Hi, I connected to the county water this summer. I have a shut-off valve in a box close to the meter box. Do I need to do anything to ensure the water valve and pipe in that box doesn’t freeze? Has anyone ever had problems with this? Thanks!
I cant answer your question exactly, but in 35 years of living in this area I have only seen one pipe freeze. It was in the late 90's when we actually had single digit temps each night for about a week. It froze at the well head where the pipe was exposed between the well and where it goes back in to the ground. Based on that, if it is exposed you may want to see if you can find a way to insulate it, but I wouldnt worry too much about it during this "cold snap". That's just my opinion, maybe someone with piping experience will have better advice.
It is quite unusual to get the water line to freeze in the ground around here. There is no frost line in these parts.
Some Info? When I was growing up, on nights when the temps got into the single digits or below, my folks would turn on a couple of faucets to a slow but steady drip. Those faucets had lines running on the outside walls of the house. Those lines are probably in more danger than an underground line unless there is a very long and deep hard freeze. My wife and I had a pipe in our garage burst at our house in VA. I think it happened on about the 4th day of temps below freezing with nights in the single digits. That pipe was uninsulated and ran the length of the garage, ending as our outside hose faucet in the front of the house. We had never turned the water off to that line (3rd year we were there) but we did after that!
I had a well pipe break underground last year. It very well could freeze! Now I keep my cabinet doors open and cover my outside faucet.
