Some four or more years ago I rebuilt the back porch of my house, moving the "powder room" and the water lines that feed the sink. In order to get everything to fit into the tiny space between brick foundation and the walls, I ended up laying the hot water line almost directly in contact with those exterior bricks.
Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Except that this hot water line consistently freezes at 15°F. No matter how much insulation I packed around it, it would freeze. The only thing that would save it was a couple of 100 watt bulbs under it all night long.
Until now, that is. Some time in October (I think it was), I moved that hot water line about eighteen inches away from the foundation and re-applied all the insulation. It wasn't until last night that we got a chance to temperature test this configuration.
When it officially hit 3°F. Unofficially, our car registered -1°F and we heard elsewhere that it was zero for a while.
Sweet success! Of course it was the cold line that was acting up this morning. Not frozen, but a little sluggish, a bit restricted for a moment or two.
So I'll check that one off the list. Of course, since that success, the list has grown by three entries already. . . .
