Frozen in Georgia

Help!

Woke up this morning to a big problem. Tank under the house is frozen I suspect... turned pump off to the well and proceeded to wrap the tank(like hubbie should have ) After about 3 hrs of using a heating pad I can get some water out of the tank but now my psi on that meter thing next to the tank is at zero even after I turn the pump back on. I'm at a total loss. Husband out of town, no cash off hand to call anyone to come out. I'm really starting to freak out. Did we burn the pump up? Is that tank thing under the house destroyed? What should I do and how do I do it?

Any help would be better than no help at all, Thank you in advanced!
Frantic in Georgia BUURRRR

The line coming to the tank may be frozen and if the gauge froze it is probably broken and not reading.

Turn off the power to the pump / well.

Do not use the pump / well until someone has looked at it that knows what to do. Your pump could be running without the switch being able to tell it to shut off. This could burn out the pump.

Depending on when hubby is returning will determine if you want to wait for him, try and thaw it out more. Do you have a neighbor who could help?

We're new to the area and I really dont know anyone. Hubbie want get home untill closer to christmas and like wise with the cash to fix this issue. The news said it should reach 40 today..is that high enough to help? I'm at a total loss as to what to do other than what I'm already doing

Test the system this afternoon when it is warmest.

Keep the heating pad going.

The system will work right if there is no damage.

A non working gauge will not affect the well systems operation. You just won't know what the pressure is but you will know if it is working.

Vivace said:

Help!

Woke up this morning to a big problem. Tank under the house is frozen I suspect... turned pump off to the well and proceeded to wrap the tank(like hubbie should have ) After about 3 hrs of using a heating pad I can get some water out of the tank but now my psi on that meter thing next to the tank is at zero even after I turn the pump back on. I'm at a total loss. Husband out of town, no cash off hand to call anyone to come out. I'm really starting to freak out. Did we burn the pump up? Is that tank thing under the house destroyed? What should I do and how do I do it?

Any help would be better than no help at all, Thank you in advanced!
Frantic in Georgia BUURRRR

Click to expand...

Vivace, you might want to try your insurance company. I don't know if this would be covered, but, if not they might have some suggestions. If you are short on money for this, you might want to try to ask your church to help, if you can't borrow from a relative or friend. Also, sometimes, food pantries will assist with some money, also. See, if their is an emergency organization with your state, too. You might want to call someone to come look at it, to fix it, and explain your situation, who knows, you might just get someone who might bill you for later. Someone with a heart. Wishing you the best.

A hair dryer works well too as long as whatever you use doesn't get things too hot like plastic pipes/valves. A light bulb works too. Just don't let if touch anything because it can cause a fire.

The tank won't be frozen, the pipes will be, both to and from the tank. As Cass said, turn off the power to the pump after each attempt to see if you can get water. Only have the pump on for a few seconds and shut it off if you don't get water in 4-5 seconds. Otherwise you run the risk of causing a leak in the water lines or the pump. If you can see the pump, warm it too. And the water line under the tank if there is one.

You might want to look for the pressure switch. A little grey box, (in most cases) about 2.5" X 4". The wires go into/out of it. The piping below this box is usually 1/4" and this pipe would be the first thing to freeze solid. Hopefully it froze in the off pump position. Put your hair dryer on that pipe and thaw it out all the way from the box to the plumbing it attaches to. That pipe will be much bigger. If you take the cover off (with the power off of course) you can see if the points are touching or not. If they are not, your pump might be fine. Keep thawing until those points close then try turning the pump back on.

bob...

It's close to 2:30 eastern time so I went and turned the pump on to check and still no water (drip..drip..drip was all I get) so I turned off the pump again. I also noticed that when I turn the pump on and try to turn something on like a faucet I'm not getting any noise coming from the pump anymore. Does this mean what I think it means or should I wait alittle longer before I totally panic?

Thank's to everyone for the suggestions. I am however having trouble locating anyone that would be willing to come out and check it.. when I say modular home it seems to be the deal breaker (even thought its a relatively new one) Go figure

Keep heating the pipes and espcially the pressure switch.

bob...

Is the pump above ground or down in the well (submersible). Is the area where the water tank is able to drain should you have a leak? If so then you might want to enclose the area as air tight as possible, turn the water off, and put one of those oil type electric heaters near it. This is basically what I had to do. I'm in a temporary living arrangement in an old house trailer with the washing machine out on the front porch. I had to enclose a small area and put in that kind of heater just to keep the washing machine above 32 degreees to protect the pipes and washing machine pump...
I would let such a heater thaw out the pipes, tank, (and pump)... any pipes exposed to the cold temps we are having will most likely freeze if you don't have a fairly strong stream of water running. We had an outdoor shower that I left water dripping from last night and it busted the pipes eventhough I had them wrapped. Be sure that if you use any electrical appliances to heat that they and the electrical cords are off the ground and protected from getting water on them causing a shock hazzard and you should never have a heater too close to anything that might melt or catch on fire. The local fire chiefs are recommending not to put any heater closer than 3' to anything. My electric oil heater is on a medium setting about 12 inches from the back corner of the washing machine and I feel that it is very safe... and I can unplug it from far away using a very heavy gauge extension cord.
Once you have everything thawed out then you will be able to tell if you have any damage. Also, I would definitely keep the well pump turned off until I felt that the pipes were thawed (open valves nearest the tank to see if you can see or hear water or air moving.) Look for drips and leaks. If you can get the pump to run and pressurize the system then you will be able to tell for sure if the gauge is damaged and if you have any leaks. I don't have much experience with well pumps and these are only my suggestions.... Tonight is possibly going to be just as bad... we were down to 13 some 50 miles or so north of Birmingham. For sure THINK SAFETY... As for the pump not running.... if it froze or whatever it could have gotten too hot... is there a re-set button on it? Did it kick a breaker?

After setting up a lamp inside the well house and letting it run over night we have water! Now I've got another issue that I believe is related to this one so I was hoping to just post here for help.

When all of this happened yesturday morning I turned of the hotwater heater so we wouldnt burn the element. (its electric) As I was taking the plate off I noticed that the insulation was sticky..then I realized that it was burnt. There was a small fire inside the heater panel where all the nifty little buttons and stuff are at. The culprit is a red wire coming out of the heater which looks like it was tied into a black wire which then goes on to fitting under a screw. (Does this make any since?) Anyways, If anyone has any suggestions or could tell me what I should do pls help me.

Thank you in advanced for any suggestions!
Almost back to normal in Georgia!

To "turn off" a water heater, you throw the circuit breaker in the electrical panel box or a handle on the side of a cut-off box. Under/in the panel on the side of he heater is/are the thermostats; two panels, two elements and two thermostats. Caution: Turning them down does not turn off the power to the wires/water heater.

Burned wires means Shut off the power to the heater and call an electician or heater guy (plumber).