It is much worse if in the spring it turns out that the formed ice has broken the pipe, and for repairs it is necessary to dig it out of the ground and completely replace it. And this is a serious cost of materials and labor. So it’s cheaper to take precautions and make sure that the risk of freezing is eliminated in advance.

What is important to know about plumbing

The table contains brief characteristics of various methods of heating water pipes.

Heating method	Pros	Cons
Resistive thermal cable	Ease of installation, low price, many models on the market.	The need to install a thermostat to control heating, additional energy consumption. It is not possible to cut the desired size (the thermal cable can only be used as a whole).
Self-regulating thermal cable	Minimum power consumption, no need for a mandatory temperature controller.	Difficulty in mounting and sealing joints. You can cut the cable only according to the marks on the braid.
Heater	No power consumption, no maintenance required, simple installation, low price.	Only effective when trench depth is below freezing level. Cheap materials do not insulate the pipe.
High blood pressure	Electricity is consumed only to create the initial pressure. There is no need for constant monitoring of the system.	It is necessary to install additional equipment: pump, receiver, check valve. The method is effective only if the pipe fittings are in excellent condition, capable of holding high pressure for a long time.
Air way	The simplicity of the method, there are no additional costs for electricity.	Increased costs for pipes and installation, applicability only when laying water pipes in a trench, does not apply in open areas.

Why you need to heat water pipes

Seasonal temperature fluctuations in most regions of Our Country contribute to the formation of ice plugs in pipelines and even rupture of the pipes themselves. The elimination of such accidents in winter requires high costs and the involvement of earthmoving equipment. Or you have to wait for the summer when the ground thaws. In order to avoid such accidents, it is necessary to lay water pipes, guided by the instructions of SP 31.13330.2021¹, that is, 0,5 m below the estimated freezing depth when measured from the bottom of the pipe.

The same document contains tables of soil freezing depths for all regions. To the figure indicated there, you need to add 0,5 m and we will get the depth of safe pipe laying. But on the way of the pipeline, a rocky ridge or concrete structures may occur. Then it is necessary to reduce the depth of occurrence and apply additional methods of heating pipes in order to avoid an accident.

Water heating methods

There are several options for heating water supply, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Technological progress has given us the most reliable way to protect pipes from freezing.

Heating with heating cable

The principle of operation of the heating cable is simple. The electric current passing through the cable is converted into heat, which maintains the temperature above 0 ° C. There are two types of heating cables:

Resistive cables made of high resistance alloys similar to heating elements in electric stoves. Issued single-core и two-core resistive heating cables.

The former require looping the electrical circuit, that is, both ends must be connected to a power source. This is not very convenient for heating pipelines.

Two-core cables are more practical, their installation is easier. Both ends of the cable do not have to return to the starting point. The ends of each core on one side are connected to the terminals of the power source, the opposite end is short-circuited and carefully sealed. A heating system using a resistance heating cable requires a temperature control system.

Self-regulating heating cable consists of a polymer matrix in which two conductive wires are laid. The heat dissipation of the matrix material changes according to the ambient temperature. This occurs pointwise, and not along the entire length of the cable. The lower the temperature of the water in the pipe, the more heat the cable gives off and vice versa.

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Heating cable series

Reinforced two-core cables of increased strength are ideal for heating any water pipes, even in severe frosts. They are produced in Our Country in accordance with international quality standards.

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How to choose a heating cable

The main indicator when choosing a heating cable is the specific power of heat release. For laying inside the pipe, a value of at least 10 W/m is recommended. If the cable is mounted outdoors, then the figure must be doubled, that is, up to 20 W / m. The most powerful heating cables with a heat output of 31 W / m are used to heat sewer pipes with a diameter of 100 mm or more.

Resistive cables cannot be cut, you need to choose a product with a length closest to the required one. Self-regulating cable can be cut according to the marks applied on the top layer of the product.

An important factor is the cost of the heating system. A resistive cable is much cheaper than a self-regulating one, but a thermostat with a ground temperature sensor is required for its operation. Self-regulating cable is more expensive, but a control system is not required, and operation is much more economical.

Step-by-step instructions for installing a heating cable

When installing a thermal cable, the following rules must be observed:

1. The task of installing a heating cable is greatly facilitated if you purchase kit ready for installation. That is, the cable is already connected to the “cold” wire to connect to the power source, and the opposite end is sealed. Otherwise, you need to buy a set of tubular conductor terminals for connecting cables and heat shrink tubing. A special heat shrink sleeve is required to insulate the cut end of the cable.

2. The most important thing in this work ensure reliable sealing of contacts. The ends of the conductors are cleaned of insulation, heat-shrinkable tubes are put on them. The cables are connected using metal tubular terminals, which are crimped with pliers, or better, with a special tool. Heat-shrinkable tubes are pushed onto the junction and heated with a building hair dryer. After they cool down and harden, the cable is ready for installation on a water pipe.

