running faucet in freezing weather?

[lucasboy]

I live in a doublewide on a permanent foundation. With our temps. getting well below zero for the next few days should I leave a faucet dripping so the water lines don't freeze? I live in the country so I have a well & septic system. The company that cleaned my septic says not to because it can overheat the pump motor & cause the septic tank to overfill. The company that replaced my pump a couple years ago says leaving it drip causes no problems & will save me problems if the lines should freeze. Now I'm confused & not sure what to do.

[Yanita]

Hi,

There are many threads on this various subject. in our articles link we have a write up by Mark abut the reasons NOT to leave your water dripping. IF you must or think you should leave the water dripping another member mentioned putting a large container under the faucet and allow the water to drip into that opposed to the main drain.

I know next to nothing about pumps for your well, and I would not think that your septic tank would over fill as any liquids are suppose to go to the leach field.

I am sure others will come on and explain about the pumps.

I can suggest that if in doubt you might want to make sure your heat tape is functioning, if you don't have one install one. Leave lower cupboard doors open during the night to allow heat to get under there. Annnd, don't turn your heat way down tonight.

Yanita

[lucasboy]

Thanks Yanita! Marks article gave me all the info I needed. No dripping faucets!

[Yanita]

LOL, Lucasboy,

Like I said in my other post, IF you really think you need to let your faucets drip then set a trash can under your tub faucet and let the water drip into that or a smaller one in you kitchen sink. This will alleviate the sewer drain from potential freezes.

Unfortunately I am expecting a lot of post in the next few days about this very subject, or worse yet not preventative maintenance but more on the lines of thawing frozen lines or replacing those that broke.

Even though I live in the south we have a heat tape on our water line, just for these odd weather moments...checked it today and it is working fine!

For those that live in the southern regions and not winterized like the rest of the nation you might want to take as many precautions as you can keeping your water lines from freezing.

Stay warm, and remember some areas are predicted to be close to 50 below, that is extremely dangerous, stay inside!

Yanita

[elocs]

I know and understand the concept on not letting the water drip in cold weather. I stayed up until 2 a.m. on Thursday when the temp was -15 and my water was fine with no hint of freezing. At 8 a.m. the temp was -22 and the water was frozen in the bathroom and kitchen sinks, but freed up within an hour.

On Thursday night/Friday morning the temp was predicted to go down to -26 and I decided that since there was nothing else I could do to assure that my water would not freeze up I decided to let the water "run" and not "drip", so there was no way it would freeze in the sewer pipe due to slow movement. During the night I would get up and shut off the cold water and allow hot water to run down the drain for awhile and this morning when the temp was -26 every thing was fine. The key is that I allowed the water to run and I shut it off during the day, occasionally running both the cold, then the hot.

Sure it was water going down the drain, but for a good purpose. It was nowhere near the amount of water I am required to use in dry weather to water my lawn where the water goes through a small layer of topsoil and then straight through the sand to the river. That is a waste.