[Red Lion]

Haven't been on the forums in a long time! But I had a question and wanted to ask the most intelligent people I know on this subject.

My scenario: I rent a garage, and I've got some plumbing pipes (some pvc, some copper) that can freeze in the shop. The shop is terribly drafty, and it doesn't keep out much cold, so when it's 32 out, it'll be 32 inside within an hour.

The overhead pipes are covered in an "electric blanket" covering that, when plugged in, keeps the pipes warm. These pipes run down to the bathroom, which is closed off and keeps heat very well inside (more so than the rest of the drafty shop). These pipes are uncovered, but again, are "insulated" by the bathroom. It'll usually be 5-10 degrees warmer in the bathroom than the rest of the shop.


The problem: I turn the heat on at night on a timer, to keep them warm, set for about an hour after the temps go down from 32 until the morning an hour before it goes up past 32. My electric bills tend to go up around $60 a month during the three months of winter JUST to keep those pipes from freezing. I'd like to better insulate them or replace them with better material, but again I rent this shop, and it's on me to heat them.


My question:
Can I pulse and glide the heaters? I can set the timer for the heat to be on for an hour, or 30 minutes, then stop, then come back on, then stop, etc. Would this keep the water from freezing?

I know a lot of this has to do with mathematics, such as how much water is in the pipes, if it's moving (a slow drip, etc), what type of material the pipes are, how thick it is, time that the temp is below 32, etc. But if I heated them for 30 min, stopped the heater, 30 more min, stopped, would it keep them from freezing? And would it significantly cut the electric bill?

Thank you all.