NWA Area

[TristanDickey]

I live in Northwest Arkansas and survived the Siberia freeze of 2022. Only problem we had was the well head water line had a ball of ice in it where it meets the pump. The well house is 2 foot underground. Surrounded by blocks with insulation stuffed inside all the way down to the ground. Luckily no busted pipes in my house. It's a small space and was curious. Besides heat tape and a thermocube...What would be the best option for keeping it freeze proof? I had my water dripping. Guess it should have been a steady stream. According to the weather we had -30 Degree windchills that night.

 

[ljjhouser]

Welcome to the Forum. If it was dripping or slight stream (very small) at the faucet, then the water line shouldn't freeze. But if there is a leak or condensation outside the pipe or connection, that water will freeze on the outside. If there is a leak, fix it - If not a incandescence light bulb may help a lot in a small enclosed area.

Also, I always thought only the actual temperatures were involved in freezing pipes, not any wind chill value.
I live in SW Missouri. These temperatures (+5 - -10) seems to happen every couple of years. I am in Branson - all bedrock. Some of the water line can freeze. There is a place it is only 6" deep. My line seems to be ok down to about 5 degrees. I always trickle water at night when it goes below that. But if there is no leak and the enclosed well head, a good flood lamp should work at that point. You could even put a thermometer in there to see if it is warm enough. Best Wishes, Welcome to TBN

 

[TristanDickey]

We're thinking a flood lamp on a thermocube would be good for our setup. The reason i bring up wind chill is i think the roof for the enclosure was cracked letting that 30 mph+ wind get inside

 

[ljjhouser]

We're thinking a flood lamp on a thermocube would be good for our setup. The reason i bring up wind chill is i think the roof for the enclosure was cracked letting that 30 mph+ wind get inside

I think if you fix the roof and make sure everything is well insulated (maybe with Styrofoam sheet), a lamp may make a big difference. Was there a small leak at the connection? Can I assume, since you were dripping, that there were no frozen lines?

I almost forgot - many years ago we put a light in the dog house when it got a little cool and put a #10 can (food can) over it. We mounted the old cermanic light fixture and then mounted the can over it. That can seemed to radiate a lot of heat.

 

[ponytug]

FWIW: If you wire two incandescent light bulb sockets in series, you get mostly infrared heat rather than light.

I would start by insulating the pump house well, and fixing any air leaks, though you may want some air flow in the summertime to keep mold/mildew down if your wellhead isn't absolutely dry.

I really hate dealing with frozen pipes, so I go to a lot of effort to prevent them. Everything in the well house is is insulated with at least an inch and a half of foam, plus overwrap, plus styrofoam on the doors and walls.

Good luck,

Peter

 

[Oaktree]

I'm a bit surprised you had your well freeze that quickly. What type of well is this, and how is it configured? Is the pump in the wellhouse or somewhere else? Sounds like the lightbulb method a couple others mentioned should do the job if there's an easy way to get power there.

I'm in northern N.H. where subzero temperatures happen every winter, and I don't think I've ever had my well freeze. It's a shallow (surface water) well with a wood "doghouse" on top of it. It is not insulated. The pipe to the house is probably 4' underground, the inlet is maybe 3' from ground level, typically water level is to within a foot of ground level.

 

[m1garand762]

Living in northern Ohio I am used to those temps, but we were in Texas at my brothers during the freeze and it blew my mind how not prepared they are down there. I couldn’t tell you how many iced over fire hydrants I saw and what blew my mind was me brothers septic pumps to 2 sprinkler heads that essentially made a ice rink in the back yard

 

[ovrszd]

We're thinking a flood lamp on a thermocube would be good for our setup. The reason i bring up wind chill is i think the roof for the enclosure was cracked letting that 30 mph+ wind get inside

Depending on how well your well house is sealed, a 100w lightbulb will create quite a bit of heat. 50 years ago most farmsteads here had a well house. Almost all were heated with a lightbulb or heat lamp depending on their size and efficiency.

 

[TristanDickey]

I'm a bit surprised you had your well freeze that quickly. What type of well is this, and how is it configured? Is the pump in the wellhouse or somewhere else? Sounds like the lightbulb method a couple others mentioned should do the job if there's an easy way to get power there.

