JohnRoss Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have often wondered about this and early this morning made some temperature measurements. Air temperature in the shade -10.6 degrees Celsius. Temperature 50cm below ground level at the bottom of the chamber housing the water meter at the edge of our property and some distance from the house, -2.2 degrees. Temperature of cold water from the tap, after it had been run for a bit, +5 degrees. The coldest recorded here by us in Deux Sevres recently was -18 degrees a few winters ago when we were away on holiday and the house pipes, copper, did not burst, I had turned the water off at the main stopcock before we left. The feeder pipe from the main to the house is black plastic. We did have an outside tap shatter one year when I had forgotten to isolate it but the pipe to it, plastic, was fine and no leaks. Must be more energy in cold water than I had thought!.....................JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I was thinking exactly the same thing this morning as I went to check that our outside WC had not frozen up. On the French south west coast, we have few frosts but this morning was one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Yes it is amazing, you would think it would freeze solid! By the way I note the link to Bristol. Used to visit my granny there as a child and loved the Downs, Suspension Bridge and as a special treat a trip up to the Camera Obscurer or in Latin Camera Obscura, is it still there?................................JRPS Was the elephant that gave rides at the zoo called Rosie? I am talking circa late 1940s early 1950s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote user="JohnRoss"]Yes it is amazing, you would think it would freeze solid! By the way I note the link to Bristol. Used to visit my granny there as a child and loved the Downs, Suspension Bridge and as a special treat a trip up to the Camera Obscurer or in Latin Camera Obscura, is it still there?................................JR PS Was the elephant that gave rides at the zoo called Rosie? I am talking circa late 1940s early 1950s. [/quote]JR - I believe that the answer is 'yes' to both questions. When in the UK, I live outside Bristol and don't get into the city that often. I looked online and found out that Rosie died in 1961. I remember Wendy, the elephant that came after her.Do you remember Alfred the Gorilla in the Museum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote user="Cathy"]Do you remember Alfred the Gorilla in the Museum? [/quote]I always thought Albert was a Lion..........................LOOKPriceless[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="Cathy"] Do you remember Alfred the Gorilla in the Museum? [/quote] I always thought Albert was a Lion..........................LOOK[/quote]LOL. The video even mentions Woolworths.... Alfred (not Albert) was a gorilla at Bristol Zoo, who ended up being stuffed and exhibited in the Museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonraker Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I used to visit Alfred when I spent holidays with an aunt in Bristol and can remember crying my eyes out when told he had died! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I laid my pipes at the regulation 800mm and my supply has frozen today so no hot or cold water for me.I have also suffered a lot of ground heave recently lifting up and breaking the foundation of a recently constructed and line of kerbing, the same problem means I cannot at the moment use the side gate and the commune tarmac path in front has lifted and cracked, at least I made the right decision in using block paving which should settle back to its original form without any cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 To answer the original question, water pipes should be 80cms below the surface to protect against freezing. We had pipes here which were just 30cms deep and regularly froze in the winter. Now we have a new main PER(?) black plastic anyway, and it has been fine since.Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 I remember Rosie well, picture of her here: http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/about/History. She was so tolerant of the kids and walked along her track with such a stately tread. Hope she was happy! Alfred well not sure when he died but was there not a bust of him on a plinth outside somewhere? If 80cms is the regulation then I guess that must be deep enough or from one reply maybe not! Checked my cellar, where the pipe comes in, and a surprising +11.6 degrees there so no possibility of it freezing I guess..........JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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