Posted: 1/7/2017 1:06:43 PM EDT
Think the pump froze up last night. Went out to the pump and opened a faucet to try and prime the pump. This worked and the pump came back to life but water started shooting out of a brass fitting on top of the pump. I think this is a burst disc type of fitting since it has 75psi listed on top. Is this something I can find and replace at Lowe's or similar? Water continued to shoot out of the fitting so I had to turn off the breaker for the pump to stop it. Pump was replaced 3 months ago and has been going strong. I do have a heat lamp on the pipes to the pump and another light pointed at the well housing as well. Got to around 5 above zero last night. Thanks in advance.
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It's a PRV
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-Brass-Relief-Valve-for-Use-with-Well-Pressure-Tanks-EBRV50NL/205617993 You might also try plumbing supply houses, some places like Noland are cool and will sell to the general public. |
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Also, ditch the lamp and get this instead
http://www.homedepot.com/p/30-ft-Automatic-Electric-Heat-Cable-Kit-HC30A/100196471 |
| Awesome! Thanks a ton! I'm assuming just to keep the breaker off and disconnect the PRV then teflon tape on the new one? Anything need to be opened to relieve the pressure first or doesn't matter since the PRV did it's job and blew in the first place? Also would the cold weather cause this? |
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Awesome! Thanks a ton! I'm assuming just to keep the breaker off and disconnect the PRV then teflon tape on the new one? Anything need to be opened to relieve the pressure first or doesn't matter since the PRV did it's job and blew in the first place? Also would the cold weather cause this? Yeah most likely ice got up inside of the PRV and damaged it. If it's leaking, it's already releasing the pressure. Make sure you inspect for cracks in that stainless steel tee and reducing bushing the PRV screws into. |
| Ok. Last question I think. The heater cord looks great. Question is: Can I use that on the pvc piping or is it only for the metal. I can understand that I probably don't want to heat and cool plastic as it's not as conductive to heat as metal and would more than likely melt, bend, distort. Just wondering since most of the piping appears to be pvc vs. galvanized/other. |
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Ok. Last question I think. The heater cord looks great. Question is: Can I use that on the pvc piping or is it only for the metal. I can understand that I probably don't want to heat and cool plastic as it's not as conductive to heat as metal and would more than likely melt, bend, distort. Just wondering since most of the piping appears to be pvc vs. galvanized/other. As a Well Driller/ Pump installer since the '70's.... yes, you are good to go with heat tape on plastic/pvc pipe. |
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Ok. Last question I think. The heater cord looks great. Question is: Can I use that on the pvc piping or is it only for the metal. I can understand that I probably don't want to heat and cool plastic as it's not as conductive to heat as metal and would more than likely melt, bend, distort. Just wondering since most of the piping appears to be pvc vs. galvanized/other. It'll be fine on the PVC. The little black dot at the end is a thermostat, so it only turns on below a certain temperature anyway. Regardless, the water will act as a heat sink and the pipe will be fine. Make sure you wrap the head of the pump, too. Looks like you have two inch lines so you'll probably not be able to find any pipe insulation at Lowe's Depot, but you could also grab some regular fiberglass insulation and wrap it with that, or better yet build a small dog house out of foam board. |
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It'll be fine on the PVC. The little black dot at the end is a thermostat, so it only turns on below a certain temperature anyway. Regardless, the water will act as a heat sink and the pipe will be fine. Make sure you wrap the head of the pump, too. Looks like you have two inch lines so you'll probably not be able to find any pipe insulation at Lowe's Depot, but you could also grab some regular fiberglass insulation and wrap it with that, or better yet build a small dog house out of foam board. Or triple or quadruple up on the pipe insulation. |
| OP, not to add more pain and misery but it the temps reached 5 degrees I'm guessing that you have more damage than just the brass fitting. There is so much daylight visible around the "house," I don't think a big heat bulb would be adequate to prevent a deep freeze up. Hope I am wrong but as it warms up be sure to keep alert and inspect for leaks. You don't want a leaking pipe of fitting keep you pump running and burn it out! |
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I guess it's normal to have the pressure tank outside in TX? A friend of mine bought a place in northernVA last year with the PT outside. It was frozen solid. We moved inside the house.
I have seen several well pump systems that would blow water out of the over pressure valve. They were all caused by the short piece of 1/4" pipe that the pressure switch screws onto being clogged with rust. One was on a cattle watering system I installed less than a year prior. When I did it the hardware store was out of brass 1/4" pipe sections so I used steel. |
| I'm gonna think it's normal here since it doesn't get too cold that often. Austin area. So could I relocate the white pressure tank to say the garage ( location of the water softener) to ensure that it has a nice long life? Also I'm not at the tank right now but is there a faucet off those white tanks usually that I can pull water from in case I'm out of a working pump? Just wondering if it can basically act as an emergency source also. Black tank is 1000gallons also. |
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The tapes work fine on PVC, I have had mine taped for over a decade now, I also have my pressure tank outside under the house. by virtue of the hard way, I found out many years ago, where the problem often starts, in my area, if my water goes out during cold weather, the first place I heat is the little rubber disc in the pressure switch by virtue of the up pipe into the switch, if that little rubber diaphragm freezes up, it leads to all kinds of problems.
