Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Artris]

So I've been good about keeping the heat on this winter in order to keep my pipes from freezing. Woke up this morning to a nice and warm apartment but no water. My bills are paid and apartment is warm.

Would they turn off the water to the entire complex in order to repair damage to one apartment? It is a small building, 3 floors with 4 apartments per floor. Along these lines, could anyone toss in a short phrase that says "is the water turned off in this building" in Korean? I could use a translation service, but it never seems quite right when done that way.

Is it possible that my pipes froze despite the cozy apartment? I hear a lot of activity next door so I suspect it was a neighbor's apartment but still.

EDIT:
To be clear, I have no hot water or cold water. That means either the main froze or has been shut off.

[nathanrutledge]

Water systems have so many valves in them, I doubt they would turn your water off if someone else has burst pipes.

But, it's possible that the whole building lost it's main pipe. A lot of the smaller buildings in Korea have water meters outside and if it gets too cold, they'll freeze. This isn't a big problem usually, even if it dips below 0 celsius, as the water company pumps oxygen into the water to help keep it from freezing. If you take water from the tap and look at it, it will be cloudy in the winter - that's the oxygen.

Anyway, because it's been record breaking cold the past few days, it's possible that the main burst. If no one is using water (during the night), the water in the main is not moving, and even with air in the water, it'll freeze.

Look around outside the building. See any large ice slicks near a broken pipe?

[Artris]

Already looked around outside for that. Just took another trip out and found a bunch of locals looking around. Seems the main isn't in plain site, but the whole building is without water.

I'll wait until around 6:00PM and if it doesn't get better I go out and buy a space heater. I think it will be fixed in the next few hours though. Should I turn off my heater: does it recycle the water in the pipes for heat?

I was going out today but I guess I'll have to stay in to make sure everything is OK. Day 1 of vacation.

[nathanrutledge]

Why stay home? Nothing's wrong in your place, so go out, enjoy the day. Go sit in a movie theater where it's warm.

The ondols circulate water from the heater to the floor and back, so yeah, it should still work.

[young_clinton]

If your neighbor's pipes froze, there would be more than just a shut down water main. You probably would see your neighbors doing a major clean up job. There would be water all over the inside and outside of the apartment. There would also be plumbers walking in and out of the apartment. Unless their heating is Ondal and they left off the heat to the Ondal, I kind of doubt their pipes froze. Pipes are usually really well insulated, probably particularly in Korea.

In New Mexico, I saw water pipes freeze only one time because there was an extreme temperature drop which New Mexico had never had before.

[s.tickbeat]

I'm having the same problem, for almost two days now my building has had no water. Today, my school had no water. For two days my neighbors, friends, and local acquaintances have had no water.

In Jangyu this just happens sometimes. The water authority (or what-have-you) will quietly turn off water to the neighborhood or city without sending out messages, usually about once a month. However, this is the longest it has lasted and I'm wondering if maybe the foreigner crowd is just ignorant regarding how the hell we're supposed to un-freeze our pipes? I'm in a small building and I'm not sure where the water comes into my apartment, but I don't think the pipes are frozen since my kitchen and laundry porch both have liquid water in them.

Thoughts?

[nathanrutledge]

[aphase]