3. Thermal cable mounted on pipeline external or internal way:

The cable can simply be pulled along the pipe and fixed on it with plastic clamps resistant to temperature changes. In cases of serious risk of freezing, spiral laying is used, the cable is wound around the pipe with a certain pitch. For outdoor installation, a cable with a flat section is used for better contact with the pipe. With any installation method, before laying in the trench, the pipe, together with the cable, is insulated with insulating material, which minimizes heat loss after backfilling with soil.
Internal mounting method applicable only for pipes with a diameter of at least 40 mm, otherwise the water flow will be blocked. Cable brands with enhanced moisture protection are used. It is very difficult to equip a long pipe with turns with such heating, but in small straight sections it is quite possible. The cable is entered into the pipe through a special tee and a sealing sleeve. This method of installation is indispensable, if necessary, to warm up the ice plug formed on the underground section of the pipeline when it is impossible to open the soil.

4. The heating cable is connected to the network through an RCD, that is, a residual current device, or at least through a machine. Resistive cables – through a thermostat.

Heating with heater

Regardless of the type of heating cable and installation method, the pipe laid in the ground must be insulated. This requirement is mandatory in places where it comes to the surface, even in basements, and even more so in the open, for example, in a standpipe in a garden.

In these places, it is advisable to install water supply from pipes with insulation already applied at the factory. If you insulate an ordinary pipe, then according to SNiP 41-03-2003², for its laying in the ground, a layer with a thickness of 20-30 mm is sufficient, but for above-ground areas, a thickness of at least 50 mm is required. Warming can also be used as an independent method of heating, but it is effective either in the off-season or in the southern regions.

How to choose a heater for heating water pipes

Most often used as a heater foam polyethylene or polyurethane. They are produced in liquid form and sprayed onto the pipe, or in the form of trays in which the pipe is enclosed, and the joints between the trays are insulated.

Not so long ago, a new material appeared on the market: thermal insulation paint. It copes well with its main function and, in addition, protects pipes from corrosion.

Fibrous materials like mineral wool require additional moisture protection, so they are rarely used for warming water pipes. In any case, saving on insulating material is not worth it; eliminating the consequences of an accident will cost much more.

Heating with increased pressure

This method of protecting the water supply from freezing is used when preserving the water supply for a long time, for example, for the winter. The property of water not to freeze at elevated pressure is used. To implement this method of protection, it is necessary to install additional equipment:

Submersible pump capable of creating a pressure of 5-7 atmospheres;
Check valve after the pump.
Receiver for 3-5 atmospheres.

The pump creates the necessary pressure in the pipes, after which the valve in front of the receiver closes and the pressure is maintained for as long as the quality of the plumbing fittings allows. If the pump fails or the fitting fails, the water in the pipe will freeze. This method of insulation is unreliable, therefore it is used infrequently today.

Air heating method

The method consists in creating an air cushion between the pipe and the ground. The easiest way to create it is by laying a water pipe in a pipe of the same material, but of a larger diameter, which is covered with a layer of thermal insulation and buried. The method is not applicable for pipes laid on the surface and can only be used for communications located below the freezing level.

The choice of the optimal method of heating the water supply

As a rule, a water pipe laid at a well-calculated laying depth below the freezing level of the soil needs only minimal thermal insulation. And it requires additional heating only in places where it comes to the surface or where it is impossible to lay a trench of the required depth.

In these cases, a heating cable is the right choice. This method ensures that there will be no formation of ice blocks at any time of the year and no cost to eliminate the consequences of accidents.

SHTL heating cables

SHTL heating cables from Teplolux (models SHTL, SHTL-HT, SHTL-LT) are suitable for heating the water supply system of a private house at any depth. Production is completely localized in the Federation and does not depend on foreign suppliers of raw materials

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The main mistakes in the installation of water heating

The main mistakes in self-assembly of any heating system:

Incorrect calculations;
Non-compliance with proprietary technological instructions. The general provisions are already known to the reader after reading this article, but each insulating material and thermal cable has its own nuances and subtleties of installation.
Before deciding on independent work, it is necessary to carefully study all SNiPs and use numerous online calculators to calculate the depth of trenches corresponding to the level of soil freezing in a particular area. Or entrust this work to specialists who give a guarantee.
Particular attention should be paid to the quality of sealing joints that provide complete and reliable waterproofing. There are no trifles here, and no blue electrical tape will replace heat shrink tubing and cable terminations.
You should not save too much on insulating materials, their poor quality will not give the desired effect and, in the end, will result in costs and elimination of accidents.