I recently purchased a hobby farm (I'm in MN) and have a water shutoff valve (not a hydrant) in the barn. I'm quite ignorant about plumbing stuff so here is my scenario. A 3/4" galvanized pipe rises about 12" vertically out of the cement, then makes a 90 degree turn to a 5" long horizontal run with a shutoff valve at the end. I put some pipe insulation on and also some straw around it to try to insulate it. I attempted to open the valve this morning but is stuck so I'm thinking it is already frozen shut. Is this a disaster waiting to happen? Or as long as I don't need the water source, can it just stay like this over winter?
thanks, Thaddeus