I've had a cabin in a snow zone (3500' ASL) for 35-years. House was designed with plumbing exposed in the crawl space which doesn't get below 40 degrees. Previously I've had no frozen pipes because I leave the cabin at 50 degrees and drip the faucet. There can be some outages during the winter (temps seldom get much below freezing), but with normal water pressure and dripping, the pipes haven't froze.....until this year. Power was out for four days because of a winter storm and outside temperature dropped to 0 degrees, so no heat, no power, and the water pressure for the neighborhood dropped. Interior of the house dropped below freezing for two days. The result was a pipe burst in an upstairs sink and when the power came on it flooded about half the house.
I've added a 1000-watt backup battery (Ecoflow) to run the propane furnace (which gives about 30-hours of backup). I'm considering buying an automatic Moen shut off valve with sensors to shut off the cold water where it enters the house (located in garage).
Any other good solutions from plumbers from the northern climates? (I know I could drain the house every time I leave, but that seems like too much trouble).
I've added a 1000-watt backup battery (Ecoflow) to run the propane furnace (which gives about 30-hours of backup). I'm considering buying an automatic Moen shut off valve with sensors to shut off the cold water where it enters the house (located in garage).
Any other good solutions from plumbers from the northern climates? (I know I could drain the house every time I leave, but that seems like too much trouble).
Last edited: