This old house does not have enough insulation so I'm worried about the pipes freezing as this deep freeze comes in Tuesday. Usually I would let the water run, but being a parsimonious old fart, I really hate that solution. So I did that thing that I often complain other people don't do, I looked it up. This article suggests that I have been thinking about it all wrong. Short and sweet version after the page break.
www.weather.com
So my new understanding is that the pipes do not necessarily break where the ice forms. If ice does form it puts pressure on the remaining downstream water (hydraulics) and it will find the weakest section to burst out. So they suggest closing the main valve and opening all the faucets. Less water to freeze and no pressure build up because the system is now open.
Well I'm going with it because it's easy and cheap, just like me. My only doubts lie in the fact that there will still be some water in the pipes which could still freeze and while that might not cause damage, it would still leave us without water. Hmm, does anyone have any experience with this method?
(It's not my house; so tell the landlord about insulation, not me.)