Well House

[TomG]

Agree. When I hear of well houses, I think of my uncles and their irrigation wells. You had to have something to house the diesel engines.

As I noted, I'm far north of the line, and I haven't seen a well house for a residential supply. The same is true for dug or drilled wells. Our drilled well is typical. It's just a capped head in the yard. The feed and electrical are in a trench below frost line. The electrical comes up from the trench and enters through the cap.

The only exception I've seen is one guy whose pressure tank was in a building that he decided to stop heating. He just enclosed and insulated a space, and then used a light bulb. I'd probably use a small baseboard heater--safer and more reliable.

Regarding codes, your point about disconnects being required in separate structures is also true here. In addition, well casings have to be bonded to the ground bus in the service panel using unbroken #6 ground wire. That would be true whether or not. Perhaps the best reason for having the pressure tank in the basement is that they do require repairs sometimes. Working in a heated, lighted basement is more pleasant than a crawl space.

 

[Kevin_mc]

Here in East-Central Missouri we are fortunate enough to have the luxury of basements under our homes and that is where everyone keeps their storage tanks(along with furnace, hot water heaters, deep freeze, stuff you won't throw out....). Along with the storage tank we have the pump controls and switch box.

Our well is 460 ft deep. The pump is 80 feet down inside a steel pipe. Approximately 38" below the surface is where my supply line ties into the steel pipe. We don't have a well house or do any insulating at the well head and we live in Zone 5 so it gets pretty cold.

Like you wrote about different parts of the country doing things differently.

Kevin

 

[W5FL]

The driller will set a 24 inch diameter cement sleeve with a 2 inch thick cover on the well when he sets the tank and wire's it all up. Just tell him to plumb the tank so you can move it inside when you are ready. We did my son's that way and moved it inside when the garage was finished. The cement sleeve gives pretty good protection and you can put a light in it or a piece of the thermostat tape under the insulation.

 

[Cowboy]

Alan L,

I am in North Central Tejas also.

There are a lot of different way's to, build a pump house and or handle the plumbing for the same. I made a trip to the area Wal Mart, and purchased their least expensive, fan forced with thermostat, 110v portable heater. I do the intial setting of the heater thermostat, on a 35-45 degree f. day (first cool day). I set the thermo. so that, the heater will just come on. (the pump house needs to be tight and well insulated using this method). The heater (as the weather gets colder) will cycle off and on. I have used the small electric heater's in my well's, for the past 10 years or so, and havent replaced one to date. They cost less than 20 bucks, and stop's all the hassel and worries of "did the light bulb in the pump house burn out"? plus the fact that, a bulb burn's constantly. One of my well's has it's own electric meter. During the winter month's, the monthly cost goes up aprox. 3.00 to 4.00 thats not much, for peace of mind.

Sure glad I live in the stick's too...No code's to follow except, the O.S.S.F. code.

Happy Trails.

Cowboy
BigBoyz Toyz