When that winter season sets upon us, it’s a good idea to review your strategy for keeping your water system running smoothly during those nights the temperature drops below freezing. You might be familiar with the commonly promoted strategies that municipalities will encourage for customers of a municipal water system, such as dripping the faucets and covering your outside faucets with insulation caps. If your home runs off a private water well, you may need to take additional steps to protect your system from the frigid temperatures.
A traditional water well system relies on a pressure switch to determine when to engage the pump and build proper water pressure into the system. This pressure switch is essential for your system to run and it’s important to note two things about a pressure switch in order to best maintain it’s functionality in freezing temperatures.
- The pressure switch operates mechanically. Meaning that there are moving parts, which can be effected by freezing temperatures.
- The pressure switch generally comes off a tee from the main flow of water. This can mean that although water pressure goes up the pipe to the switch, the flow of warmer water through the pipe when you trickle your taps won’t cause enough water to travel through that tee and up the pipe to prevent freezing of that water.
The pressure switch is essential to maintaining water flow. If the mechanical pins are frozen or the pipe is frozen below the switch causing it to not read the appropriate pressure your pump won’t be kicked on and your water will stop. Once the water stops flowing, other parts of your water system are in danger of freezing, causing busted pipes and leaking fittings. It’s something we see again and again. So you will hear us get very preachy in the winter months about applying heat to your pressure switch.
What’s the best way to heat your pressure switch?
I have comprised a list below with pros and cons about each solution.
Force Fan Space Heaters:
This is the solution we recommend the most. It applies gentle heat and blows it in the direction its facing. It is easy to identify if the heat is working. Most modern force fan heaters have a safety switch that prevents them from working if they get knocked over, so it needs to be in a secure area away from animals and livestock. These heaters can get the job done even in less than ideal spaces.
Radiating Oil Heaters:
If you have a well insulated space, these heaters do a fine job and are more cost effective than force fan heaters. The space does need to be well insulated, but heat will slowly build and maintain adequate temperature.
Heat Lamps:
Heat lamps are a reasonable solution for small spaces that are decently insulated. The danger of a heat lamp is when it is to close to objects it can cause problems. The most common heat lamp is a clamped on fixture and we have seen situations where the lamp moves and no longer heats the proper area or over heats elements causing other damage.
Heat Tape:
Heat tape is helpful for long stretches of exposed pipes, such as under a mobile home. Heat tape does not help prevent the mechanical components of the switch from freezing, so it is not adequate alone as a solution for preventing freezing.
Whatever heat source you choose, a quality well house goes a long way to make your heat source work optimally. If your well house is old and falling apart, we offer a pre built well house at a variety of sizes that will better secure your water well system. It’s a good idea to address the well house before winter sets in. Give us a call to get a quote and get your system inspected. It’s always best to make sure your system is working well before relying on it to get you through a long cold winter. If it hasn’t been inspected in the past year, give us a call.