Freezing Temps Question

[FlatStanley]

I live on a farm and have a deep well with a pressure tank w/bladder.
My tank is in a small (3 foot by 3 foot by 4 foot high) insulated well house.
I have a heat lamp inside the well house to provide warmth in freezing weather.
Last year we had an extended power outage and freezing in my well house.
After the weather warmed and the power was restored, my pump continued to cycle on and off until the pump burned out.
The well man came and said the water froze in the tank and caused the problem.
My question is: If my power goes out again this year, if I drain my tank will that prevent a recurrence of my problem
or do I have to find a secondary source of heat for my well house?
Thanks for your help.

 

[waterwelldude]

If you know there is going to be an extended freeze, and you do lose power, it is a good idea to turn off the power to the well.
It is better to be safe than sorry, because the power will come back before the ice will melt.

Here in my part of Texas, we had a freeze for three days. To most of the country, that's not that bad, but here that's a long time. We had a bunch of pumps that tried to pump against frozen pipes, and burnt them selves out.

If its going to be a long freeze with no power. Turn the power to well off. wait till the pipes defrost before turning the power back on.


Travis

 

[speedbump]

The well man came and said the water froze in the tank and caused the problem.
My question is: If my power goes out again this year, if I drain my tank will that prevent a recurrence of my problem

If you have a bladder tank, turning off the power to the pump and opening a faucet will drain the tank. What it won't do is drain any of the pipes going to or away from the tank. Those pipes will still freeze.

 

[Driller1]

If you have a submersible pump, look into an underground pressure tank. It will never freeze.