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No Hot Water? Pipe Frozen?

 
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b.rabbit



Joined: 14 Feb 2012

PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:54 pm    Post subject: No Hot Water? Pipe Frozen? Reply with quote

This morning I woke up and thought my water pipes were frozen. I think I tried both sides of the faucet, but maybe I only tried the hot water one.

Either way, it's been a few hours since I last turned the faucet (I kept it on in hopes of noticing a drip when it restarted), but I just checked and now the cold water is working fine.

However, when I started moving the handle toward the hot water side, the water lessens in pressure and then comes to a complete stop. No hot water.

Has anyone else experienced this or know why this happened? I thought it was frozen pipes, but how can it be when my cold water still works?

My ondol has been on since this morning in an attempt to thaw the pipes, but no hot water yet. My boiler is actually located outside in a metal box, so I went out to check it. The pipes attached to the boiler seem to be fine, but it's all wired under the apartment so I can't check anywhere else. Sad


Last edited by b.rabbit on Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:58 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Brooks



Joined: 08 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well considering the low temperatures, it doesn`t surprise me.
It must have gotten down to -18 C or more last night.
It seems like a cold winter.
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Zyzyfer



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the same problem. I guess it's caused by the pipe leading to the boiler freezing?

Sad thing is that I did leave my faucets dripping, but didn't, uh, drip hot water.

The problem pipe is probably outside of your apartment so you should talk with the landlord or whoever handles housing issues for you. I doubt running your ondol will do anything other than heat up the place.
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schwa



Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap

PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I woke to no tap water this morning, but my ondol was fine. I keep my place cozy so I figured I was immune from freeze-up. Wrong. I'm in a three-unit jutaek & fortunately someone came by today to somehow put it right again. Kitchen & bathroom taps now set to drip 24/7 until this cold snap breaks.

Beyond that, I dont know.
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CrikeyKorea



Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Location: Heogi, Seoul

PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sounds frozen... it has happened to me before.. I went and found the exposed pipes and put on my heater and blasted it for 2 hours and it was sweet... Another time I had to get someone in to fix it, they can steam it or charge the pipes, either way costs about 50,000won. Hot water is often completely separate from cold-so once I had cold but not hot and once neither.. anyway call someone and it will be done in no time.
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stuey11



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:24 am    Post subject: ... Reply with quote

Happened to me last 2 mornings, ondol and cold water were fine, just had no hot water, the cold water input pipe to the boiler was frozen. I just opened all the hot water taps in the house, boiled the kettle , then slowly poured boiling water along the frozen pipe. Worked a treat and I had hot water within 30 seconds
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stuey11



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:24 am    Post subject: ... Reply with quote

Happened to me last 2 mornings, ondol and cold water were fine, just had no hot water, the cold water input pipe to the boiler was frozen. I just opened all the hot water taps in the house, boiled the kettle , then slowly poured boiling water along the frozen pipe. Worked a treat and I had hot water within 30 seconds
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ajuma



Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can defrost frozen pipes using a hair dryer too.
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b.rabbit



Joined: 14 Feb 2012

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^that's what I ended up doing. I called my landlord and he said it was the tenant's responsibility when this kind of thing happens. Confused

The guy told me to go outside with a hair dryer and try my luck with the pipes nearest to the boiler. Hot hair on the pipes for 5 minutes and then they started working again. I was so relieved! Very Happy
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Brooks



Joined: 08 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well it is not bad.
In Vermont my father would have to pour hot water on the pipe until it would work.
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Weigookin74



Joined: 26 Oct 2009

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've left my heat on continuously during this cold snap to head off the problem. This is the coldest winter in Korea since I've been here.
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JustinC



Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Weigookin74 wrote:
I've left my heat on continuously during this cold snap to head off the problem. This is the coldest winter in Korea since I've been here.


You'd think that would be enough, wouldn't you?

I did - pipe froze; left heating on and a tap dripping - pipe froze; left heating on and two taps dribbling (a continuous, slow stream) - heating turned itself off and water pressure in the hot tap down considerably for a few minutes, I'm guessing the pipe was midst freezing at that point.

So now heating is on and hot and cold taps permanently open and water flowing slowly, but more than just a dribble. I'm expecting to return home one day to a flooded apartment as the outflow pipe freezes. Evil or Very Mad
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Yaya



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hear Daegu has the worst weather in Korea, scorching hot in summer, bone-chilling cold in the winter.
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Troglodyte



Joined: 06 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's due to poor quality construction. I have no idea why so many buildings are built with the pipes in exposed places. I can partially understand that the pipes aren't insulated since Korea doesn't get bad winters every year, but putting the outside?
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Yaya



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Watch out about leaving your taps dripping. The guy who lived above me did that and then the water burst out and flooded his place, which caused a leaky ceiling for me.
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