Every day out here at the Edge of the World, I learn or figure out something new.
It’s been cold here for a few days, like single digits cold with a decent wind chill. I noticed yesterday morning that the water pressure seemed low. OMG, frozen pipes!!!. I didn’t think that was the issue, but it was there in the recesses of my mind. Hot water works, cold water works, no leaking pipes I can see. I can hear the well pump turn on every so often, so that’s good. The well still works.
The well is 150 feet from the cabin, but when the well pump kicks on 450 feet underground, I can hear it because it vibrates the pipes just slightly under the house in the crawlspace. It helps me to know it’s still working. This morning the temperature dipped again. My water pressure dropped a bit more.
Maybe it is the pipes freezing. Nah, it could be that.
The well pumps to a pressure tank under the cabin.
Did it freeze? Nah!
How does a pressure tank work? Well, it’s basically a big tank that has a diaphragm in it, one side is the water, and one side is pressurized air. What happens to air when it gets COLD? It shrinks! Just like how your car tire PSI drops in colder temperatures. OK, so now, how do I remedy the Issue? The wind chill has been fierce today, and I have a reasonable amount of ventilation ducts for the crawl space.
So I went out there and cut cardboard pieces to block the wind intrusion through the vents. Then I remembered there was an electrical socket near the pressure tank. When I moved in I noticed there was a cage light down there lying in the dirt. AHA! I need a lightbulb to put in the cage light to increase the temperature down there just enough. I don’t have spare lightbulbs, and LED ones won’t work. I remembered there is an overhead light in the shed, so I took that bulb and put it in the cage.
We will see if my experiment works.
Stay tuned