Help! A plumbing diagnosis?

Gaer

Gaer

"Angel whisperer"
Location
New Mexico U.S.A.
Times like this,I wish I had an intelligent man with me to help out!
There was a sudden, severe temperature drop yesterday afternoon. It went from mid 60's to 10 below. There is a wind chill warning through today and it can go to 25 below.
I have no hot water since yesterday afternoon.
My questions are:
If the pilot light went out in my water heater, I would still have running water from the hot water faucet, only it would be cold, Is that correct?
So, It would have to be either the pipe under the house from the water heater to the bathroom/kitchen is BROKEN or it is FROZEN, Is that correct?

i have the faucets open and cold water trickling all night from the cold water side, and can heat for spit baths, etc. so all I should do is wait a few days to see if the ice melts as the temperature warms? I don't want to crawl under the house in all the snow and don't want to have a plumber do that either.
Would you say, with the sudden drop, it's most likely frozen and needs to thaw slowly?
Any advice from someone who might know would be sincerely appreciated! Thank you!
 

Gaer, If you have no dripping at all the water pipe is frozen. If the pilot light is out on the hot water tank then you would have plenty of water pressure but it would be cold. Briefly turn the hot water off and see if you have any dripping on the cold water side then turn the hot water back on. You can PM me if I can help you through this.
 
If you have good water flow, the pipes should be OK....if not, your pipes are probably frozen. If the problem is lack of hot water, the problem is with your water heater....no pilot light, etc.
 

It needs to thaw slowly and hopefully you won't have any busted pipes. In order to have hot water coming out of a water heater, there has to be cold water going into it to create the pressure needed to push that hot water out. Hope that made sense. Your cold water line to hot water heater is probably froze.
 
Gaer said:
Times like this,I wish I had an intelligent man with me to help out!
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Well, I'm not a man nor all that intelligent;) ...but I can google like the best of them! :giggle:(y)
Try Bob Vila...he had his own Home Improvement TV show on PBS and well respected. Here's the link:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/pilot-light-out/
He's age 74, smart, and attractive....we should invite him here ❤️
 
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If you own this home and are planning on staying there, next summer it could be worth investing in some heat tape for the pipes.

Lara said:
Try Bob Vila...he has his own Home Improvement TV show on PBS and well respected.
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I didn’t realize that Bob Vila was still doing shows. Years ago he was one of my favourites.
 
Oh. Then change my "has" to "had"....but it doesn't change the online access we have still have to his Home Improvement Newsletter dated 2020 where this info came from. He's still alive and active.
 
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It seems odd that you have cold water still running but not hot. Those pipes would be in close proximity I would think. You only let the cold run overnight I'm guessing but not the hot. I would leave the hot open a little now to allow any flow once it thaws if frozen.
 
Hey! Chet and Squatting dog put my mind at ease! Just keep my hot water lines open just a little to allow for expansion after I let it have a slow thaw! Not my water heater! That's a relief!
I still have cold water so I'm fine!
Thanks guys!
 
Gaer said:
Hey! Chet and Squatting dog put my mind at ease! Just keep my hot water lines open just a little to allow for expansion after I let it have a slow thaw! Not my water heater! That's a relief!
I still have cold water so I'm fine!
Thanks guys!
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Stay warm @Gaer ! hope it all works out for you.

Sounds like you are dealing with the same cold blast that has come to Texas now. .. It's been an interesting 24 hours so far around here.
So much of Texas is dealing with power outages - about one million in SE Texas alone today ... power grid issues.
And people can't go anywhere as all roads are icy. Walking is a problem too, with snow on top of ice.

I haven't heard about pipes bursting in this unusually cold weather yet, but I'm sure there are many.
 
Bonnie said:
Stay warm @Gaer ! hope it all works out for you.

Sounds like you are dealing with the same cold blast that has come to Texas now. .. It's been an interesting 24 hours so far around here.
So much of Texas is dealing with power outages - about one million in SE Texas alone today ... power grid issues.
And people can't go anywhere as all roads are icy. Walking is a problem too, with snow on top of ice.

I haven't heard about pipes bursting in this unusually cold weather yet, but I'm sure there are many.
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Well, You stay warm too!
 
Lara said:
Well, I'm not a man nor all that intelligent;) ...but I can google like the best of them! :giggle:(y)
Try Bob Vila...he had his own Home Improvement TV show on PBS and well respected. Here's the link:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/pilot-light-out/
He's age 74, smart, and attractive....we should invite him here ❤️
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That’s perfectly fine Lara. Women can be just as capable of fixing and / or repairing house problems as a man.
 
Keesha said:
That’s perfectly fine Lara. Women can be just as capable of fixing and / or repairing house problems as a man.
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Oh, I said that tongue in cheek, I know women are capable of home improvements...I know because I have a daughter who is one of them. She's trim, young,

Just one example...for decades I had various plumbers come to fix my running toilets even though I had them replace 2 of the 4. My daughter came to live with me for 8 months. She fixed the toilets...no recurring issues. She continued fixing every problem under the sun and even doing renovations for selling the house.
 

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