How's Everybody Dealing With This?

[farmersammm]

I know it's not welding, but I figured it would be seen better here. Apologies up front.



We're simply not used to single digit temperatures here in OK, and our wells are not set up for it.

I have less than adequate heat tape on the system. No insulation on the well house. And just plain ol' have a mess right now

Used the heat gun to thaw the nipple for the pressure switch, and she kicked back on. I'm sure that the nipple is almost completely blocked by rust. It gets this way about every 3 years. So, I'm thinking that even running the water wasn't enough to keep such a small volume of static water warm enough to keep it from freezing. The pressure switch is the only part of the system that doesn't flow like the supply pipes, so it has to be warmed by the water below in the supply pipe.

I need a new nipple when this is over, but for now I'm using a small ceramic space heater in the well house to keep this area warm. It's working fine so far. We have about 4 more days of this crap.

And, you can bet I ordered some more heat tape

Was a bit scary. This well not only supplies the house, it also supplies the cattle in the drylot.

[VaughnT]

Firstly, get a pool noodle and stick it around all that PVC pipe. Even with heat tape on parts, the heat isn't being kept close to what needs to be heated since you don't have a hint of insulation anywhere. Wrapping the big tank with insulating blanket is also a good idea. The more you trap the warmth in, the better the whole system will run. Insulation is your friend.

If you have a problem with ants and such, you can always put bunches of Borax around the inside of the enclosure. Most every insect hates borax enough that they won't try making homes in your insulation.

[Louie1961]

Sam a normal setup in New England is deep enough that everything is below the frost line. The well, and the piping are typically outdoors of course. But the waterline leading into the house, the pressure tank and the 3 wire control head are in doors and normally not at risk of freezing

[VaughnT]

If you can remove the green cover housing, it'll make it easier to line it with rigid foam insulation. A few dabs of silicone caulk will hold the sheets of insulation to the plastic body well enough, but you can opt for construction adhesive if you like. It doesn't take much to stick the insulation in place.

If you're a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy, you might think about running a regular ol' mechanic's drop light. A 60w bulb puts off a very nice bit of warmth in a small enclosure like that. And, it can be a very handy thing to simply leave there if you can hardwire it into the system somehow. You never know when you'll need to check on things in the middle of the night, and it's nice to have a light handy.



Between that and the insulation, you'll be in good shape for many winters to come!

[Hobbytime]

in the north east all that plumbing and tank are inside the house and the pitless adapter is 6 to 7 ft below grade( below the frost line)...best thing you can do is what vaughnT suggested, insulate the well house and I would use both a light bulb and heat tape so if either one burns out you still have a heat source..redundancy is the trick to no frozen water lines..if you want to get real fancy you can get a cheap temp prob for inside the well house and put the readout end in your house so you can monitor the temp inside the well house and if it starts to drop you have fair warning to go out and fix before it freezes..

[Zimm]

Dealt with similar issues in my first house, about 40 years ago. Heat lamps helped a lot, as did running a bit of water.

Worst thing that happened to me was when there were several days of below zero weather. The pump and tank were in a shed, protected by a box. Lamp was inside, but on the opposite side of the pressure switch. The 1/4 line to the pressure switch froze while the pump was running. I got lucky because I was checking things every so often by turning the water full on. I noticed the pressure was really good. Thought WTF? Checked the pump and it was at about 75 psi vs a 45 psi cut off. Thawed the line with a lighter, repositioned the lamp and got through the night.

Hated that set up and was glad to be shed of that dump of a house.

[Leogl]

Supplies are probably limited by now but I would get a heat lamp under that enclosure get some blanket insulation and wrap that pressure tank close the enclosure put some styrofoam around the outside then if you have any straw bales put them around the outside to keep wind off of it open the spigots and let them drip if it is already froze it will take awhile

-26 here this morning

[Popeye an old miner]

Got no troubles here at the house and fortunately never have had any. It not too cold here this last cold snap we had lowest was 8 the other morning and goes up to about 25 or so til the afternoon. I been havin more trouble keepin my fingers warm but hey they can go numb at 50 degrees, bad circulation i guess

Hopefully this weather soon breaks but I know better we will get some subzero days before its all over. Temperature wise its been pretty mild this winter, but we got a bit more snow than usual

[M J D]

Negative 19 here now. When I was a kid we had a few of the cattle waterers that sat on a concrete slab. Metal enclosure with styrofoam insulation. The bowl portion was electrically heated and there was an outlet inside the lower base. From about mid October to April heat tape was always plugged in and the colder months a 150 watt heat lamp bulb was also used. I can't recall that freezing up , but spigots inside the barn freezing on occasion. Anyways, the high density foam insulation goes a long ways with a little heat source. A insulated enclosure that is partially set down into the soil will go a long ways. For extra effect banking it with hay, straw or even snow will further help with freezing.

[Hobbytime]

Negative 19 here now. When I was a kid we had a few of the cattle waterers that sat on a concrete slab. Metal enclosure with styrofoam insulation. The bowl portion was electrically heated and there was an outlet inside the lower base. From about mid October to April heat tape was always plugged in and the colder months a 150 watt heat lamp bulb was also used. I can't recall that freezing up , but spigots inside the barn freezing on occasion. Anyways, the high density foam insulation goes a long ways with a little heat source. A insulated enclosure that is partially set down into the soil will go a long ways. For extra effect banking it with hay, straw or even snow will further help with freezing.

the bad side effects of surrounding a heated spot with bails of hay....RATS.....especially if you have a food supply for them..

