Heating Well Pit

[boggen]

when there were cattle here on the farm. we have a 1/2 acre pond. that would pull water from. and send it up to the shed for watering them.

pump itself is i am guessing 40 feet above lake level (problem 1 is priming)

problem #2 is living out in middle of the sticks. when power goes out, it goes out for a good amount of time. and temps can get down to -15 F here in central IL. and of course that is more likely when power goes out.

so what has been done for ages, due to problems have came up with stuff freezing in the pit. is get a good top on it. 2x10's or 2x8's surround the outside of the pit. and then 2x4's 2 feet on center. then piece of plywood, then some metal siding / roofing for like a metal shed. creates the top. inside "spray foam" ((( CLOSED CELL SPRAY FOAM ))) along with hard board insulation was used between the 2x4's. and little extra spray foam and silicon in spots to get a nice air tight top.

before going on....
closed cell spray foam = required. it keeps air leakage down to min.

while it costs a little more initially the hard board insulation, trying to deal with old nasty rotted straw / straw bails each spring. and then dealing with straw bails each winter. was a pain in the rear. yes it works real good. and for temp doings ok. but just a pain, and keeping a tarp or plastic over things even more of a pain.

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the pit itself is setup to handle 2 "heat lamps" and on thermostat. it keeps the entire pit warm. and if power does go out, the extra heat will more likely take things longer before freezing up.

i would forget trying to use "heat tape" it only keeps a small area warm. and if you use straw, you will get mice and other rodents / bugs in the pit, that will chew the stuff up.

if you know there are going to be "drafts" of cold air coming into the pit, then it is pretty easy and cheap. to get pipe insulation at most local hardware stores, to put around pipes. but if all possible i would work on removing the places were cold air could get into the pit.

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if this is your first well / well tank to deal with. look up model number / brand of well tank. and also double check your "shut off pressure" and "on pressure" for your well pump. i normally check my well tank once a year to make sure the well tank has correct amount of air in it. ((keeps the well pump from cycling on/off as much))

as with someone else said, if all that is in there is the well tank. i would move tank to the house.

 

[LBrown59]

Even if you have the tank in the house and a submersible pump there is still the water line and fittings to consider .

 

[Egon]

i would forget trying to use "heat tape" it only keeps a small area warm. and if you use straw, you will get mice and other rodents / bugs in the pit, that will chew the stuff up. /QUOTE]

Heat tape is probaly one of the best methods for keeping well pit piping from freezing. It's common place in industry.:thumbsup:

And any place in real cold areas.:thumbsup:

Conduction and convection :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[brokenknee]

i would forget trying to use "heat tape" it only keeps a small area warm. and if you use straw, you will get mice and other rodents / bugs in the pit, that will chew the stuff up. /QUOTE]

Heat tape is probaly one of the best methods for keeping well pit piping from freezing. It's common place in industry.:thumbsup:

And any place in real cold areas.:thumbsup:

Conduction and convection :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I know heat tape works great on exposed pipe. I only have a few feet of pipe in the pit. I will try to take a picture later this week and show people what I am dealing with. Looking for the most cost efficetive way to deal with it.

Those of you that use light bulbs, do they last the season? I like the idea of the one on a light sensor and one on a thermistat. Just wondering if the constant on and off burns out the bulbs in a short time. Not a big deal if they last the season, just don't want a frozen pit to deal with at thirty below.

 

[Egon]

Should have added Heat tapes with insulation over them and a hard type shell over that.

 

[EMB5530]

Well pits, houses. You will grow to hate that thing over the years. Why people build them is beyond me. Miserable place to work in, hardly any room, difficult to get in and out of.

I would move the tank at least into the house. It does not need to be at the well head and doesn't even need to be where the electronics are, e.g. the pressure switch can be in the pit along with all other electronics while the tank is 2 miles away...exageration but not by much.

