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toivo_gw

Winterize cabin water system

toivo
14 years ago

I have a cabin in Upper Michigan and every year I have to drain the water system all the way back to the pump to prevent the water from freezing. I normally open all the water valves in the building and then open the pitless adapter in the well to drain everything back into the well which works fine. I do like to repeatedly open and close the pitless adapter for the fear of losing the seal at some point and then that would involve pulling the pump and installing a new seal. I also have a Woodford yard hydrant installed on the water line between the well and the pressure tank. (the water line is installed below the frost line so that I can get water from the hydrant during winter when the underground shut-off is closed just before the water line enters the cabin). After I open all valves in the cabin, the valve on pressure tank, open the handle on the hydrant and shut the power off to the pump, all of the water will drain from the entire system except possibly the water in line from ground level to the frost line (about 5 feet) because of the check valve installed on the submersible pump. My question is: If I open hydrant valve will the water from the pipe at ground level flow up the stand pipe in the hydrant until the water seeks its own level. Then by closing the hydrant handle which in turn opens a weep hold to drain the water from the hydrant stand pipe. If this process is repeated several times will it drain the water so that any water remaining in the line will be below the frost line. It's like draining a water hose by keeping one higher then the other end. Has anyone successfully applied this method?

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