Farm Project #18 -- Winterizing Outdoor Water System

 Farm Project #18: Winterize Outdoor Water System

It's that time of year.  Although it was just beautiful for 5 days at the farm doing stuff, it got down to 28-degrees one night and 32 the next.  We are going on a 3 week trip and when we return, we may not get to the farm until mid-November.  There could easily be a deep frost by then and surely some hard frosts.  There is one hose bib on the front of the house and two underground lines.  The first is on the back deck with 2 bibs and the other on the side deck with a bib there, two more along the garage, and one last out by the burn barrel.  The one on the front entryway is a frost-free, but this means nothing when I turn the heat off in the house for the winter.

All of these bibs have standing water in the lines going to them and a freeze would burst something, either the lines or the spigots.  Worst case would be a burst line underground.

Each fall I have to drain and blow out the system.  When I re-plumbed the house, I isolated three shut-off valves on the main line coming in from the pump.  If I don't open them all summer, by chance, they remain empty.  Otherwise I can turn any of them on.  Once turned open, though, they are charged.

I set it up for easy draining of the system while leaving the plumping charged in the house, because we do come here through November before I close up.

First, I open all three valves and close the valve between the pressure tank and the sand filter.  Next, turn off the pump.  Now I can turn on all outdoor spigots and let the pressure out.  Finally, I open the spigot at the bottom of the pressure tank and drain it out into a bucket.  It takes 5 or 6 and it will be sandy water so I dump it outside.

Now the fitting from the air compressor screws into that spigot bib and I turn on the pressure.  Going outside, I can turn off all 7 spigots.  Starting with the northmost and highest in elevation, I open and let the pressure push all water out.  Then close and go to the next, until I'm back to the front door.  Drain that one, go in, turn off the compressor and close the valve on the bottom of the pressure tank. 

Now close all three lines up at the top and turn the valve back open between pressure tank and sand filter.  Now the pump can be turned back on and charge up the pressure tank again.  

Bingo.  Outside lines drained and isolated.  House charged with water.  I leave the heat on low in the house until we close up after deer hunting.