Central Florida here: The house we’re renting has well water and tonight we’re getting the first hard freeze since we moved in 2-1/2 years ago. Being a child of the suburbs, I’m not sure what to leave dripping or not. The pump is in a little house in the back yard and has a few nozzles in the piping. How about the outside spigots? I have a length of heater tape but the pump house doesn’t have electrical outlets to plug it in – I could run a heavy duty extension cord if necessary. What d’ya think, sirs?
I probably wouldn’t worry unless I knew that it was going to be way below freezing for more than a few hours overnight.
That’s just me, though.
They’re calling for 30 degrees F at midnight, down to 27 until about 8:30 AM. Those numbers are higher than the forecast 9 hours ago.
I know, 27 is laughable to the folks in the Northeast to mid-Atlantic, but I’m always wary that Florida construction is not geared for those temps.
Thanks for your response.
If you’re a still a bit worried, just let the exposed faucets dribble a bit. I don’t think the heating tape is worth the trouble.
Sage advice – thanks again.
Unless you’re looking at zero degrees F. or so, don’t worry about it.
By the way, I have no idea what this…
“The pump is in a little house in the back yard and has a few nozzles in the piping.”
…means.
The septic system is in the front yard and the well and its fixtures are in the back yard, and somebody built a small, shingled shed for it, probably for aesthetics; lots of Florida residents just leave the whole kitten caboodle exposed. I used “nozzles” because I couldn’t remember the word “spigot” at the time. The pipes that make up the waterworks have at least two spigots (might be three) before it goes into the ground and to the house, I assume for draining the tank or cleaning the filter.
Depending on the materials of the shed and how well its connected to the ground, it may even stay above freezing in there.
When I was growing up we had a lamp with a 100 watt incandescent bulb left on in the wellhouse to keep it warmer in winter.
Also, I would not consider 27 overnight to be a “hard freeze”. I don’t think you are at any risk until you have a high of 27 for a day or two, or teens overnight.
I’m in south Georgia, and it’s supposed to hit 23 F here tonight. I’ve got every spigot possible trickling. My well head and bladder tank are right out in the open with pipes exposed. The house is on piers with the pipes exposed underneath. To the nay-sayers; yes, this is a hard freeze and my pipes may still freeze even while dribbling. If the pipes still freeze tonight the dripping should relieve the pressure enough so no pipes (a mix of PVC and galvanized) burst (I hope).
I know I should build a well house and insulate the pipes under the house, but in 17 years here I’ve only had to fix a broken pipe at the well a few times and only once under the house. All of those times were when I didn’t have all the drips going.
This is the first I’ve ever heard of juvenile caboodles being called “kittens”.
Then what powers the well pump? Surely there is electrical power to the building?
I really wouldn’t be too concerned.
I’ve worked with a number of lawn sprinkler companies, and owned my own. Yes, 99.% percent of the pipe is underground, but the backflow prevention pipe (usually 1" copper) is usually out of the ground. Never had any problems with a soft freeze like that.
What temperature is the water when it come out of the ground? Instead of dripping, maybe get up a few times at night and run the water full on for a couple of minutes to bring the warmer water up from the ground. You say you have heat tape. I think you could just put a 100w bulb in the pump house and that would cover it too.
Someone was thinking. 
What’s the definition of a ‘hard freeze’, anyway? Personally, I use it when the temperature is 27ºF or below for at least 12 hours. Or maybe if it doesn’t get above 30ºF for a few/several days. i.e., when I think it’s time to plug in the heat tape on the exterior water pipe. But that’s arbitrary on my part. People in Alaska or Minnesota would probably laugh at my usage.
Just FYI it’s extremely cheap and easy, especially if they’re as easy to access as it sounds. Pipe insulation tubes are dirt cheap and just slip on. You can secure them with duct tape if you want, but you don’t even need to in most cases. Literally a $10, 5-minute job.
Yeah, before that we used rolls of fiberglass insulation about 4"s wide and wrapped the pipe in a spiral. That job sucked.
Looks like it’s still sold though - Fiberglass pipe insulation
Most of it even comes with adhesive tape built-in so there’s no need for duct tape. If you do decide to use duct tape, use something rated for outdoors, like gorilla or t-rex tape. Regular duct tape will cease being effective within a season.
Well, the drips did the job last night. No freeze in the forecast for at least the next week. I’ll probably be able to procrastinate any real action 'til nicer weather.