How to make your three-season plumbing work all winter
Our 800 square foot log cabin two hours outside of Whitehorse was never designed to be lived in from November through March. During our first winter, regular plummeting temperatures and frozen pipes had us digging for every space heater, hair dryer, and electric blanket we could get our hands on. At -30°C in the morning I opened the kitchen tap with trepidation. would there be water Take a shower? Coffee? The rest of the day hung in the balance.
We’re hardly alone in our struggles with fair-weather installations. More and more cottagers are welcoming the colder months. Some are trying to expand their three-season water systems to four. Others, giving in to Mother Nature, take a rustic and more old-fashioned approach (like drilling a hole in the ice or melting snow).
Choosing the best option for you depends on your budget, how often you visit the cottage, what amenities you want during your stay, and how literal you want to interpret the Zen proverb “chop wood, carry water”.
The Four Seasons System
When your frigid days are behind you and you don’t mind keeping the cottage heated all winter, upgrading to a four-season system can be well worth it – especially if you’re planning on retiring to the cottage. or live there part or full time (like us).
The goal is to freeze-proof every stage of water’s journey, from the inlet to the kitchen sink to the septic tank. As simple as this may sound, there are many factors to consider, including distance from the water source to the home, soil depth, and whether you are retrofitting or installing new pipes. It is best to consult an expert early on before making any decisions.
How to repair heating cable
My husband and I found this out the hard way and bought an off-the-shelf heating cable kit at the hardware store. He spent hours crawling around in a dusty crawl space, guiding it along a pipe through several floor joists. Had we bought a different heating cable we could have saved hours of installation time.
A company that specializes in winterized systems should be able to help you think through the overall design and navigate the wide range of application specific products.
Protect your revenue
Choose a location in the lake where your water intake will sit under the ice and will not freeze. For most lakes in southern and central Ontario, this means 1.5 to 2 meters below the water level and 30 cm above the lake floor to avoid sediment. If you are new to an area, ask your neighbors about the typical thickness of ice on your lake.
Do not use a concrete block to weigh down the pipe. “Blocks can be sharp and chafe against the pipe,” says Lorne Heise, founder and CEO of Heat-Line, a company specializing in freeze protection systems. Alternate plumber-approved options include a shore or lake-bottom rock or concrete preset in a shape. For example, you can protect the pipe from wave action and ice floes by laying it in a sacrificial line (i.e. a larger diameter pipe).
Cottage Q&A: How can we prevent our water supply from freezing?
Time to clean up
“Atmosphere is the harshest environment,” says Heise. “With wind chill, it can go down to 40 degrees.” Your first line of defense is to run pipes below the freezing level. Usually this means burying the pipe (1.3 to 2 meters deep in central and southern Ontario). While material costs can be as cheap as dirt, you’ll likely need to rent a backhoe for at least $250 a day.
Turn up the heat
If you can’t dig below the frost line, you can use heating cables to keep your water and sewer lines free of ice. The self-regulating heating cable emits heat along its length and can automatically adjust its output to compensate for different temperatures along the pipe.
For those retrofitting an existing system, an in-pipe heating cable can be run in a water main. “In some cases, you can push them in 100 to 150 feet,” says Heise. While prices vary, 100 feet of potable in-pipe cable with a thermostat can cost as much as $2,300 in materials (plus separate installation costs — this varies).
On-pipe heating cables are attached to the outside of the pipe and cost half the price of in-pipe systems. It is not submerged in water and does not have to meet drinking water standards. So there’s a money saving: 100 feet of online heating tape with a thermostat would cost about $1,300. While cheaper, it’s not a good option for retrofitting underground plumbing (since you’d have to dig them out to install the heating cable on the pipe). Yes, using heating cable of any kind will increase your electricity bill. However, you can reduce energy consumption by insulating the pipe (more on this below).
It is possible to find further efficiency by connecting the cable to a thermostat or timer. A self-regulating heating cable can adjust its temperature, but cannot switch itself off completely and therefore always consumes electricity when it is on. A thermostat or timer can turn the product on and off while maintaining pipe temperature; A hundred feet of heating cable properly installed and insulated could add less than $50 (at 14 cents per kWh) to your monthly winter bills.
15 cabin repairs that need to be done before the onset of winter
Isolate
Insulation is a strong ally in your fight against the elements. “As soon as we insulate the pipes, the efficiency of our heating cable is up to 80 percent better,” says Heise. Above ground, Heise often recommends self-sealing closed-cell polyethylene foam sleeves, also known as insulating sleeves, with at least ¾-inch walls. “They just look like a pool noodle that kids play with,” he says, “except they’re black and boring.” They can be found at hardware stores or online in 6-foot lengths. To protect the work from gnawing animals and roaming off-roaders, one option is to slide the pipe and insulation inside a 4 inch corrugated poly drain pipe.
In the ground, you can add insulation to the above assembly by cutting blocks of closed cell extruded polystyrene insulation and placing them on the top and sides of the drain pipe. Not all heating cable systems can be insulated, says Heise — something to consider when shopping for heating cable options.
Can’t bury the line? Limited power? Use gravity
The above options might be impractical for a cottage located on rocky ground (where it’s impossible to bury wires) or off the grid (with limited ability to power long heating cables). An alternative is to use a drain-back system that relies on gravity to drain the supply line before water can freeze in it.
Drain back systems use a submersible pump to force water into the hut. As soon as the internal pressure tank is full, the pump switches off and the supply line runs back to the lake, well or river. Although simple in theory, impromptu DIY versions often run into problems with air rushing through the faucets or back turning the pump (resulting in engine damage).
In the mid-1990s, cottager Adam Soszka ironed out those wrinkles and perfected a self-draining system at his family home on Fairholme Lake, Ontario. He went on to build a successful business around it. “We have a patented valve assembly that my father invented,” says Mark Soszka, Adam’s son and owner of Cottage Water Supply. “The valve makes it easy to drain the line to the lake without having to turn the pump back, and at a good rate.” The cottage water supply system also includes an in-line check valve upstream of the water tank to maintain house water pressure, and an air bleed valve , which automatically lets air in and out of the system. “A proper system shouldn’t get air in your lines,” says Soszka.
Cottage Water Supply, one of the few companies that specializes in these systems, sells DIY drain-back packages ranging from $3,500 to $5,000 (including the pump, pressure tank, pipe, heating cable, and various fittings).
Over time we’ve learned the ice-forming idiosyncrasies of our home, weeded out its cold spots, and added insulation and heating cable. From our point of view it was worth the time and money. Instead of waking up panic-stricken on frosty mornings, we shower, make coffee, and embrace the crystal clear air and blue skies that come with a cold snap.
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