I'm in northern N.H. where subzero temperatures happen every winter, and I don't think I've ever had my well freeze. It's a shallow (surface water) well with a wood "doghouse" on top of it. It is not insulated. The pipe to the house is probably 4' underground, the inlet is maybe 3' from ground level, typically water level is to within a foot of ground level.

its a submersible well i believe is what my grandfather told me. 650 feet deep. the well head is 20 feet from the tank/pump and the tank/pump is enclosed two feet deep with blocks stuffed with insulation.

 

[TristanDickey]

Depending on how well your well house is sealed, a 100w lightbulb will create quite a bit of heat. 50 years ago most farmsteads here had a well house. Almost all were heated with a lightbulb or heat lamp depending on their size and efficiency.

that seems to be the best option

 

[Oaktree]

its a submersible well i believe is what my grandfather told me. 650 feet deep. the well head is 20 feet from the tank/pump and the tank/pump is enclosed two feet deep with blocks stuffed with insulation.

Wow, that is one deep well. Seems odd the pump isn't in the well with one that deep. Any reason the tank is outside rather than inside the house?

 

[ponytug]

its a submersible well i believe is what my grandfather told me. 650 feet deep. the well head is 20 feet from the tank/pump and the tank/pump is enclosed two feet deep with blocks stuffed with insulation.

Thanks for the added information.

With this setup, I would dig down to a few inches above the water line from the well head, and put down two foot wide, 4" thick panels of styrofoam on top of it, and then bury / cover up the panels. That should prevent the cold from penetrating to the pipe, and freezing things up. I would also be tempted to double whatever insulation is on the tank/pump roof.

All the best,

Peter

 

[oosik]

If your well house is reasonably air tight, insulated and there are no water leaks - a 100W light bulb will provide all the heat you ever need.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Welcome to the Forum. If it was dripping or slight stream (very small) at the faucet, then the water line shouldn't freeze. But if there is a leak or condensation outside the pipe or connection, that water will freeze on the outside. If there is a leak, fix it - If not a incandescence light bulb may help a lot in a small enclosed area.

Also, I always thought only the actual temperatures were involved in freezing pipes, not any wind chill value.
I live in SW Missouri. These temperatures (+5 - -10) seems to happen every couple of years. I am in Branson - all bedrock. Some of the water line can freeze. There is a place it is only 6" deep. My line seems to be ok down to about 5 degrees. I always trickle water at night when it goes below that. But if there is no leak and the enclosed well head, a good flood lamp should work at that point. You could even put a thermometer in there to see if it is warm enough. Best Wishes, Welcome to TBN

I had that wind-chill discussion before. Put straight water in your radiator and at 33° when you crank the engine, fan pulls air, water freezes.

 

[TristanDickey]

Wow, that is one deep well. Seems odd the pump isn't in the well with one that deep. Any reason the tank is outside rather than inside the house?

not sure. its on my grandfathers property. we got my doublewide setup on my spot and ran 70 feet of pex water line to my house. 3 feet deep.

 

[4570Man]

I had that wind-chill discussion before. Put straight water in your radiator and at 33° when you crank the engine, fan pulls air, water freezes.

The wind significantly increase the heat transfer rate. That’s why the radiator has a fan to start with. But a fan can’t lower the actual temperature especially by a lot like the windchill ratings are.

 

[TristanDickey]

Attached are some photos. With my super glorious editing. shows well head and the tank inside the well house as well as in/out for water.

 

[TristanDickey]

the circled 1 1/2'' cross is where the ball of ice was

 

[ponytug]

the circled 1 1/2'' cross is where the ball of ice was

Helpful photos! Thanks.

I would do three things to start with. One put a cover of some sort on the well head to give it some insulation (e.g. an old cooler, or a garbage can with some old feed bags for insulation; make sure it won't blow away). Two, insulate the pipes with at least an inch thick closed cell foam pipe insulation. Three, put a piece of 2"+ thick styrofoam on top of all of the pipes, especially over the four way cross.

All the best,

Peter