No Water
#1
01-05-14, 05:27 PM
No Water
I went away for a couple of weeks this winter, drained the line at the well via an 8 foot "wrench" put down a hole to release the drain-back feature on my well. My house has wood heat only so I need to drain everything in the winter.
Came back, righty-tighty'ed the drain back valve, turned on the well breaker, and it runs but doesn't register any increase in pressure now, and no water is coming up in to the tank.
Maybe the line didn't drain and it's frozen somewhere. The pressure tank actually froze a bit while I was away so maybe that damaged the bladder? Would that keep water from coming in though? I know it's thawed now as the water that was in the tank had pressure enough to run out the sink. I assume this means the bladder is working.
I'd like to leave the well pump running for a while, as maybe it just needs more time to reach the house and register pressure. But I'm wondering; will running the pump while the line is frozen burn out the pump, or do other damage, since the water may be pumping, but staying in the clogged pipe?
Came back, righty-tighty'ed the drain back valve, turned on the well breaker, and it runs but doesn't register any increase in pressure now, and no water is coming up in to the tank.
Maybe the line didn't drain and it's frozen somewhere. The pressure tank actually froze a bit while I was away so maybe that damaged the bladder? Would that keep water from coming in though? I know it's thawed now as the water that was in the tank had pressure enough to run out the sink. I assume this means the bladder is working.
I'd like to leave the well pump running for a while, as maybe it just needs more time to reach the house and register pressure. But I'm wondering; will running the pump while the line is frozen burn out the pump, or do other damage, since the water may be pumping, but staying in the clogged pipe?
#2
01-06-14, 04:57 AM
Group Moderator
It is not a good idea to leave a pump running continuously. You did not say what type pump you have but both a above ground centrifugal (deep or shallow) and a submersible pump could be damaged.
