Trickling water in winter

[TristanDickey]

Never had the honor of worrying about freezing pipes until recently. I've got a submersible pump on my well. its housed almost two feet underground and stuffed with insulation. the house connection has heat tape and insulation. Should i trickle my water to keep from freezing? i dont want to burn out my well pump leaving the water running all the time.

 

[old and tired]

Without your location filled in your profile... the best we can do is guess... If you are in Florida, You are go to go!

On the other hand, if you are near the Canada border... turn your pump off!!!

What temperature are you worried about? If it's above freezing, you *should* be fine... (you get the point...)

 

[/pine]

What part(s) of your system are most vulnerable?
Can you use a lamps* on exposed parts?...tenting a lamp with a towel works good for protecting outside valves etc...

[edit]

*Not using LED bulbs

 

[TristanDickey]

Without your location filled in your profile... the best we can do is guess... If you are in Florida, You are go to go!

On the other hand, if you are near the Canada border... turn your pump off!!!

What temperature are you worried about? If it's above freezing, you *should* be fine... (you get the point...)

in arkansas. supposed to be in the 20s tonight and maybe 30 all day tomorrow

 

[TristanDickey]

What part(s) of your system are most vulnerable?
Can you use a lamps* on exposed parts?...tenting a lamp with a towel works good for protecting outside valves etc...

[edit]

*Not using LED bulbs

its all encased 2 feet under the dirt surround by cinderblocks stuffed with insulation. its not necessarily 'exposed' we had -30 degrees a week before christmas and yeah one piece of pvc cracked.

 

[Jstpssng]

If that's all it's going to be you should be good. Going forward, hay bales, styrofoam or anything to provide a little extra insulation is helpful to keep it from freezing.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

What part(s) of your system are most vulnerable?
Can you use a lamps* on exposed parts?...tenting a lamp with a towel works good for protecting outside valves etc...

[edit]

*Not using LED bulbs

Pretty funny, Just did a repair because of LED lamps not putting off any heat.

 

[Torvy]

its all encased 2 feet under the dirt surround by cinderblocks stuffed with insulation. its not necessarily 'exposed' we had -30 degrees a week before christmas and yeah one piece of pvc cracked.

Not sure what you mean. The all-time record low in Arkansas is -29 and that was in 1905. If that was a wind chill, ignore it for things like pipes.

Source:Wind Chill Questions

Can wind chill impact my car's radiator or exposed water pipe?​

The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to shorten the amount of time for the object to cool. The inanimate object will not cool below the actual air temperature. For example, if the temperature outside is -5°F and the wind chill temperature is -31°F, then your car's radiator will not drop lower than -5°F.

 

[TristanDickey]

Not sure what you mean. The all-time record low in Arkansas is -29 and that was in 1905. If that was a wind chill, ignore it for things like pipes.

Source:Wind Chill Questions

Can wind chill impact my car's radiator or exposed water pipe?​

The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to shorten the amount of time for the object to cool. The inanimate object will not cool below the actual air temperature. For example, if the temperature outside is -5°F and the wind chill temperature is -31°F, then your car's radiator will not drop lower than -5°F.

wind chill doesnt effect pipes freezing? we got a lot of wind today and tomorrow too. not sure if that hurts or not.

 

[ponytug]

wind chill doesnt effect pipes freezing? we got a lot of wind today and tomorrow too. not sure if that hurts or not.

No, wind chill just affects animals. As @Torvy posted, wind can cool a pipe faster, but wind can't cool it below the air temperature.

I would point out that wearing wind proof clothing negates the effect of wind chill on humans, except for exposed areas like eyes and perhaps cheeks.

Your pump should be goo; lots of good advice above.

All the best,

Peter

 

[turnkey4099]

Without your location filled in your profile... the best we can do is guess... If you are in Florida, You are go to go!

On the other hand, if you are near the Canada border... turn your pump off!!!

What temperature are you worried about? If it's above freezing, you *should* be fine... (you get the point...)

