![]() Copper absorbs heat from the sun and keeps things warm enough to prevent frost, apparently. It’s basically a stick of copper tubing with a “T” fitting at the top. I’ve also seen a product sold to help prevent frost closure, called a Sewer Skewer. The photos below show how this looks in real life. Many old-school plumbers in Minneapolis and Saint Paul knew about this problem, and it was common for old houses to have vents that were significantly increased in size before penetrating the roof, just to help prevent the vents from getting blocked by frost. As you can see from the photos above, this isn’t necessarily a formula for success. That’s all the code is a minimum requirement. Keep in mind, however, that this is the minimum requirement. Here in Minnesota, the smallest size vent that can penetrate the roof surface is 2″, according to Minnesota Plumbing Code section 4715.2530, Subp.2. The tried-and-true method of preventing plumbing vents from getting blocked with frost is to increase the size of the vent before it protrudes through the roof. I’ve included several photos here to show that all types of vents can be subject to frost closure, given the right weather conditions. It wasn’t completely blocked with frost… yet.Īs the frost keeps accumulating with very cold temperatures, eventually the vents get completely blocked with frost, which prevents them from ‘venting’. This next photo shows a 4″ cast iron vent pipe at a multi-family home in Saint Paul. Frost was just beginning to form at the top, and could actually be seen from the ground. ![]() This is a 3″ steel vent pipe at an old house in Minneapolis. This first photo shows how the frost begins to form. I previously wrote about why houses need plumbing vents, which should help to explain why this stuff matters. The problem is that plumbing vents can get completely blocked shut with frost when it’s very cold outside for a long period of time. When there’s a long period of sub-zero temperatures in Minnesota, plumbing vents often stop working.
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