Just about any length I think. IIRC theres a knob on there to control the amount of heat so the longer the pipe the more you turn it up. Be careful though, you don't want it so hot you melt the solder.
I'd call around all the local plumbers and see who has one. Somebody should.
If'n there's water (or ice) in the pipe, you can't get it hot enough to melt the solder. Ever tried soldering a pipe that has had water in it? What a pain. You have to get *all* the water out to heat it.
In the "old days" you'd simply hook up a portable electric (gas or diesel powered) welder to the line and run it 'til the water flowed. A 400-amp unit will thaw a long water line.
Note: don't use a welder on a plastic line; it doesn't work.
jb
I understand why your boss was pissed. Sometimes the bread gets all carbonized & plugs up the spigots, causing all sorts of more work*. The time spent to get the water out the pipe is well worth it.
I know what you're saying but it wasn't possible, the shutoff valve was leaking so it was continously dripping and we would have had to shut the whole building down which was a major expedition. Sometimes you just got to take a chance. Screw him, I quit a few weeks later.
It is not unheard of for air infiltration to freeze pipes in unexpected places. I would look for some place with a cold wall that you would not expect. you would need to take steps to prevent cold outside air from getting to the pipes.
My biggest problem is that I can't figure out anywhere that it would make sense for a pipe to freeze. The most obvious place (bathroom adjacent to exterior wall) has plenty of running water. It is the rest of the house (downstream from that bathroom) that is without.
I've been going on the assumption that this is a frozen pipe problem. Is it possible that there is something else?
If the pipe was frozen when you closed, did the seller disclose that? Have you gone to your real estate agent to see if there's any recourse to have the seller fix the issue?
My agent doesn't think there is any recourse as the home was bought with an "as is where is" clause. I had a home inspector out a couple weeks before we closed, but the weather was warmer then.
Not a problem, I will need your address to forward the bill for the consultation though
I'd do it on a per-post basis.
Brad