Why Freeze Miser is Superior Freeze Protection
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Here in San Antonio, we just had our first serious freeze for the season. I looked at the weather app, and Houston got hit with some exciting weather, too. So, how do you weatherize your outdoor faucets? About four years ago, I was introduced to a different type of freeze protection. I remember when Jeff came and showed me his Freeze Miser device. I know I had a puzzled look on my face when he told me how it worked. I just worried about trusting my pipes to such a simple-looking device. But that year is when we had that awful snowstorm. And the only faucet I didn’t use a Freeze Miser on broke, and I had to turn my water off during that storm. Since then, I only used Freeze Miser; I will never use another Styrofoam or plastic faucet cover for outdoor faucets.
Freeze Miser is not a new product. In fact, it’s 20 years old. You just didn’t see it much except in the cattle and dairy industry. But five years ago, they started branching out to the retail customer. Now you see them advertised everywhere. They are US-wide, and I expect they will go global soon. And the great part is that they are still a family-owned business here in Texas. Yes, in Texas. So, if you are not familiar, let me tell you why protecting your outdoor faucets with Freeze Miser is the safest.
Why does a Freeze Miser protect your faucets? Freeze Miser has thermal wax on the inside of the device. When the water temperature drops in the pipe, the wax will shrink and allow Freeze Miser to drip. Do you remember when your dad would go outdoors during freezing weather and let the outdoor faucets drip? That is the concept. Flowing water will protect your pipes. Protecting them from expanding and then bursting the pipe.
But how much water needs to drip? That’s the great part about Freeze Miser. It will drip the minimum amount, even during extended freezing weather. Never wasting water. Just keeping your pipes safe. Installing a Freeze Miser is easy. Can you attach a garden hose to your faucet? You hand-tighten the Freeze Miser on each outdoor faucet. If you are placing it on a hose, keep Freeze Miser off the ground. This will ensure that Freeze Miser senses only the water temperature in the hose. Now, this is important, after installing Freeze Miser. turn the water supply valve to a full-open position. The water must be on for Freeze Miser to drip.
Freeze Miser then will start dripping and protecting your faucet and pipes when the WATER TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 37 DEGREES. So, if we get a quick freeze and then the temperature comes right back up, Freeze Miser might not need to drip. Freeze Miser doesn’t react to air temperature; it only reacts to water temperature. And the longer and colder the weather, the more Freeze Miser will drip. You can use Freeze Miser on your outdoor faucet, RV, water well, outdoor hoses, and back flow sprinklers. And when you install Freeze Miser, you don’t have to install all the pipe insulation. Freeze Miser also protects the pipes right behind the faucet. Do you have a faucet that is in the middle of the yard? I would only trust a Freeze Miser.
Freeze Miser is not the cheapest freeze protection to install, that is for sure. But it’s the most dependable and water-conservative protection. Remember when I said I had one pipe that I did not install a freeze miser on that snowy year, and that’s the one that broke. And I had insulated well, but when you are talking day after day of freezing weather, it just wasn’t enough. Water was shooting everywhere. It really was horrific. It was so cold, we had no heat, and then I had to go outside and try find my water shutoff. Which, under a foot of snow, was impossible to find. In fact, here is a little tip: place a sprinkler flag in the hole in your water shut-off so you can find it if it snows. If you don’t have a water cut-off key, go get one and keep it where you know you can find it.
If we get extended cold weather, keep the house heat on and open the cabinets doors under the sinks. It would not hurt to drip the inside faucets.