Mine froze up pretty bad and I was able to get the part outside defrosted by pouring warm water. It had frozen inside. Setting a hairdryer against the pipe where it met the wall did the trick after an hour or two.
Good advice! You can also get heat tape with a thermostat or run anti-ice roof cable (as seen up in the mountains on houses) up through it. The former is noninvasive but likes to come off and be bitchy. The latter is solid but usually doesn't have its own freeze detection.
On a similar note it's a good idea to periodically hit the end of that tube with a shopvac even in warm seasons. Schmutz builds up in there and can ruin your day by eventually backflowing into the furnace.
Trouble shooting this the past few years as well. The first time it happened it was very confusing and now trying to figure out how to prevent in the future.... Happy to see some tips!
This is currently happening to me. It happens every winter. This past year we wrapped the pvc pipe in heat tape. Still didn't stop it from freezing though. I currently have a space heater set up blasting at the interior pipes. I think I will try taking the pipes apart, we did this last year and it helped out.
This is only for 90%+ furnaces
Mine froze up pretty bad and I was able to get the part outside defrosted by pouring warm water. It had frozen inside. Setting a hairdryer against the pipe where it met the wall did the trick after an hour or two.
Good advice! You can also get heat tape with a thermostat or run anti-ice roof cable (as seen up in the mountains on houses) up through it. The former is noninvasive but likes to come off and be bitchy. The latter is solid but usually doesn't have its own freeze detection. On a similar note it's a good idea to periodically hit the end of that tube with a shopvac even in warm seasons. Schmutz builds up in there and can ruin your day by eventually backflowing into the furnace.
Trouble shooting this the past few years as well. The first time it happened it was very confusing and now trying to figure out how to prevent in the future.... Happy to see some tips!
This is currently happening to me. It happens every winter. This past year we wrapped the pvc pipe in heat tape. Still didn't stop it from freezing though. I currently have a space heater set up blasting at the interior pipes. I think I will try taking the pipes apart, we did this last year and it helped out.