400 watts day-in day-out for the whole winter?
Wouldn't it simpler and much cheaper to let it drip a little into a big barrel to prevent freezing?

dcarch

Not at all... It actually runs on very short cycles and can even be shut off and allowed to freeze. If you do that you can turn it back on and have running water again in about 10 minutes. It's working out great and no need to be jack hammering up concrete and digging up the yard.

Any concerns over expanding ice in brass fitting-to-hose connections, if allowing the hoses to freeze? Looks like typical compression fittings are used - which are not freeze proof.

It's made to be used that way. I have regular hoses that are left out and freeze solid. Never had an issue with a brass fitting or the hose cracking

Only ask the question from an experience I had with a water hose inadvertently left under pressure and freezing - resulting in a ruptured brass fitting to hose connection (a high quality hose). If the hose was drained in anticipation of a deep freeze however, the risk of damage would of course, be minimized. Looks like an easy alternative Tom.

When building my planned greenhouse next year though, I'm planning on installing an underground plastic water line below frost level. It will involve cutting open an area in the garage slab, adjacent to the exterior foundation wall - big enough for a post hole digger. Digging a pit below the footing - assumed to be 40" deep, will take some time, but not that difficult. Cement patching will also be easy to do.

A trench dug on the exterior of the wall, leading to the greenhouse, will then enable a continuous and freeze-proof plumbing connection to a riser and valve inside the greenhouse structure. A bit of work - but manual labor builds character ;-)

archdiver,

Digging for piping will of course let you bury electric cables also.

Do you have hard water in your area? If so, a way of replacing piping may be a good idea.

Also, a way of blowing water out of the pipes will allow you to take a long vacation in the winter.

dcarch

Thanks for the advice dc, all good tips - but think I have those suggestions covered.

The UG electrical cable will be buried within a separate conduit in the same trench - at a depth of 18" - 24". Of course, a yellow plastic tape will be secured above the conduit - alerting it's presence to future excavators.

Municipal water is not excessively hard - but I am considering the feasibility of installing a 2" PVC conduit with 6" radius elbows. This would enable 1/2" PEX pipe to be replaced - if the need ever develops. 1/2" PEX can be bent to a 5" radius.

The line can be easily blown dry with a small compressor - if unused during the winter for any duration.

Sorry for the hijack Tom . . . :)

Those hoses are kind of pricey and consume a lot of power. Heat tape might accomplish the same result for less money. A 50 foot run of heat tape consumes about 120 watts not 400 like the hose; for about $60.....my GH is total solar so I have to be careful about power consumption. I do like the flexibility of the hose idea though! Let us know how it holds up.

"Those hoses are kind of pricey and consume a lot of power."

The association of power consumption with a PEX water hose is somewhat foreign to my way of thinking. Could you expand on that?

I thought PEX was practically indestructible..?

No references though.

I was speaking about the heated hose mentioned in the original thread that a 50 foot run uses 400 watts as opposed to heat tape that consumes about 120 watts for the same distance.

Thanks for that clarification polcat - but I did realize that just after posting, and I agree. After the initial costs associated to installation however, an underground waterline is free to operate and frost free.

or you could do what I did for a couple of years. Just put your hose on a hose reel, reel it out and hook it up and turn it on and use it in the greenhouse, then reel it back up and push the reel back into the greenhouse when you're done. It was pretty low tech, but I never had problems with the water freezing!