Why is water pouring out my light fixture?

[sorekiwi 761]

Today is the warmest day we've had all week, it actually got to about 30 degrees.

So why today do I suddenly have hot water pouring out of the light fixture?

I hate frikkin' winter. :dunno:

[JimD 3,347]

well, if you want cold water, turn the light off! :thumbs:

[jerrell 1]

:thumbs: that was perfect..

[linen beige 15]

well, if you want cold water, turn the light off!

Sounds like you had a frozen pipe that cracked while it was freezing. Now that it has thawed out you have a leak. I hope that isn't the case. :dunno:

[WHC-125 4]

Hope everything gets better :whistle:

[sorekiwi 761]

Sounds like you had a frozen pipe that cracked while it was freezing.

Yeah, No sh1t...

Think the plumbing part (pvc) is fixed, I wont know for sure till the morning when I turn the hot water back on (I want to let the goopy set up overnight). PITA.

Interesting thing was that I had to run to the hardware store to get some glue for the PVC. Little Mom and Pop "Do it Best" store that will probably shut down at any time due to not being able to compete with Lowes, Menards etc. The guy behind the counter told me I was the 6th person today with a burst pipe, and they had one burst at the store today too.

Guess I'll be playing with drywall tomorrow...

[Nick 13]

I thought most pvc glue dried about as fast as you put the parts together.

After Wal-Mart came to town then Lowes made plans to open also our local Mom and Pop Ace hardware said they would try to stay open. A short time later they gave up and closed before Lowes opened.

[linen beige 15]

I thought most pvc glue dried about as fast as you put the parts together.

Most PVC glues dry to a point beyond allowing you to handle them pretty quickly. Makes putting together large DWV piping LOADS of fun! BUT they don't "cure" for 24 hours or so. Put pressure on the joint before it's cured and you're back to square one. With another mess to clean up.

[BairleaFarm 340]

I know the feeling. I came home from a 4 day vacation with no water pressue and a river running through the basement. At least the sump kept up while I was away. Cant gett to the pipes either. :thumbs:

[HorseFixer 2,013]

BUT they don't "cure" for 24 hours or so.

1/2 Pipe in cold weather will cure 100% in 7 hrs. If that was a hot water pipe that caused water dripping thru the light it should be ran in CPVC not PVC. To learn more about plastic Pipe cure times click the link below.

Facts Of Plastic Cements

[sorekiwi 761]

The can actually states to allow "24 to 48 hours to fully cure". That wasnt going to happen, but I wanted to give it at least 8. In the past I have turned the water on after an hour, but this pipe is in the wall, behind a bath tub. I really dont want to have to get in there again...

So far so good, no raging torrent of water, and no drips so far...

On to patching some new drywall into the ceiling.

[oldandred 15]

Mike come on down here some of the schools have broken sprinkler pipes it hasnt been down to 0 for three days in years the good thing is NO SNOW

I heat with wood with no heat under the house so i turned on the oil sucker for a little wile each night Goodie goodie no frozen pipes :omg:

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Bummer Mike... I was hoping for you that it was only an ice damn or something simple. Sounds like it was easily repairable for you, hope it stays dry. Plumbing and I are not the best of friends.

[racer4 0]

Got three letters for that pvc glue problem---P E X. For those that haven't used it yet its awesome to work with. No glue, no torch, no glue drying time, no mess. The tool to crimp the fitting clamps is about 100 bucks, but with copper prices as high as they are it pays for itself on a small job. Many places are starting to carry the pipe and fittings. I was thawing pipes Friday morning, at night late, and again Sat night for different people. Luckily none broke.

[HorseFixer 2,013]

I have used every kinda pipe delivery system known to man for many many years. The only thing I care using any plastic pipe for is drains with no pressure..... Okay Okay I have used it on Airlines in the Duke "O" Minium Workshop but that is the only exception. On water lines I like using copper and I'm still a 50/50 guy and I don't worry about the lead because I have a Reverse Osmosis System hooked up to every drinking water spicket in the house.

You ask any plumber what they prefer and most all of them will say for longevity Copper. As far as the P.E.X system..... the Jury is still out on that.. Every time a new product hits the market everyone wants to jump ship, things need to be tested over time before I switch. Being a pipefitter for 30 years I go with a time tested product. Any product that is not installed properly will crack or burst. The waterline in question was not installed correctly sprinkler lines need to be installed in an area where they are not exposed to chilled air ie: attics etc. Why is there always time to do things right the second time? :whistle:

[Duff 206]

The waterline in question was not installed correctly sprinkler lines need to be installed in an area where they are not exposed to chilled air ie: attics etc. Why is there always time to do things right the second time?

Got to differ with you on this one, Duke-meister....or at least offer an alternate point of view.

Up here in the frozen north our new commerical buildings and, in some areas, new residential, are required to have sprinkler systems that cover every nook and cranny including attics and crawl spaces. Some of these aren't (and can't be) heated. The trick, then, is to use a "dry system" where the sprinkler lines are kept charged with low pressure air. This in turn holds against a big azz dump valve that, when a sprinkler head melts because of fire, causes the air pressure to escape almost instantly and releases the valve, flooding the system with water. The air pressure is maintained with a compressor system. When the system "trips", or even if the compressor loses its charge and allows the system to flood, it triggers an alarm. If the system floods without there being a fire and if it's properly designed, it's fairly quick and easy to drain before things freeze.

Now as to the plastic and copper debate, I'm with you 100%. Pretty hard to beat plastic for drains and copper for supply. (...oh, and black iron for sprinkler lines!)

...and the shop is looking FANTASTIC!!!!!!

Duff :whistle:

[HorseFixer 2,013]

[linen beige 15]

As far as the P.E.X system..... the Jury is still out on that.. Every time a new product hits the market everyone wants to jump ship, things need to be tested over time before I switch.

PEX is fairly new to use as supply lines, mostly because of the slow nature of code updating. It has been around for several years, used mostly in radiant heat settings. Being flexible, it takes a freeze much better than CPVC or copper.

It is starting to make a big showing in this area because of it's faster installation times/ saved labor costs.

But I still like copper for supply/ PVC for DWV.