Last is a good point. We jsut went through a spell of very cold (below zero wind chills). People panicked about pipes freezing. FACT wind chill WILL NOT freeze a pipe. Temp in pipe will only go down to what the real temp is.

 

[RustyA]

Wind can be a factor when temps drop of how quickly things cool to air temp. Shelter like a tarp or garage makes a big difference up here whether a block heater is needed for cold weather starting. Outside in the wind a 190 degree engine cools off much quicker than if it's tarped or garaged.

 

[TristanDickey]

my concern is mainly the well house. like i said its surrounded by cinderblocks that are partially underground (2 feet) stuffed with insulation. its 20 degrees today. ground temp is 32 and dropping steadily. should i leave my water trickling?

 

[jaxs]

my concern is mainly the well house. like i said its surrounded by cinderblocks that are partially underground (2 feet) stuffed with insulation. its 20 degrees today. ground temp is 32 and dropping steadily. should i leave my water trickling?

Non of what you are asking is straight up yes or no. The well house you describe will protect far below temperatures reached in Ar,,,,,,IF the insulation is in proper position. As an example of having plenty insulation but in wrong place,wall insulation between water pipe and interior of building is worse than no insulation. If it will give you peace of mind and let you sleep,put a 60-100 watt light or heat tape in well house (not floresant or LED as piney said ). When I was on well water I hooked the light to a 120 volt room thermostat set to come on at 38f.
Taking this a step further,it isn't necessary to drip every faucet in an occupied building,only those in unheated rooms and on outside walls.

 

[turnkey4099]

my concern is mainly the well house. like i said its surrounded by cinderblocks that are partially underground (2 feet) stuffed with insulation. its 20 degrees today. ground temp is 32 and dropping steadily. should i leave my water trickling?

Another very good reason for NOT burying the tank and contols in a hole in the ground. The is no reason under God's blue sky not to have it in a heated building.

My neighbor is an example of extreme stupidiy. He dilled a new well and installed the tank a workings in a shed next to the well. When done he had to fully insulate that room and add heat in the winters. He then did away with the original installation THAT WAS IN THE HOUSE BASEMENT!

 

[BnRidge]

wind chill doesnt effect pipes freezing? we got a lot of wind today and tomorrow too. not sure if that hurts or not.

I use wind chill to determine potential freezing of pipes, with a couple of conditions. Wind chill is a factor of temperature and wind speed. One of the farm houses here has infiltration issues, on the west side, right where the kitchen pipes are located. Below zero "wind chill numbers", with wind coming from the west, correlates to frozen pipes unless I take action to prevent it.
For your purposes:

Can you use a lamps* on exposed parts?...tenting a lamp with a towel works good for protecting outside valves etc...

 

[i7win7]

Having a facet drip or trickle may not prevent pipes from freezing but can prevent them from bursting. Good This Old House video explaining it.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Having a facet drip or trickle may not prevent pipes from freezing but can prevent them from bursting. Good This Old House video explaining it.

Great video.
Had a lab exercise in college where we had to do this, it was pretty amazing to me at the time. In fact, it still is.

 

[Valveman]

With a well pump, trickling is not usually enough. Depending on the size of your pressure tank it may take a long time for the trickle to make the pump come on. During the time you are tricking water, the little 1/4" nipple to the pressure switch will freeze, as that is the smallest pipe in the system. When that nipple freezes, the pump will not come on and everything freezes. You have to trickle enough to make the pump come back on before the pressure switch freezes.

When the pump system is controlled by a Cycle Stop Valve, tricking more than 1 GPM will keep the pump running continuously. Running continuously is good for the pump. I have one feeding a stock tank that hasn't shut off since 1999. Using a CSV and tricking more than 1 GPM will make the water and the pump run continuously, which will keep everything in the system from freezing.

 

[CobyRupert]

Where is your ballast tank?

No water will be moving upstream of the ballast tank in the pipe between the pump and the ballast tank, until the pressure in the tank is low enough to turn the pump on. Normally, water in this pipe is stagnant most of the time , and will freeze if below 32°F.