Today we had to head to the big city again. It was cold, like -20 when I got up. It actually is rare for us to get that cold but it does happen from time to time. We might hit that again later this week or so they say. All was well when we got up but as we started getting ready to think about leaving, suddenly we had no water. OMG. Why now? I had about 15-20 minutes and we had water again before we left. When we got home, all was still well. While we were gone I left a Mr Buddy heater setting on low right at the pump. It is put away now and hopefully not needed for that again. Years ago we used to have problems with water lines freezing but this is only the second time for the pump to freeze. Guess we should have insulated more in the well pit. You can bet that will be taken care of before next winter. Good news is we got to the appointment on time.
Sounds like you caught it in time...before any damage occurred, that is! When I saw the title to the thread, I thought..."Alright Dennis!!"
I run 2- 500 watt heat bulbs on a thermostat like what a reddy heater uses. Got it set so it kicks the lights on at around 38°. 10 years and so far so good. the pump and pressure tank are all above ground also.
Glad you got into your appt Dennis. With temps like that you can only wonder why something is not frozen. I like Butcher 's idea, the lightbulbs in the pit with a thermostat controlling them. Even some heat tape with the built in thermo would do the job when called on.
Glad all is well Sav, we hit -10 here last night and I had the stove packed with red oak. Thursday looks like colder so I think we'll go with white oak and hickory, I know I have some locust but don't want to dig for it. Stay close to the woodstove and that little redhead brother.
My thermometer said -14° when I got up after 5 am to reload the stove. I rarely have to reload the stove overnight but the brutal wind we've had here over the weekend (gusts around 60 mph and 30 - 40 mph sustained at times) I got up and reloaded it. House didn't drop below the mid 70's and I'm burning walnut and Norway maple so I'm happy about the results....
We were gone for the weekend, and came home Sunday to some frozen fun. The water in the laundry room was frozen, and the kitchen sink drain. The laundry tub thawed out quickly. The kitchen drain was frozen at the vent, and it took a few hours. The pipes to the washer finally thawed yesterday. Luckily, no leaks. The fun of plumbing in an outside wall with a wide open northern exposure. I usually leave it trickle, but didn't think of it when we left Friday.
Had my home built with no pipes in the Outside walls. My well and the line is about three feet in the ground and covered with about 3 to 4 ft. of snow. This February is on its way to get the coldest on record.
I'll keep that in mind My sister in law would stop and check on things, even feed the fire, if I asked her to. With all the colder weather we had last winter we never had a problem, but we weren't gone for a weekend with the thermostat set at 50°
I'm happy to say that we had the opposite. First time in the 18 years that we have lived here that the pipe going to the kitchen sink didn't freeze when it says below 10 and windy. We replaced the slider next to where the pipe runs last fall. The install job on the old door was an incredible hack job. It was open between the frame and jamb. There was nothing stopping air from getting through except the trim. Fortunately it never burst and it would only happen once every few years but I'm glad it seems to be permanently fixed.
