Snow For Insulation?

Well I have always been on a well and never have had any pump problems. That little bit of running takes quite a while before the pump starts up and runs, it has quite a bit of time in-between. And FYI I am from a plumbing family that has been in business since the mid 1800's LOL And even talking to my Dad just yesterday and saying yes I am leaving the faucet run a little didn't say anything like that.

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My secret to moderate temperatures is that I'm not living in SK this winter, I'm working in Cowtown. Still did hit -30 here though! Rather be out there though, this trailer in town has no shelter at all and the wind howls past it. Dig the truck out of a drift every morning.

My farm is in the hills by Diefenbaker Lake, it is a little warmer than much of SK and the hills and trees really cut the wind. House is down in a little hollow surrounded by forest.

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Piling snow up next to the trailer will certainly help. Water freeze ups in trailers isn't exactly unheard of. You'd best have some heat tape on your pipes where the pipes come out of the ground and enter the trailer, as this is an unheated area.

I don't think there is any problem with leaving the water running when you are on a well, as long as you have a pressure tank. We had our cold snap a little earlier than some of you; it got down to -24 F at my house two mornings in a row, and down to -32 F down by the river. A lot of people did have their water freeze up, as that was quite a bit colder than the usual here (the record cold for the county is -32 F, but that was about forty years ago), but I didn't have any problem even in my old double-wide as I left the water running to the kitchen sink, and have a small oil-filled electric heater in the pump house. It ran the electric bill up a bit for last month, but that didn't cost nearly as much as broken pipes would have.

Oh, and yes, snow piled up against the house for insulation is just fine. Best to move it away from the house when things warm up as I have seen minor damage to the lower part of the cladding when the snow was left till it melted for a number of years.

Kathleen

there's a difference here in "leaving the faucet running."

don't think anyone is suggesting turning the faucet on any more than a really slow trickle. Just enough to keep water moving so that it won't freeze.

About the size of the lead in a pencil, that is all you need, but you sure need more the a drip, you need that tiny Steam, the size of that lead. And in trailers especially, not only that cold side, but the hot side of the faucet as well, combining to make the pencil lead size,

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We will let a faucet run a little stream only if we're not home. With 5 people home (schools closed, working from home) today no need to leave any water going.

I've lived in Wisconsin my whole life and this was a common practice by everyone I knew, even those in the city since older houses tend to be poorly insulated and basements were not heated.

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we would crack the water lines on our ready mix trucks so it was just dripping fast. Not even a steady stream.

And that was in Fargo North Dakota in 95-97 when I worked there. Ended up working 3 winter seasons hauling concrete.