Is this practical?

My neighbor and I were talking the other day about the frozen pipes in
his shop. This is because he didn't insulate enough the pipes in the
walls and because it's only heated when he is working in it on the
weekends. Now, with the walls covered and with benches permanently
mounted he doesn't even want to consider trying to add more
insulation. As it is just repairing the split pipes will take him at
least 30 hours. He could drain the pipes but he forgot just once hence
the split pipes. He could also leave the water on but that would mean
pumping a lot of water out of the well. So I opened my big mouth and
suggested running a low voltage through the pipes to warm them up.
Like the way plumbers will do sometimes using a welder or similar
power supply. The power would be controlled by a thermostat. The pipe
is copper and is in an open loop. The pipe does go under a concrete
slab at one point for about 30 feet. The ground under the slab is dry
all year. So, could this be practical? Since the load is purely
resistive and the power source is AC can I just measure the voltage
and current to get watts just like a DC circuit?
Thanks,
Eric
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: water pipe insulation
    ... Any advice on what to ... am unfamiliar with under house necessities. ... If you decide to insulate the pipes: ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Okay, all the information...
    ... The pipes are 1/2" copper. ... This time of year the highs are about 55 and the lows are 40, so the cottage ... ago I actually started to insulate the pipes and add heat tape, ... The lines might break from some other reason. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Is this practical?
    ... This is because he didn't insulate enough the pipes in the ... with the walls covered and with benches permanently ... The power would be controlled by a thermostat. ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Is this practical?
    ... This is because he didn't insulate enough the pipes in the ... with the walls covered and with benches permanently ... The power would be controlled by a thermostat. ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: Is this practical?
    ... This is because he didn't insulate enough the pipes in the ... with the walls covered and with benches permanently ... The power would be controlled by a thermostat. ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
Loading