On Mon, 9 Dec 2013 17:53:55 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .

I woke up to some fun this morning. -=No water=- The pump pressure
is up but the lines are frozen. I put a heater in the pump house
(the
light had burned out, allowing the freeze?) an hour ago but no joy
yet. I'll put it in the crawlspace in a few minutes and see if that
does it. sigh

It has been 10 or 11F here two days in a row. The lowest I've seen
here before is 17F, and my outside line burst 8 years ago. I have
insulated the exterior pipes and shut them off for the winter now,
so
this is the first problem I've had, and the first time losing water.
There's a shutoff valve for each inside and outside lines.

Crap!

I bought a 200W Lasko personal heater for $12 in WalMart to see if it

Wow, aren't those little cuties? That's much better for ladies' feet
under the desk than a 1,500W energy sucker. I wish I'd seen that
earlier today when I visited Wally World for my prescription, which
just left the $4/mo list and cost me $15.68 instead. Big Pharma
ended their price deal with Wally and bumped prices a wee bit!
The Lasko MyHeats are $18.62 today.


can keep my water meter above freezing when I'm away without running
up an excessive electric bill. Right now it's defrosting dinner. It

Dinner, eh? heh heh heh


could be wired through an electric heat wall thermostat as a backup to
the light bulb that distributes heat differently, like downwards or
through a conduit.

That's a thought.

I've been wanting to replumb in PEX and insulate the crap out of it
when done, but the ongoing recession took care of that for me. Red
Beacon (thru Home Depot) is bringing more work to me during the wet
season than ever before, so I may be able to afford that next year.


For the light bulb:
http://www.crmagnetics.com/Products/CR2550-P13.aspx

Hmm, I may do that some day...

3:30pm update: ****, still frozen shut. I had warmed the pump house
for over an hour, then put the heater aimed at the pipe in the
crawlspace for about 4 hours, but it's still frozen. Temps had risen
to 31F for awhile, but are back to 28F now and dropping. sigh
Rain is due Weds, so I hope to have water again by then.

I saw no indication of burst pipes during my quick foray under the
house. The visqueen was dry to the end. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed.

--
I hate being bipolar ....... It's awesome!