Harry K

I tried that and had a problem when the pump kicked on it reached preasure on the switch and kicked out then kicked right back on because it was filling the tank about 400 feet away in the house and had to move my preasure switch into the house there was now way I could get it to stop kicking on and off with the switch away from the preasure tank.
It was a good thing I had forseen this as a possible problem as when I was layin my 1" pipe to the house I went ahead and burried two strands of 12ga. stranded wire just in case I had to mount the switch in the house(as I did).
I am sure if you were to add a small tank in the well house it would fix the problem but at the time I was running water line, installing new pump, installing new septic, new electric panel, new wiring, cleaning and making livable a trashed out house, just paid 20000 down payment and still paying rent for where I was living when not at work or working on my first home.

But long story short 3/4 horse pump 80 foot down from preasure switch with 300 foot of 1" water line to preasure tank the switch will not work without somthing to take the initial slam of the pump kicking on.

 

[EMB5530]

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if this is your first well / well tank to deal with. look up model number / brand of well tank. and also double check your "shut off pressure" and "on pressure" for your well pump. i normally check my well tank once a year to make sure the well tank has correct amount of air in it. ((keeps the well pump from cycling on/off as much))

good idea
also you may want to educate yourself on the size and type of pump you have as you may want to have some spare parts around.
Starter box is one of those things that may never be needed but for $60-$70 it is good insurance at 8:00 on a Sunday night(Been there done that and was glad I had an extra on hand)Not everyone stocks every size!
A pressure switch can be had just about anywhere but I still think its nice to have and extra around and if you get one find one that will kick out if you lose preasure as it can save you the cost of a well pump or a big mess of water somewhere you dont want it

 

[dmccarty]

Those of you that use light bulbs, do they last the season? I like the idea of the one on a light sensor and one on a thermistat. Just wondering if the constant on and off burns out the bulbs in a short time. Not a big deal if they last the season, just don't want a frozen pit to deal with at thirty below.

When I used incandescent bulbs they might burn out during the season but I ran two lights, so one burning out was ok. One bulb was enough to heat up the space.

A single CFL I used would NOT heat the space since its wattage/heat was so low. One did burn out so I found out the hard way that one CFL was not enough. So now I run three.

I just run them 24x7 during the winter. Not thermostat to buy/fail.

In six years we only had the pipes freeze once when the CFL died. The pipes did not freeze much since they did not break. :thumbsup: Even on cold days, well, cold for our area, down in the teens, the light bulbs have kept the well box in the high 30's. The once or twice we got into the single digits we had water. :thumbsup:

We do have a larger electric heater in the well house but I have only used it once to melt the ice in the pipe when the CFL died. Thankfully it did not take long to melt the ice.

If the CFLs I am using consume 30 watts total it is costing me $2.16 a month to keep the well house warm. If I used six feet of pipe heater that used 5-7 watts of power per foot I am at 30 watts so the cost would be about the same. But when I looked at the heaters I was thinking about getting a 30 footer to wrap the pressure tank as well as pipes.

Later,
Dan

 

[ray66v]

I heat a closet area in my barn, under the stairs where the water enters the building, with a 100 watt bulb.

I use a screw in dimmer on the bulb, and dim it about 15%. This will make the bulb last 3-5x as long.

For a back up, simply use a second bulb, with a screw in photo eye. The photo eye turns the second bulb on, in the event of the first one failing.

 

[daybreak1998]

How do you guys keep your well pit from freezing? This is the first house I have owned that has a pit. My other houses I had, the pressure tank was in the house.

I plan on getting some straw to put over the top of the pit. I did see the previous owner had an extension cord running to the pit, not sure if he had a heater down there for when it got real cold or not.

BIL and his friend are up deer hunting this weekend, both electricians, one a master, one journeyman. To show their appreciation for letting them hunt on my property they wired in a outlet down in the pit to plug a heater into.

Howdy,
What type of well pit do you have? Do you have a large sewer drain lid and climb down the ladder into?
8'x8' and about 75" tall inside, all inside coated with UGL waterproofing, and about 5 inches of dirt over the top.

 

[brokenknee]

Howdy,
What type of well pit do you have? Do you have a large sewer drain lid and climb down the ladder into?
8'x8' and about 75" tall inside, all inside coated with UGL waterproofing, and about 5 inches of dirt over the top.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, we have two cameras and couldn't find either one. So they are the crappy cell phone pictures.

Here is what the cover looks like at this time. Maddie our dog likes to chew on it, she is just a pup, hopefully once I get some straw on it she will leave it alone.

