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How to Build an Electric Pipe-Thawing Machine

When you have frozen water pipes under your mobile home or in a crawl space, you have many options available to thaw the pipes. One option is to rig your own space heater. A coil of wire is heated with electricity to make the heater. To do this, you will need a battery that you can use to heat the wires.

Things You'll Need

Electrical wire
Tape measure
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
26-gauge bare electrical wire
Alligator clips
10-inch porcelain tube
Ceramic plate
9-volt battery

Instructions

- 1
  Measure a 24-inch length of the electrical wire with the tape measure. Cut the wire to this length using the wire cutters. Repeat this step to cut a second 24-inch wire.
- 2
  Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from each end of the wires with the wire cutters. Attach an alligator clip to the end of each wire.
- 3
  Wind the 25-gauge bare electrical wire around the porcelain tube to make a coil. Leave 1 inch of wiring on both ends of the porcelain tube.
- 4
  Wrap the steel wool around the wire on the porcelain tube. Place the porcelain tube on a ceramic plate.
- 5
  Place the ceramic plate under the frozen pipe. Attach the alligator clips on one end of the electrical wire to the ends of the wire coil.
- 6
  Attach the alligator clips on the other end of the electrical wire to the positive and negative terminals on the 9-volt battery. You will begin to see the steel wool heat up as electricity is sent through the wires.

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