NWA Area

[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