Here is a picture of what it looks like down in the hole. I stepped it off and it is about 4' by 8'. and about 6' deep.

 

[Willl]

Here is a picture of what it looks like down in the hole.

Is that a 110 volt outlet I see on the inside wall ?

If so, I'd add some heat tape.

 

[brokenknee]

Is that a 110 volt outlet I see on the inside wall ?

If so, I'd add some heat tape.

Yes it is. Is it usually just the pipe that freezes? or do I have to worry about were it goes back into the ground that I would not be able to tape?

 

[Willl]

On mine, I start at the casing outlet and wrap all the way around with it going about 6" under ground. I also give an extra loop around the tank inlet and and the pressure switch inlet.

 

[brokenknee]

On mine, I start at the casing outlet and wrap all the way around with it going about 6" under ground. I also give an extra loop around the tank inlet and and the pressure switch inlet.

Kind of hard to see from the picture, but it a concrete floor. Some dirt has washed down over the years I need to clean out, but for now just need to keep it from freezing.

 

[Willl]

I'll go take some pics of mine.

It's not a pit, more like a shed. Which makes it even more vulnerable to cold temps.

 

[brokenknee]

I'll go take some pics of mine.

Thanks, that would be great.

 

[daybreak1998]

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, we have two cameras and couldn't find either one. So they are the crappy cell phone pictures.

Here is what the cover looks like at this time. Maddie our dog likes to chew on it, she is just a pup, hopefully once I get some straw on it she will leave it alone.

Here is a picture of what it looks like down in the hole. I stepped it off and it is about 4' by 8'. and about 6' deep.

So, by the looks of it you really do not have a top. My pit is a complete square cement foundation type walls with a 4 inch thick cement ceiling. I have a street man hole cover over the entry hole. Since mine is a complete box in the earth I do not have freezing problems. I would suggest making a large 2 by 6 framed wall with corrugated metal panels and a lot of insulation as a cover. Just 2 years ago I installed another pit on the farm. A 1000 gallon cistern tank custom poured with PVC pipe fittings in place. 2 schedule 80 connectors at the top, and 2 2.5" pvc bell ends on each wall. A drain pvc piece at the bottom. I also had the hole made at 32". A 36" dialog by 36" high pipe over the hole with a cement lid. The pipe on the sides are for water pipe in, and electric in. Water out to faucets on the other side. The top connectors are for like ship vents. A elbow at the top with stainless steel wool, and screen to keep things out. One faces southwest. One faces northest. Let's the tank breath.

 

[brokenknee]

I'll go take some pics of mine.

It's not a pit, more like a shed. Which makes it even more vulnerable to cold temps.

Thanks for the pictures. How cold does it get were you are located? The heat tape I have seen has insulation wrapped around the pipe. I would think it would make the heat tape more efficient.

So, by the looks of it you really do not have a top. My pit is a complete square cement foundation type walls with a 4 inch thick cement ceiling. I have a street man hole cover over the entry hole. Since mine is a complete box in the earth I do not have freezing problems. I would suggest making a large 2 by 6 framed wall with corrugated metal panels and a lot of insulation as a cover. Just 2 years ago I installed another pit on the farm. A 1000 gallon cistern tank custom poured with PVC pipe fittings in place. 2 schedule 80 connectors at the top, and 2 2.5" pvc bell ends on each wall. A drain pvc piece at the bottom. I also had the hole made at 32". A 36" dialog by 36" high pipe over the hole with a cement lid. The pipe on the sides are for water pipe in, and electric in. Water out to faucets on the other side. The top connectors are for like ship vents. A elbow at the top with stainless steel wool, and screen to keep things out. One faces southwest. One faces northest. Let's the tank breath.

The top I have it just 2X6 s nailed together (or at least some of them are). No insulation on the lid or the side walls at all. This is something I plan to do this, but for this year just need to keep it from freezing. Just bought the place this summer and sooooo many things to do.

 

[Willl]

How cold does it get were you are located?

During the coldest I've seen it in the teens, but it's rare. More likely mid to upper 20s.

The heat tape I have seen has insulation wrapped around the pipe. I would think it would make the heat tape more efficient.

You bet it would.

Better to error on the plus side in this situation.