Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to the most common questions we receive. If you have a question and don't see the answer below, please don't hesitate to contact us!

Important for first time users:

1. After you purchase your Freeze Miser and it is exposed to air temperature of 37°F or less for more than 15 minutes prior to attaching to faucet, hose or float valve. The Freeze Miser may start releasing as soon as you turn the water on. DO NOT PANIC - reason being is the activation median is exposed to the air and will start to crystalize and allow the valve to start to open. Simply allow the water from your water source to run through the Freeze Miser. It may take a few minutes, but the warmer water will de-crystalize the median and allow the rod to shut. At this point, the Freeze Miser will activate on water temperature from that point on.

2. If you take the Freeze Miser off the faucet and forget to put it back on. Just remember if the air temperature dips below 37°F or less and you go back to put it on your faucet it may already be in the open position, so allow the water to run through it and it will then adjust back to the required drip once the water warms the median back up.

3. When taking the Freeze Miser off your water source, make sure when you put it back on you turn the water back on.

Installation of the Freeze Miser requires threading to a faucet, hose, or another device securely and opening the water supply valve to full open. Check to ensure that the Freeze Miser connection to the device is secure, and no seepage is around the threads. If placed on the end of a hose, the Freeze Miser should be off the ground enough not to sense any temperature feedback other than the hose water temperature.

If exposed to ambient air below 37°F/3°C before actual installation, the Freeze Miser may be in the open position. The Freeze Miser will immediately release water after the initial installation and continue discharging water for 2-5 until sensing the water temperature being released. After this self-adjustment, the Freeze Miser will release water below 37°F/3°C to protect the exposed piping and/or faucet from freezing.

The Freeze Miser will only protect the supply piping furnishing water directly to the Freeze Miser. A pipe that is an offshoot of the same pipe or hose offers no protection because there is no way to purge the water as it approaches freezing temperatures. Each faucet requires a Freeze Miser for freeze prevention.

We recommend yearly testing of the Freeze Miser before installation. Place the Freeze Miser in the freezer for an hour, remove and quickly install on an outdoor faucet. Turn the water supply valve to a fully open position. Water discharges thru the Freeze Miser at a maximum rate for 2-5 minutes. The Freeze Miser will automatically close the water release port until the water temperature falls below 37°F/3°C. The Freeze Miser will only resume the drip rate’s autoregulation if the water temperature drops below 37°F/3°C.

Many factors contribute to the water release rate and include ambient air temperature, length of pipe protected, supply water temperature at the source, etc. After installation, the Freeze Miser is water temperature-sensitive, releasing water that is 37°F/3°C or less, even if the ambient air temperature does not reflect the water’s temperature.NOTE: As the water temperature fluctuates, the Freeze Miser automatically regulates the drip-rate.

Many customers use the Freeze Miser to protect their hose from freezing.

The Freeze Miser will protect up to 150Ft, of hose or pipe from freezing in the most extreme freezing conditions.

Customers have reported satisfactory results with much colder than -20°F ambient air temperatures.

The Freeze Miser doesn’t sense your air temperature, it senses the water temperature. When the WATER TEMP FALLS BELOW 37°F it will activate. The coldest recorded that we know of is -45°F with windchill. -35°F without on 150 ft of hose.

It will not. A hose or pipe branched off the main pipe protected by the Freeze Miser has no freeze protection because the water released by the Freeze Miser is not released from that portion of the piping. For freeze protection, that piping requires a Freeze Miser at the discharge end also.

Yes, as the piping systems to your indoor faucet are off different supply lines and the Freeze Miser can’t support those supply lines. The Freeze Miser only protects what you have it on the end of.

Ambient air temperature of say 28°F may take a while to chill the water within the Freeze Miser to its activation temperature of just under 37°F/3°C.

The Freeze Miser, once installed, will ONLY ACTIVATE when the WATER TEMPERATURE FALLS BELOW 37°F.

Many reasons factor into the difference, including windchill, shade, length of piping exposed etc.

The actual groundwater temperature, before being exposed to ambient air at the surface, can make a substantial difference in the water the Freeze Miser will release, all other factors being the same, i.e. Air temperature, wind, etc. With groundwater temperature of 55°F – 65°F the Freeze Miser will release less water than if groundwater is 45°F. It is possible that if the ambient air temperature is above 37°F/3°C, the Freeze Miser may still release water because the water it is sensing is less than 37°F/3°C.

No, there is not an adjustment mechanism on the Freeze Miser. To adjust will void the warranty.

If the Freeze Miser fails, it falls back to its “fail-safe” mode, which means it will continuously release water above 37°F/3°C. This would ensure that your faucet/hose is still protected in a freezing situation, and after it is evident that it not cold, you have notification that it needs replacing.

The Freeze Miser should be horizontal or vertical, with the small brass end pointed downward in the upright position.

Yes, and it will protect the faucet, but not protect the hose on the other outlet. Either take the hose off or put another Freeze Miser on the hose end and make sure both valves on the Y and the faucet are all opened.

Yes, and the Freeze Miser requires at least 10 PSI water pressure. This ensures that when the Freeze Miser opens to allow 37°F/3°C water to be released, there is enough water pressure to release as required.

Based on potential water quality problems, i.e., rust, scale, sand, or other impurities, it may be necessary at regular intervals to check the Freeze Miser for this issue. After removing the Freeze Miser, look inside the threaded end for anything visible. Wipe with a cloth, blow out with air, and if satisfied, it is clean, reinstall. If the particulate matter is wedged between the stainless-steel rod and the seals, subject the Freeze Miser to ice water until the stainless-steel rod is recessed away from the seal. Immediately place on an outdoor faucet and open the valve allowing the pressured water to flush any additional particulate from the Freeze Miser.