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City of Winnipeg
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Water and Waste Department

Frozen water pipes

Thawing Equipment

Electrical thawing equipment:

Hot water injection thawing equipment:

Electrical thawing equipment

DBH thawing machine illustration

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DBH Machine

The DBH thawing machine:

  • is CSA approved,
  • is no longer manufactured,
  • is a self-contained unit which is towed to the site where pipe thawing is required,
  • passes an electric current through the pipe to thaw the ice,
  • requires connection points on either side of the frozen pipe for electrical conductivity,
  • houses a generator, a transformer and connections for electric cables - one set of cables connect to one end of a pipe to be thawed and the other set of cables connect to the other end of the pipe to be thawed,
  • has a patented design that uses a computer system to monitor the current and automatically shuts off if there is any dangerous current loss into the house,
  • is capable of thawing large diameter and long lengths of water pipes.

DBH Machine

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KT200 machinesKT200

The KT200 machines:

  • are CSA approved,
  • are much smaller units than the DBH,
  • are typically effective at thawing shorter lengths of pipe.

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Hot water injection thawing equipment

These hot water thawing units insert a hose into one end of a frozen pipe (usually near the water meter inside the property) to inject heated water.

Hot water pulse jetting thawing machine illustration

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Pressure washer thawing machines - truck mounted and portable units

These machines:

  • were custom built by Water and Waste Department staff,
  • feature a high-pressure washer, hot water heater, enhanced plumbing fittings, closed loop water return system, and NSF certified hose
  • are the most powerful of the inventory of hot water injection thawing machines.

Pressure washer thawing machines - truck mounted and portable units

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KT200 machinesHot water pulse jetting thawing machines

These machines:

  • were manufactured by Magikist,
  • have typically only been effective at thawing shorter lengths of water pipe, and
  • have been custom enhanced by Water and Waste Department staff to boost their effectiveness at thawing longer portions of City water pipe.
Last updated: March 7, 2019