Preparing for winter - will paraffin freeze in pipes?

[Pete_M]

I've been trying to figure it out with the aid of google but freezing point doesn't seem to be a property that's listed - maybe there isn't really a single freezing point?

So, do I need to drain pipes (from main tank to pressure tank, and pressure tank to Taylors cooker) of the stuff over winter? The boat will be out of the water in Torpoint, Cornwall, with no heating.

 

[sailorman]

Not likley to freeze. It can be added to diesel fuel in cold weather tomake it flow .

 

[aquaplane]

I doubt it.

Diesel waxes when it gets cold but I can't find anything to say that paraffin will.

If you are thinking about burst pipes, that's a wierd thing that water does, it's maximum density is 4°C so it's expanding as it freezes and keeps expanding, not a problem with most liquids.

 

[Caer Urfa]

I've been trying to figure it out with the aid of google but freezing point doesn't seem to be a property that's listed - maybe there isn't really a single freezing point?

So, do I need to drain pipes (from main tank to pressure tank, and pressure tank to Taylors cooker) of the stuff over winter? The boat will be out of the water in Torpoint, Cornwall, with no heating.

Hi Pete

I have had a Taylors 030 design oven for years and never had a problem with Paraffin freezing and I have been aboard in -14 C last winter.

When aboard in the winter I also use it as a heater with the oven door just set at 45 Degrees and all works fine.

Would I buy one? no, would I part with the one I have? No way!

Mike

 

[VicS]

I've been trying to figure it out with the aid of google but freezing point doesn't seem to be a property that's listed - maybe there isn't really a single freezing point?

So, do I need to drain pipes (from main tank to pressure tank, and pressure tank to Taylors cooker) of the stuff over winter? The boat will be out of the water in Torpoint, Cornwall, with no heating.[/QUOTE]
Best information I can find is that it starts to gel at around -20F !
As said it wont expand in the way water does so no problems which ever way you look at it

 

[charles_reed]

I've been trying to figure it out with the aid of google but freezing point doesn't seem to be a property that's listed - maybe there isn't really a single freezing point?

So, do I need to drain pipes (from main tank to pressure tank, and pressure tank to Taylors cooker) of the stuff over winter? The boat will be out of the water in Torpoint, Cornwall, with no heating.

It will in the Antarctic winter - 23 Kerosene does start waxing @ about -18C, my Finnish in-laws testify.

 

[theoldsalt]

Pete M,

If you want assurance, put some paraffin in a container and stick it in your domestic freezer to see if it freezes

 

[aquaplane]

Pete M,

If you want assurance, put some paraffin in a container and stick it in your domestic freezer to see if it freezes

As a chemist that just sounds so wrong, we never keep chemicals and food together, but thinking about it the chances of you coming to harm are slim to nonexistant. I wouldn't do it though, ingrained caution at work.

 

[simon barefoot]

I did some pyrotechnic displays at the Eden Project last Christmas, which involved soaking 20' high puppets in paraffin and making them dance whilst they burned. On the coldest couple of nights the paraffin did start to turn slushy, but I'm not sure if this was due to it having some water/snow/ice contamination. However, it still seemed to burn ok, the only times we had problems was when the wick material got wet.

 

[DownWest]

I did some pyrotechnic displays at the Eden Project last Christmas, which involved soaking 20' high puppets in paraffin and making them dance whilst they burned.

Politicians or Bankers?

 

[davidej]

It will in the Antarctic winter - 23 Kerosene does start waxing @ about -18C, my Finnish in-laws testify.

Antartic? Finnish?

I must concentrate more in my navigation classes!

 

[pappaecho]

Diesel starts to form a wax at -15-16 degrees C. Paraffin lower still. If the inside of you boat gets anywhere near that by the sea in Torquay we all have all got serious problems...
Even if the system waxes up it will not burst pipes like water, and will naturally re dissolve as soon as the temperatures rise.
Put simply dont worry about it

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Not likley to freeze. It can be added to diesel fuel in cold weather tomake it flow .

I remember years back, (whenliving near Benson S.Oxon, one of the coldest places in the south) my neighbour was a coach driver and regularly added a small amount of paraffin to the tank in the severest weather. I believe it can also harm the engine??
Hasn't diesel at the pump now got additives that put its waxing at a lower temperature?

However as/charles...... not seen too many -23deg temp's lately.

 

[VicMallows]

As a chemist that just sounds so wrong, we never keep chemicals and food together

Thought it was recommended practice to keep part-used tubes of SikaFlex in the freezer? .... now that smell would certainly turn me off the food.

Vic

 

[alan_d]

Even if the system waxes up it will not burst pipes like water, and will naturally re dissolve as soon as the temperatures rise.
Put simply dont worry about it

Much the same as your bottle of olive oil (except it doesn't need to be anything like as cold to turn waxy).

 

[macd]

I have a Wallas paraffin heater (works on similar principles to Eberspacher), made in Finland (where the penguins come from, according to Mr Reed?). The handbook suggests adding a small amount of isopropyl alcohol to the fuel if waxing becomes a problem in extreme cold. The UK importer suggests this is never necessary in UK conditions.

So:
1. as other posts have explained, it won't damage the pipes even if were to freeze, which it won't.
2. It will almost certainly continue to work at UK winter temperatures.

Neither of these worries me unduly in my present location.

 

[Pete_M]

Thanks everyone - could this be the first thread on the forum answered unanimously? I think I can skip the freezer step, especially since I'll have a live-in landlord


This attitude sounds similar to mine!

Would I buy one? no, would I part with the one I have? No way!
Mike