Options Available To Avoid Frozen Pipes

Q. I get my water from a well on my property. I’d like to do something to keep the pipes in the well house from freezing in case of a cold snap. What can I do? R.S., Tyler

A. Most household water systems are enclosed in a well house or well box. A carefully designed well system should have freeze precautions built in. An effective well enclosure is well-insulated and has a built-in heat source, such as a heat lamp. Some enclosures are built below ground level with walls that penetrate below the frost line. The heat of the earth keeps the temperature above the freezing point.

Here are several options that will help avoid freezing in your well house and protect your supply of fresh tap water:

Do nothing. If you don’t make any changes to your well house, you may face the prospect of frozen pipes again. Remember, though, you can turn on a faucet. Moving water is far less apt to freeze. Let the water flow; a good drip will do. Keep an eye on it and turn up the volume at the first sign of a decrease in the drip rate.

While this option may be a good “panic” measure, it’s definitely not good water stewardship. You’ll be using lots of energy (to kick on the well pump more often than necessary) and wasting water at the same time.

Put an incandescent light bulb (not a fluorescent bulb) in the well house. Place it near the pump and leave it on during cold weather. A 100-watt incandescent bulb makes a great little space heater. In the confined space of a tight well house or box, it should produce adequate heat. Make certain that the light can’t get knocked over or set something on fire.

While this option provides a fair degree of security, it’s not an energy-efficient alternative. If the light stays on 24-hours a day through the winter months, you’ll spend about $4 a month (at 5 cents/kwh) to heat your well house.

Inspect your well house or box before the weather turns bad. Make sure there are no drafty holes, broken windows or missing insulation. Put heat tape on the pump and the plumbing. (Be sure to follow the directions on the package.) Heat tape made specifically for this purpose is available at most hardware stores. Plug in the heat tape. Initial costs may be $10-$30, depending on how much exposed pipe you have. Heat tape will be pretty reliable as long as the power stays on.

Weatherize the well house. Install new weatherstripping, caulk and repair the roof. Add insulation if there isn’t any. Replace the insulation if the existing material is damaged. Install a thermostatically controlled space heater. Set it at 45-50 degrees. The heater may or may not use more electricity than the heat tape or light bulb approach, depending on the weather. In either case, it will be more reliable.

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