Monday, January 17, 2011

Pressure Pump Update...

Got an email from Landlady, saying the service company needs to order more parts before they can service the pump. So I'll still be hauling water for a while.

As of today I may be going to Plan C, because I think the outflow from M's cistern has frozen up. I've been hauling water from The Secret Lair, but suddenly it's restricting me to 2 gallons per day. Water's trickling down the buried pipe to my spigot, so when I open the tap I get 2 gallons of gush and then it drops to an unsteady drip. I left the tap partially open overnight with an empty bottle under the tap, because often letting it drip will open up a frozen line. I'm on my way out there now.

I've got all sorts of backups so it's not a problem, just a hassle I thought I had handled. But it is underscoring the lesson that when it comes to water, you need more than one plan.

ETA: Let this be a lesson, when installing a big plastic cistern in a climate where things freeze: Orient the tank so that the plumbing is on the side that gets sun in the winter. Nobody around here seems to have thought of that ahead of time, including me.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

IF it comes to a [more or less] major rebuild perhaps it is time to correct that solar orientation issue ?

A couple of large, painted flat black, pieces of plywood might add some passive solar heat to the process ?

gooch