Well House or no Well House

[FPRSATX]

I live in south TX. We rarely have a bad freeze but last year was brutal. Lots of busted pipes at the well. Considering building a well house. First, question ... I have a poly 3000gal cistern. I've never seen one enclosed in a structure I guess for obvious reasons. But was thinking of a garage-like structure where I could drain it and drag it out. But my well guy says in all his years he has never seen a cistern rupture from a freeze so he thinks it's a waste for the few days of sub freezing we have a year. Thoughts? Second question, thinking of a well house just over the pressure tank and booster pump to protect from the brutal TX summers and to protect it from any freeze. Any thoughts on ideal structures to cover it? Thanks!!!

 

[Reach4]

Thoughts?

Well guy is probably right.

Second question, thinking of a well house just over the pressure tank and booster pump to protect from the brutal TX summers and to protect it from any freeze. Any thoughts on ideal structures to cover it? Thanks!!!

White roof. White siding... if the decorator approves. Reflects heat in the summer, and I think radiates less heat in the winter.

Ventilation that you can open in the summer and close in the winter.

A power sub panel is sometimes a good idea in a well house, so that you can have convenient outlets for working in the well structure, and to plug in things for the yard.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

It takes a long time to freeze a 3000 gallon tank. I would be more worried about the pipe fittings sticking out. I have seen well houses built right up to a storage tank where the tank is basically one of the walls. Even a heated well house will freeze when the power goes off, so keep a generator handy. Also, I don't know what size pressure tank you have, but with a CSV you could use as small as a 4.5 gallon size pressure tank, making it much smaller and easier to keep heated.

 

[Reach4]

If you insulated with XPS foam panels and extended the insulation deep enough, or wide enough, then heat from the ground should keep the inside from freezing -- even if the power goes out, and you keep the door closed.

I am not able to compute how deep or wide you would need to go. Nor how thick the insulation would need to be.

Kerosene milk house heaters can be used as manual backups for electric failure.