How fast will water freeze at -20°C with no power to pump 5700 GPM?

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Jay cameron
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How fast will water freeze when the outside temp has been -17C for 3 days and my generator blows up so now I don't have power to any pumps and the temp has dipped to -20C
My plant pumps 5700 GPM
 
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If you had asked that question before your pipes cracked, I would have said you need to drain the water from your pipes immediately.
As it is, drain any that have yet to freeze - and leave all faucets open.
 
Jay cameron said:
How fast will water freeze when the outside temp has been -17C for 3 days and my generator blows up so now I don't have power to any pumps and the temp has dipped to -20C
My plant pumps 5700 GPM
5700 GPM seems rather a lot. I take it this isn't for your home.

How quickly water will freeze at X temperature is not an easy question to answer. You need to know the temperature of the water inside the pipe, what kind of pipe, is it insulated, how is the piping arranged, what sort of environmental conditions there are (besides the temperature), the whole schmeer.
 
SteamKing said:
How quickly water will freeze at X temperature is not an easy question to answer. You need to know the temperature of the water inside the pipe, what kind of pipe, is it insulated, how is the piping arranged, what sort of environmental conditions there are (besides the temperature), the whole schmeer.

And even then it is often much easier to measure than to calculate :wink: