Protect Your Well Water Pump From Freezing
Winterizing a Well system
If you have a well system in your home you are going to need to take some steps to prepare it for the winter. Even if you have a good pump you are going to want to make sure your well is ready. There are some tips for winterizing your system.
Something simple that you can do is on a really cool night to keep the faucets dripping slightly.
Even a small drip will allow the pumps to keep on running and water flowing through the pipes. This will help prevent still water from freezing and leading to piping issues.
You are going to want to check your well cap. It if is properly installed it will keep bugs out and other creatures. The water line from the well should be at least 36 inches under the ground or the freeze line. The cap needs to be on snugly to keep the cold air and snow out of your system.
It is important to check both the outdoor and indoor plumbing lines. You should look for piping that is out in the open. The pipes can be wrapped with polyethylene or a thermal blanket to help lock in some of the heat. You may need to use some waterproof tape to hold everything in place and provide another layer to the pipes. While you are checking the pipes look in the crawlspaces and make sure there is no standing water. Make sure any vents are secure. This allows cold weather in and leads to freezing pipes.
One important thing is to have a quality well pump. Simple Pump deep well pumps are designed to withstand cold temperatures and they will keep the water in the pump from freezing and making a big mess.
Preventing Pipes from Freezing During Cold Weather
The Simple Pump water well pump stands up better to cold weather than any hand pump. There are special designs in the Simple Pump that will protect the water and prevent the water pump in the well from freezing.
The Simple Pump hand well pump is easy to operate. In addition, there is a pump motor option that will power this pump and no pump house will be needed. These pumps are used in Alaska and the Colorado Rockies at 9,000 feet above sea level and they do not freeze.
Even residents of Colorado installed this pump in the coldest time of the year and it continued to work.
“I installed the pump this Fall at 11,000 feet and it is now working during the coldest part of the year!” ~Colorado
How the Simple Pump Works in Freezing Conditions
Your Simple Pump will be freeze-proof in one of two ways, depending on your well, with our pitless adaptor or pumping above ground with a weep hole.
THE SIMPLE PUMP PITLESS ADAPTOR
If you have a well with a submersible pump on a pitless (running your pipes and wiring underground), or if you are installing a Simple Pump into a new well, the Simple Pump pitless adaptor allows you to connect directly to an underground line. In this case, your water will run below the freezing level.
With a Bison Pump, Baker, or other pump manufacturers, this is not an option. In fact, there is no other hand pump that offers a pitless option. Simple Pump is the only company to offer this pitless option.
THE SIMPLE PUMP WEEP HOLE
For simplicity and lower cost, most people choose to have their backup hand pump run water above ground. In this circumstance, your Simple Pump won’t freeze thanks to a small, built-in weep hole. This 1/16 inch hole, drilled in the top drop pipe, allows the water in the pump-head to drain out to below the frost line. The weep hole is exactly the right size to drain water fast enough that it won’t freeze.
If your frost line is lower than 4 feet, we will happily create a custom weep hole for you at no extra cost.
PUMPING INTO PRESSURE
Additionally, if you want to pump into your home’s pressure tank, Simple Pump’s one-way check valve can let air in behind the valve, allowing water to drain out of the pump head in freezing weather.
SIMPLE PUMP’S ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS FROM FREEZING
Whether you have a pitless adaptor or are pumping above ground, you can further protect against freezing by leaving the handle pointing up after use. By doing this the stainless steel pump rod is kept ice-free inside the pump head.
Now that you know your options with the Simple Pump, compare our anti-freeze protection with our closest competitor — the Bison.
BISON PUMPS LACK FREEZE PROOF OPTIONS
NO PITLESS ADAPTOR OPTION
First, Bison has no pitless option to allow you to run your water underground from your hand pump to your home. So your choice to do this is immediately removed.
But perhaps you don’t want to put your hand pump on a pitless.
Drill Your Own Weep Hole
For the above-ground system, you will need a weep hole, as you do with the Simple Pump. But if you buy a Bison Pump, you’re going to have to drill your own weep-hole before you install it.
From Bison’s website…” Prior to installing the last piece of pipe and rod, drill a 1/8″ weep hole in the pipe just below where the frost line is for your area. … * This does not apply for inline hand pumps where freezing may occur.”
So Bison inline pumps can’t be freeze-proofed and you have to do the work if you get one of their other pumps. Aside from the tricky job of having to drill your own weep hole on the curved pipe, there’s another huge disadvantage with the Bison “do-it-yourself” freeze-proofing — reduced efficiency.
The Weep Hole Size Makes a Difference
Simple Pump’s much smaller weep hole equals considerably greater pumping efficiency.
Simple Pump’s weep hole is 1/16 inch. Bison Pumps recommends you drill a 1/8 inch hole. That’s FOUR TIMES the area of the Simple Pump weep hole.
The size difference between the two holes means a significant difference in the amount of pressure you need to exert on the pump handle when you are pumping water! The amount of pressure loss due to the large weep hole in the Bison means you would certainly notice a difference in pumping water from your well.
When it comes to choosing the best backup pump for your well to handle freezing weather, the Simple Pump has the best options to make sure you have access to your well water when you need it.
