How to Winterize your well pump equipment and keep your pipes from freezing this winter!
If your household relies on a well for drinking water and other needs, when the leaves fall it is time to make sure that the well equipment is winterized. If you waited and a current cold snap has caused your water pipes to freeze or your well pump equipment to stop working, we’re here to help. Fortunately, winterizing well equipment isn’t as hard as you may think. By following a few simple steps, checking out the basic supplies listed in this blog, and setting aside a few hours of tinkering; you can knock this project out yourself and rest assured your well will function well through this winter and many winters to come.
Insulate the pipes
When water freezes it expands, causing the pipes to plug with ice, or even burst if the freezing goes unchecked. To minimize this possibility, outdoor piping should be insulated. Insulation works like a warm furry blanket that blocks out cold. Hardware stores carry a wide variety of pipe insulation. The best kind of pipe insulation to use is the closed cell foam “tubes” that are around 6’ long. Closed cell foam keeps the water out so the foam doesn’t saturate with water and become ineffective. Make sure to choose the right size foam for your pipe and make sure to order enough to cover all outdoor exposed piping! If your foam tube doesn’t have a slit in one side, that’s OK, carefully slit it on one side and slip it over the pipe, securing it with zip ties every 6” or continuously wrapping the insulation with pipe wrap tape. Make sure to keep the slit in the insulation facing down as much as possible.
There are a few types of commonly available insulation that can be problematic! The type of pipe insulation that has adhesive on one side and you just wrap it around the pipe does a decent job of insulating, but it will cost you a fortune if you ever need someone to work on your piping or plumbing. The stuff is so sticky and hard to removed, that you may pay more for the labor for the plumber to remove the stuff so he can actually do the necessary work than the cost of any actual plumbing work you may need done in the future! Fiberglass wrap insulation is fine if the piping is in a dry location, but if it it outside this insulation becomes useless when it becomes wet because it looses its ability to insulate.
As you are insulating pay particular attention to the pressure switch! Your pressure switch is often grey, blue or black box about 3”x3”x4” with a 1/4” pipe connection and some electrical wires going to it. Some water systems use a pressure transducer, and these are just as susceptible to freezing as a pressure switch. Pressure transducers are typically a small cylinder about 3/4” to 1” in diamter with 1/4” pipe threads on one end that are threaded into your main pipe and a wire that goes to the pump controller. The pressure switch/transducer is frequently the first component to freeze and thus stops water from flowing even though the main pipes are not frozen. Make certain that insulation completely encloses the pressure switch/transducer and the tubing/small pipe that connects it to the main water supply pipe. In very cold climates or places that have prolonged cold or wind exposure it is recommended to place a heat wrap/heat strip in close proximity to the pressure switch or pressure transducer to ensure they do not freeze! Once frozen, a pressure switch or transducer will often be permanently damaged and may need to be replaced. If you notice that your pump won’t run or the water pressure is a bit lower or higher after a hard freeze it is likely that damage occurred to the pressure switch/transducer and replacement is in order. Pressure switches will cost around $20-$50 while a transducer may cost as much as $200!
Install Heat strips to Keep Pipes and Equipment from FreEzing
Sometimes insulation just isn’t enough! Low extended temperatures and lack of water flow can cause even insulated pipes to freeze and damage pressure switches and booster pumps. You need to resort to increased measures to keep the water in your pipes or booster pumps from freezing. Installing a heat strip on piping and water system components susceptible to freezing can save them from freeze damage. A heat strip is a device that plugs in to a nearby outlet and creates a small amount of heat along its length, gently warming the pipes or pump it is wrapped around. Heat strips should be installed around equipment that is outside your house, paying particular attention to the area where pipes go in and out of the booster pumps and pressure switches. Make certain the heat strip is kept in close contact to your pipes and equipment. Professionals use pipe wrap tape or zip ties to ensure that the heat strip is held tightly against the pipe so that the heat from the heat strip goes into the pipe! In some cases with extreme cold, heat strips are installed with insulation installed over the top of it. Oakville Pump Service in the Napa Valley can install heat strips on your piping and booster pump to ensure you have water on the coldest of mornings!
Cover it Up
A simple tip to keep your well equipment going through the coldest days of winter is to cover it up! An old blanket can work with some plastic on top. Other options are to purchase well covers that look like a rock or insulated covers that can be slipped over the top. These fake rocks can be small or large, depending on what you want to hide from both eyes and the weather. If you get a fake rock, DON’T FORGET WHERE YOUR WELL IS! We’ve had customers that didn’t know where there well was located because it was disguised under a fake rock for so long they thought the rock was real!
Allow your faucets to drip
As crazy as it may sound, this simple tip can help keep your well from freezing when the temperatures hit sub-zero. As soon as you know that the temperature is going to plummet, turn on your faucets so they slightly drip or drizzle. This brings slightly warmer water from the well up and through the pipes and prevents the water from freezing solid inside your pipes. While this helps in many situations, it does waste water and maybe insufficient to protect against extreme sustained cold conditions. If you are going to be away from your home, you may choose to leave the heat system on with a low temperature set point so that it can keep the the temperature of the house/plumbing above freezing.
Insulate your backflow preventer!
Many of our customers have backflow preventers that are installed near their well or on city water connections. These devices are sensitive to freezing conditions, expensive to repair/replace and difficult to insulate with typical foam/wrap style insulation products. Insulated covers have been developed that ensure the backflow preventer can work properly and is insulated from the cold! These covers can be found in several different colors to best match your aesthetic taste. If you have a cover already, check that it is still intact and not falling apart. If it is deteriorating go ahead and replace it!
These simple tips will not just save you time and money, but will also extend the life of your equipment. If you are looking for a reliable service provider in the Napa Valley to help winterize your well pump equipment, waste no time and contact Oakville Pump Service, today!
For those of us that get caught by surprise with our pipes or pump equipment freezing with the power off, it can be difficult to even defrost the pipes or ourselves. The blog you need to read is about generator considerations and shopping for generators. While you wait for your generator to be delivered, maybe pick yourself up some heat packs to warm yourself and start planning your long term strategy to keep your power on and the water flowing in the coldest of conditions!
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