A wall faucet is disclosed which has an elongated section of a PEX tube inserted into the water inlet pipe of the wall faucet. The PEX tube is capable of expanding should there be water in the water inlet pipe during freezing temperatures thereby preventing the water inlet pipe from bursting.

A method for determining whether water contained within a water pipe system in a building is at risk of freezing is disclosed. The method is carried out by a detector device comprising a processor. The method comprises determining a plurality of pipe temperature measurements using a temperature sensor. The processor analyses the pipe temperature measurements to detect whether a water draw has occurred. An exterior building environment temperature is compared to a predetermined freeze alert threshold. If the processor detects that (i) a water draw has not occurred; and (ii) the indicative temperature of the exterior building environment is lower than the predetermined freeze alert threshold, an alert is transmitted.

A method for determining whether water contained within a water pipe system in a building is at risk of freezing is disclosed. The method is carried out by a detector device comprising a processor. The method comprises determining a plurality of pipe temperature measurements using a temperature sensor. The processor analyses the pipe temperature measurements to detect whether a water draw has occurred. An exterior building environment temperature is compared to a predetermined freeze alert threshold. If the processor detects that (i) a water draw has not occurred; and (ii) the indicative temperature of the exterior building environment is lower than the predetermined freeze alert threshold, an alert is transmitted.

A flow-regulating device is able to automatically prevent freezing of water within conduits. The flow-regulating device includes a water-tight manifold, a normally-closed flow-valve, a solenoid able to open the flow-valve, a thermal-sensor, and an electronic circuit. The manifold has a threaded hose-outlet, a drain-outlet, and an inlet. The flow-valve enables fluid to flow between the inlet and the drain-outlet when opened by the solenoid. The thermal-sensor produces a temperature-signal corresponding to an exterior-temperature and transmits the temperature-signal to the electronic circuit. The electronic-circuit produces a flow-signal based upon the temperature-signal when the temperature-signal drops below a temperature-threshold, and transmits the flow-signal to the solenoid, thereby opening the flow-valve when the exterior-temperature drops below a predetermined threshold. In this way, the system can be configured to automatically enable fluid flow through the device and associated conduit when the exterior-temperature drops below freezing, reducing the likelihood of pipes freezing during the winter.

The present invention introduced a method for detecting pipe bursts in water distribution systems based on pressure disturbance extraction, including following steps: (1) collecting and pre-processing monitored pressure data, and establishing a matrix of monitored pressures; (2) analyzing time-domain and frequency-domain features of the matrix of monitored pressures by Fourier transform, extracting disturbances, and generating pressure disturbances matrices; (3) identifying outliers in the pressure disturbances matrices by isolation forest algorithm; and (4) further identifying detected outliers by calculating and qualitative index A and quantitative index B and outputting a result of pipe burst detection. Compared with previous methods, the pipe burst detection method introduced in the present invention is accurate and reliable, and is more applicable to large-scale complex water distribution systems.

An automated thermally responsive valve with an internal reset function is disclosed. The cartridge latching mechanism can be retracted at a target temperature and manually reset at the target temperature to engage an ejector cap. The reset mechanism of the cartridge automatically returns to a latching configuration upon warming. The cartridge thermal actuator can be configured to retract the latching mechanism at a target temperature near freezing to provide a freeze protection drain valve that is ejected from a sealing element in the ejector cap and allows a fluid system to drain.

An automated thermally responsive valve with an internal reset function is disclosed. The cartridge latching mechanism can be retracted at a target temperature and manually reset at the target temperature to engage an ejector cap. The reset mechanism of the cartridge automatically returns to a latching configuration upon warming. The cartridge thermal actuator can be configured to retract the latching mechanism at a target temperature near freezing to provide a freeze protection drain valve that is ejected from a sealing element in the ejector cap and allows a fluid system to drain.

A hose/conduit clearing apparatus has an electric blower, a check valve, and a faucet coupler; the faucet coupler having a first end for threading to a faucet, a second end for threading to a conduit, and a blower connecting port wherein the blower is coupled to the blower connecting port via the check valve. The electric blower is preferably powered by one or more batteries and is activated automatically when reaching a predetermined temperature (e.g., 34 degrees Fahrenheit) or by a user toggling a switch.

A hose/conduit clearing apparatus has an electric blower, a check valve, and a faucet coupler; the faucet coupler having a first end for threading to a faucet, a second end for threading to a conduit, and a blower connecting port wherein the blower is coupled to the blower connecting port via the check valve. The electric blower is preferably powered by one or more batteries and is activated automatically when reaching a predetermined temperature (e.g., 34 degrees Fahrenheit) or by a user toggling a switch.

A prediction method for predicting freezing of a liquid flowing in a pipe of a liquid meter includes steps of: acquiring measurements of air temperature in the liquid meter; evaluating an air temperature prediction parameter and then, from the air temperature prediction parameter, evaluating a liquid temperature prediction parameter; using the liquid temperature prediction parameter to estimate a duration-to-freezing between a present instant and an instant at which the liquid risks freezing; and generating an alarm if the duration-to-freezing is less than a predetermined time threshold.