[Louie1961]

Samm, I am sure you have the equipment, so when winter is over why not put the pressure tank and control head inside the house and put all the waterlines below frost level? I don't think it can be all that difficult.

[M J D]

the bad side effects of surrounding a heated spot with bails of hay....RATS.....especially if you have a food supply for them..

Yes, but up north we tend to do stuff in a more permanent fashion. More work up front but much better long term. Good enough is only good until it isn't. I had done work in the past in more southern states and have seen enough half asz stuff to reinforce my do it right the first time approach. Underground lines put in a foot deep at the most is only asking for trouble.

[rexcormack]

Yes, but up north we tend to do stuff in a more permanent fashion. More work up front but much better long term. Good enough is only good until it isn't. I had done work in the past in more southern states and have seen enough half asz stuff to reinforce my do it right the first time approach. Underground lines put in a foot deep at the most is only asking for trouble.

It doesn't stay cold enough long enough down here to have frost lines.
A foot deep is plenty.

[Hobbytime]

Yes, but up north we tend to do stuff in a more permanent fashion. More work up front but much better long term. Good enough is only good until it isn't. I had done work in the past in more southern states and have seen enough half asz stuff to reinforce my do it right the first time approach. Underground lines put in a foot deep at the most is only asking for trouble.

the line to where its going isnt the issue, if you have a mobile home, lots of them in the cold north, the piping underneath the mobile home is the issue, so many wrap the perimeter with hay bails rather than spend $$ doing it the proper way with insulated skirting..you gota think redneck engineering and cheap for many..LOL..

[M J D]

It doesn't stay cold enough long enough down here to have frost lines.
A foot deep is plenty.

Until it freezes.

[tapwelder]

Keep wind off it. Regardless of insulation. Fans draw air causing wind chill through any crack. My shop ventilation pull air across my pipes through a closed door. The pipes are at ground level crossing a foundation vent. The bent is blocked and pipes have insulation. I just have to remember to turn the fan off on cold days.

So eliminate windchill.

[Josey]

My system was just like that and had to keep a small oil filled electric radiator under the straw bales and cover
Last year I buried a cable and moved the pressure tank and points into the basement So far it is working good
It has been around minus 40c most mornings this week Here in Manitoba All outside water pipes here are buried
8' deep But can still freeze.

[whtbaron]

We had a temporary shack over the well one winter with the jet pump in it. We built it out of 2x6's with fiberglass insulation. All that was inside was the jet pump/tank, a heat lamp and a small electric heater. It was lined with aluminum sheeting to protect the wood from any hot spots. Worked great at -40, but one day we went out and everything was gone.... all that was there was the concrete rings of the well cribbing. "Something" got hot.... I'm guessing the cheap space heater.... and everything burned, melted and ended up in the bottom of the well. After that we went to a submersible pump with a pressure tank in the barn and all the lines buried at 9'.... never had another problem.
My advice is to sell those ugly old cows, build yourself a really nice heated shop to work/retire in and put the pressure system in the heated shop where you can work on it without "hearing about it" in the house. Bury all the lines a foot deeper than you think is necessary ... up here that's 9'. Submersibles are more money up front, but get a good one and it will outlive you. Ours used to water 400 pigs and I think we've had 2 in the last 48 yrs. I just added a double filter system to ours, it now lives in my shop so I've got running water in the shop and the house and we never hear a pump running. Oh, and get a brass nipple....

[forhire]

Keep wind off it. Regardless of insulation. Fans draw air causing wind chill through any crack. My shop ventilation pull air across my pipes through a closed door. The pipes are at ground level crossing a foundation vent. The bent is blocked and pipes have insulation. I just have to remember to turn the fan off on cold days.

So eliminate windchill.

+1. Yesterday the high winds blew off my the access door to my crawl space and froze the pipes. I ended up poking a salamander heater under the house to thaw it out. It also froze the pipes in the wall of the garage on the east side. The salamander heater made quick work of those also. I then ran down to farm supply and picked up a heated bed for the dog.

[12V71]

My well has a 10'x10' concrete pad with a house over it with 2x6 stud walls and well insulated with a sheetrock interior. I have a wall mount heater and 2 baseboard heaters I scrounged from a demolition job. One base board heater usually does the job, the others are just back up. Never had a freeze up out there. The house is a doublewide mobile sitting on a 3' crawl space at ground level with a cinderblock perimeter, never had a freeze up there either. But we do see occasional -20F temps and built for that. I have a 1500W heater near the water line under the house that I can turn on with a breaker in the panel if need be.

[Woznme]

Ahh Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next.

[ronsii]

Ahh Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next.

Yeah...yeah... whatever

[farmshop]

An electric space heater on a thermostat has kept well houses working here in the frozen north for many years. Some banking bales and a piece of plastic also helps. It was -20 here this morning wind chills -40 to -50

[Timothy Swain]

We have a space heater in the Well house. I put a remote sensor inside there so can check it from the house. Also we drip water in the house to keep some water moving.

[Bob]

It's been really, really cold here 5 times in my life and I build accordingly. My pump house is a 12'x15' metal building with 6" of foam insulation and a heat light inside it. With the 3000 gallon tank with water, it never gets that cold or that hot inside it. It's always comfortable to work in. It has a gravel floor so any leaks can drain .