Please School Me on Pex and Freezing

[Brianjonesphoto]

I've got a 15 foot section of waterline that feeds the hose bibs on the front of my garage that is problematic. Right before we closed on the house in February this line froze and leaked. It was fixed by the seller prior to closing. Now 9 months later the fucker froze again even though it was wrapped in a foam insulation jacket. (Yes it is somewhat my fault as I didn't shut off and drain the line during the last cold spell)

I want to fix this for good. The waterline runs in the rafters above the garage. We had 2 cold spells in November with temps well below freezing for a few days. The first cold spell the garage rafters were open and unheated, but I before the second cold spell I insulated everything and added a heater to the garage. I think the insulation may have caused the pipe to freeze as it did it's job and kept the heat in. Thankfully this happened before I had a chance to rock the ceiling so it's a fairly simple fix.

I'm going to replace the section of copper with PEX as a bit of insurance against future rupture from freezing, but I also plan on keeping water off when the forecast calls for temps in the 20's.

I'm on the fence about what type of connectors to get. I'm leaning towards the clamp bands instead of the copper crimps. I can't justify the expense of the expansion PEX-A tools. Is one better that another?

What else can I do to prevent future freezing? I will rewrap the pex line in a foam insulator. Should I also cover it the line with additional bats of fiberglass?

Thanks.

 

[Architorture]

Why not reroute it to be on the warm side of the insulation since you have the ceiling open?

Other than that you need to drain it religiously when the forecast is for cold weather. Pex can still rupture if frozen and is flexible which lends itself to low spots where water can accumulate even if you think you drained it down.

 

[Pathfinder]

The furnace went out in my cabin in Maine a few winters ago and all the plumbing froze. We lost two toilets and 2 faucets, but all the pex piping survived the thaw. I have experience with the pex plastic clamp bands, the metal bands, and sharkbite fittings. All have performed well.

Hope this helps.

John Minton

 

[bzinsky]

Insulation does nothing but slow the process of heat transfer.

If you have a heated garage, allow the heat to reach the pipe, and the cold to not reach the pipe. This is done by putting insulation between the places you want cold to the places you want warm.

Yes, pex does a great job at resisting freezing.

I've had such good luck with crimp rings I wouldn't even consider clamp bands. It's so easy and reliable. Just need the crimp tool.

 

[bzinsky]

The furnace went out in my cabin in Maine a few winters ago and all the plumbing froze. We lost two toilets and 2 faucets, but all the pex piping survived the thaw. I have experience with the pex plastic clamp bands, the metal bands, and sharkbite fittings. All have performed well.

Hope this helps.

John Minton

I have a cabin in VT, I shut the water supply off every time I leave and run the basement sink until there's nothing left.