Keeping the Pipes Unfrozen-HELP!

[mommabear207]

bare with me while i explain the situation (sorry it takes so long)
i live in a small old mobile home we have copper pipes running the length-hot water tank at one end running under the tub through the laundry room into the dining room into kitchen. for some reason the hot water freezes right as it comes out from under the tub. the bathroom sink comes off before that an is fine. the kitchen sink won't work first followed by the tub (if i can get the tub to run it will heat the pipe up enough to get the kitchen to work with intensive thawing. we've been struggling with this for 2 previous winters. this year there is even less space thanks to an added washer/dryer and over head hanger rod (we're really space challenged!) and i'm 81/2 months pregnant. i usually end up squeezing myself into a tiny space behind the water tank with a hairdryer listening for the sound of running water and praying a pipe didn't burst. THAT happened last year! We barely managed to fix it and while we were down there we added some insulation between the side of the house and the pipes and also that tube insulation that goes directly around the pipes. we also usually run a small space heater as close as possible to the pipes. its definitely cold under there but now with everything so close together and the added insulation i let the space heater run in the middle of the room pointing that way for fear of burning ourselves out of house and home. so after squeezing myself back there again today i've had it! oh and we leave the faucet dripping at night (in the hope that the pressure will be relieved enough not to burst a pipe even if the water does freeze). anyone have any ideas! please! i am not really a contortionist and if the pipes do burst i'll be filling up jugs in town for months which is something i really don't need to be adding to my daily struggles.....

[Alyantavid]

We do insulation and a space heater in our pump house. Our old pump had a heater somehow connected that we just had to plug in. Well that went out and the new pump doesn't have one.

[SleeplessMommy]

I think you need to insulate the belly - some useful info here:

http://www.weatherization.org/mobilehomeenergytips.htm

If you meet the Maine income guidelines, you can get that done for free:
http://www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMS...x?ProgramID=49

[rainyday]

It's possible to get a product called heat tape. This is something that you wrap around the pipes and it gently heats the pipe to keep it from freezing. There are some types available that essentially have a thermostat so that they only kick on when the temperature is below a certain point. There are some important things to be careful of when installing it to avoid fires, so if you do it, be sure to read the instructions carefully. Here's some information about heat tape.

[mommabear207]

thanks for the replies but...
we do have heat tape-but it has to be on the waterline coming in the house. it would be way too much for the little copper pipe, plus the indoor conditions violate almost all the preventing fire guidelines
by belly do you mean the underside of the trailer/ if so that is insulated too as well as the side of trailer walls.it does get pretty cold here. and we went to liheap too and we do qualify however the funds are so limited that it usually take years (like5) to get to my town and then someone ranks how much we need help compared to others and then...we might get help. we're 3 years in so heres hoping!
any other ideas?

[SleeplessMommy]

Belly = underside

You may be able to find a mobile home weatherization person on your own ($$$) There is some "trick" to fixing cold air leaking into the belly. (That cold air replaces warm air escaping through leaks at the ceiling level. So even fixing ceiling level cracks may decrease chances of frozen pipes. )

You mobile home will have factory-installed insulation in the belly. It is very likely to be inadequate. The "pros" may do blown-in cellulose insulation in the belly, which would decrease drafts and pipe freezing. :::

[~PurityLake~]

subbing cause my pipes are freezing on and off the past week. At least the one time we ran out of water was the landlord's fault, not our pipes, but still... We've had no hot water all day today and my husband had the space heater aimed right at the pipes leading from the hot water heater to the tub. The tub has no water. It is always the first one to freeze up. I don't know why since it is the closest to the water heater, in fact, the pipes between the two are only 3 feet, even though the tub is in fact within 1 foot of the water heater. The toilet is still filling and we still have water in the bathroom sink and kitchen sink, but it's very : cold water, no heat at all.

[mommabear207]

i dunno if this will help anybody else but things have been going well so far since I put up a thick curtain in front of the doorway to the laundry room -which is where the pipes come out from under the tub and freeze. this traps the hot air from the floor vent plus i have a small space heater that i turn on to fan and point so that its blowing warm air from the room under the tub and if its really cold i turn it up so it blows hot air -otherwise the air coming out from there is cold. i'm also keeping the faucet dripping just in case.