Heat guns

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

John_Conrad

Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
1,486
Location
Gone Fishing
what do you use for thawing frozen pipes? a commercial heat gun blower? or any blow dryer?

...i used my wife's blow dryer this morning to thaw our meter pipes out this morning and it got me thinking whether I should buy another one.

granted I have lived in this house 20 years here in the mid-west and have experienced much colder weather than single digits, but for some reason we froze meter pipes last night.

am also planning to cover the meter from now on during the winter...
 
You can often catch the cheap one on sale for around $ 10 .

Also , stuff your meter enclosure with crumpled up news paper or Walmart sacks .

Luckily , it has been a long time since our water froze . Thank God .

Best of luck to you , :-)
 
I've got both, an ancient hair dryer from college (when I had hair) and a heat gun.

The hair dryer in my case is a compact that folds up, allowing it to rest easily on a flat surface, which makes it easy to place in an area the needs heat. It's been used for curing fiberglass, for example, and thawing pipes, as well as defrosting an ice maker.

My heat gun makes more heat. But it's more concentrated - a hotter, smaller flow that's more precisely aimed.

For that reason, I would go hair dryer. If that heat gun overheats one part of a pipe, or the surrounding cabinets, you could get damage, scorching, fire, melted PVC, etc. The broader, milder heat with increased flow would be safer for thawing pipes, in my estimation...
 
Last edited:
Might want to invest in some pipe wrap heat cable that plugs into a standard outlet. Works wonders!

But to the subject; a hair dryer will be a better and slower approach. Too much concentrated heat in one spot too fast is not a good thing. I did use a heat gun to thaw out a frozen spigot (that I forgot to take the hose off, oof!) but put it on its lowest setting and wouldn't hold it on there long.
 
I think it's worth having a garage hair dryer...as I look at my ancient hair dryer, with fiberglass resin stuck to it, I can imagine the dismay of my wife should hers meet with a similar fate...

I would like to avoid having her picking up a stinky, or dirty, or sticky hair dryer as she gets ready for work at O'dark thirty.
 
Originally Posted by Delta
Might want to invest in some pipe wrap heat cable that plugs into a standard outlet. Works wonders!

But to the subject; a hair dryer will be a better and slower approach. Too much concentrated heat in one spot too fast is not a good thing. I did use a heat gun to thaw out a frozen spigot (that I forgot to take the hose off, oof!) but put it on its lowest setting and wouldn't hold it on there long.



the meter is far away from home, so i'm unable to reach with electricity and heat tape(on edit:for a permanent install that is) insulation will be best, thanks for the help

on edit:
i had to run a 100 foot extension cord to get to it with blow dryer
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Astro14
I think it's worth having a garage hair dryer...as I look at my ancient hair dryer, with fiberglass resin stuck to it, I can imagine the dismay of my wife should hers meet with a similar fate...

I would like to avoid having her picking up a stinky, or dirty, or sticky hair dryer as she gets ready for work at O'dark thirty.


exactly!
09.gif

the wife may come unglued
 
Have a 20 yr old Milwaukee heat gun. Originally bought to heat shrink. Now gets used to melt snow out of snow blower innards.
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
I've got a crap HF gun.

Gets plenty hot and has that great offshore smell.
You would think a heat gun would degas quickly.
OP if it took a while to thaw the pipe, step up to heat gun. It's a nice tool to have, you can do a lot of things with it. Bending PVC pipe, stripping paint, reflowing circuit boards. I'm sure there are a lot of applications where you want concentrated high heat but cannot use a torch safely.
 
"the meter is far away from home, so i'm unable to reach with electricity and heat tape(on edit:for a permanent install that is) insulation will be best, thanks for the help
i had to run a 100 foot extension cord to get to it with blow dryer"

So, the meter is 100 ft from house - ok
But does the water line come above ground surface where the meter is ? Not ideal if it could freeze.
How about a photo.
Could you make an insulated enclosure around your meter ?

We had o* temps last Month and the Water Co asked homeowners to leave a faucet turned ON (trickle) to prevent pipes from freezing.
My meter is in the basement. with shut-off vale next to it (for homeowner).
Water co. has a shut-off valve outside (down a 'covered' 5 ft pipe)
 
Last edited:
I lived in a mobile home and the pipe would freeze when the wind blew, solved the problem with a roll of R-13 fiberglass and just folded it around the water line with some duct tape. Any type of insulation makes a difference
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
"the meter is far away from home, so i'm unable to reach with electricity and heat tape(on edit:for a permanent install that is) insulation will be best, thanks for the help
i had to run a 100 foot extension cord to get to it with blow dryer"

So, the meter is 100 ft from house - ok
But does the water line come above ground surface where the meter is ? Not ideal if it could freeze.
How about a photo.
Could you make an insulated enclosure around your meter ?

We had o* temps last Month and the Water Co asked homeowners to leave a faucet turned ON (trickle) to prevent pipes from freezing.
My meter is in the basement. with shut-off vale next to it (for homeowner).
Water co. has a shut-off valve outside (down a 'covered' 5 ft pipe)


i havent measured the depth im guessing the water lines are about 2 feet underground, and i am planning to insulate the meter enclosure so this does not happen again.
its the first time in 20 years this has happened at this dwelling..
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Astro14
......My heat gun makes more heat. But it's more concentrated - a hotter, smaller flow that's more precisely aimed.

For that reason, I would go hair dryer. If that heat gun overheats one part of a pipe, or the surrounding cabinets, you could get damage, scorching, fire, melted PVC, etc. The broader, milder heat with increased flow would be safer for thawing pipes, in my estimation...

This ^^^^^^^^^^^

Think of a heat gun like a blowtorch. Rapid heating with an almost flame like exhaust. Even my cheap $10 heat gun from Harbor Freight will put out over 1,100F. That can soften PVC pipe very quickly. Remember when you are thawing pipes water goes from solid to liquid at 33F. You don't need that much heat. A 1,500 Watt hair dryer will put out more than enough hot air to thaw frozen pipes very quickly.
 
In your case, a salamander sounds like a good idea. Fill it with fuel and let it run hands free. I know of people who've used them in basements and crawlspaces. Not sure how safe that is carbon monoxide poisoning wise though.

I would look into a way to run power to the meter so you can have a permanent fix.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

F
2013 ford taurus 3.7L wont start.
Replies
15
Views
650
mk378
G
What’s your thermostat set to any why? Heat source?
8 9 10
Replies
186
Views
13K
53' Stude
G
Insane Electric Rate Increase $508.68/1522 kWh
16 17 18
Replies
358
Views
21K
Knerml12
M
1 Week Review - 2025 Toyota Tacoma Hybrid Limited
3 4 5
Replies
96
Views
35K
meep
slo town
Our trip to the 108th running of the Indy 500
2
Replies
30
Views
4K
Carmudgeon
Back
Top Bottom