So for many years now, I have had heat tape wrapped and insulated on the 1/4 in pipe leading into the pressure switch and it is well insulated. If that sucker freezes up, then it becomes a cascading effect and allows other things to start freezing, such as your valve because there is no water moving at all. Knock on wood, we have not froze up yet this year and have been below zero every night for the last 3 weeks, as low as 20 below a couple of times and the daytime high's have not been above freezing for over a month now. |
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OP- Why not insulate your pump shed? Having a heat lamp/tape is nifty and all, but you need to trap that heat. I agree, my set up is protected from the wind because it is under my house, in that situation the OP has, he needs to use plastic coated insulation on the inside to block the wind and you can pick up temp activated light sockets to turn on a heat lamp when needed. But one of the biggest things, is keep the wind off of your set up, it does make a big difference. |
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Normally takes more time for the tank to freeze up. Quoted:
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Could the tank be frozen, and the pump valve be doing its job shunting pressure above 75psi? Normally takes more time for the tank to freeze up. Agreed, but in his photos, the tank has no insulation or light/heat on it. |
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If it were mine I'd put a vapor barrier up against the wood, get some 2x4's frame it in, and put some insulation in the wall and rip some plywood or osb to cover the inside.
Without some barrier a good percentage of the money you're spending heating it is being wasted. On my pressure tank I put insulation around it with tie straps and have a heat lamp on it, granted it gets a lot colder up here. |
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I like the heat strip that goes around the pipes. I have metal and plastic, it works on both as mentioned above.
You really need to insulate the well house. I've found that if I insulate the house, I don't need to insulate the pipes. Usually keep out any wind that might be blowing through. Those slats in the side look like they let the wind right through. |
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If it were mine I'd put a vapor barrier up against the wood, get some 2x4's frame it in, and put some insulation in the wall and rip some plywood or osb to cover the inside. Without some barrier a good percentage of the money you're spending heating it is being wasted. On my pressure tank I put insulation around it with tie straps and have a heat lamp on it, granted it gets a lot colder up here. He just started the lamps after the plumbing froze. However, I agree about the need to seal and insulate the shed to avoid freezing again. Simple and low cost insurance. I would leave the tape and at least one lamp in place so they are ready when temps drop. A well is the prime reason for an emergency generator, too. No power, no water. |
| You need to line your little well house with some foam insulating board, it doesn't have to be thick. It'll keep out the wind and keep in the heat. Then just a little heat will keep everything unfrozen. I'm not far southeast of you and ours was fine. We used a little more heat but we have a lot bigger well house. |
| Hey all thanks for the tips. I'm in the process of lining the walls w some plastic sheeting, building out a new wall so there aren't huge gaps in the area and wrapping all pipes w electric heating cords and insulation. I just changed out the PRV with an identical one and turned it on. The pressure is bouncing near 100! Way above my Normal under 60psi. Could there still be some ice in the system that's clogging it and causing the high pressure? Highest it got was 43 degrees today so there may still be some ice in the system. Ideas? |
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Hey all thanks for the tips. I'm in the process of lining the walls w some plastic sheeting, building out a new wall so there aren't huge gaps in the area and wrapping all pipes w electric heating cords and insulation. I just changed out the PRV with an identical one and turned it on. The pressure is bouncing near 100! Way above my Normal under 60psi. Could there still be some ice in the system that's clogging it and causing the high pressure? Highest it got was 43 degrees today so there may still be some ice in the system. Ideas? Absolutely. Something is frozen down stream from the pump.The pressure relief valve is dumping pressure to compensate. I'm surprised your pump didn't freeze. I've seen people get by with lots of heat tape and wrapping insulation around everything exposed, but it's still a little risky. |
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Absolutely. Something is frozen down stream from the pump.The pressure relief valve is dumping pressure to compensate. I'm surprised your pump didn't freeze. I've seen people get by with lots of heat tape and wrapping insulation around everything exposed, but it's still a little risky. I wonder how deep the line from the pump to the house was buried... OP, I'd open up a few high flowing faucets (tubs) and let her run for a while, that should melt any ice. |
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Op, if you are in the Austin area and got down to 5 degrees I would say you are in the mountains behind Austin. Really all you have to do for 99% of the time around here is insulate your pipes. The neoprene insulation sold at the supply houses would work. If you can find the fiberglass pipe insulation that would be better. Get the 1inch thick fiberglass along with the tape and sealer for the joints. If you want to do more, build yourself a wooden box to go over the pump. Most of the water supply companies in this area only toss a piece of R-19 fiberglass batt over the pipes.
When I say fiberglass pipe insulation I am talking about the dense stuff, not the fluffy stuff. |
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What's that huge storage tank for? We just came out of a major drought a year ago and the water table dropped quit a bit. Folks installed storage tanks so as to tie them through if need be. They could also have water delivered. If he is by one of the lakes the lake levels dropped and a lot of wells went dry. |
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Where are you getting your PSI rating? You could have busted the gauge too. Or do you see a noticeable difference in your pressure at any faucet?
Cover over the pump and a small space heater works wonders in the cold. I don't mind the heat lamp idea, but you want to trap it in. Insulating it is nice, but it will create a hotbox in the summer. You need ventilation in the heat and no ventilation in the winter. You can offset that for summertime by installing a solar fan to create airflow. |