Still Frozen, and now Itchy too...
By 4pm, the pipes still hadn't thawed, so there was nothing left to do but head into town to buy a new heat-tape. I was sure that I had purchased two of them last year, but I can't find the spare anywhere. Maybe I'm mistaken, or maybe I'll find it again as soon as I no longer really need it. In either case, I was fortunate enough that this time, the local Co-op actually had a bunch of them in stock. It was 6:10pm by the time the Kidling and I got back to the farm (we also stopped to use the washrooms in town, since we can't flush the toilets here without water) and we set to work installing the new tape.
This is a project that I hate at the best of times; The space is cramped, the pipes are right against the floor by the time they get to the far end of things, and the well-pit itself is a dirty, unpleasant place to work in. With my back and legs aching, I got the work done while the Kidling held the light so that I could see what I was doing. The new tape is definitely putting out heat, but it's going to take a while for it to thaw out the pipes. This time, I put the thermostat control on the plastic piping instead of the metal pipe, hoping that the plastic might stay a bit cooler, and thus prevent the thing from shutting down thinking that it was thawed out already. These heat-tapes work well once they're actuall working - the last two winters they've kept the pipes clear and running even down into the -40's and 50's! That's part of why it's so frustrating that the pipes froze up at a mere -12°c (in the pit.)
I sincerely hope that the pipes will thaw out before bedtime; I'm covered in dust and dirt, and worse - Fibreglass dust from the insulated pipe-wrap. I itch all over, and I really need a shower.
This is a project that I hate at the best of times; The space is cramped, the pipes are right against the floor by the time they get to the far end of things, and the well-pit itself is a dirty, unpleasant place to work in. With my back and legs aching, I got the work done while the Kidling held the light so that I could see what I was doing. The new tape is definitely putting out heat, but it's going to take a while for it to thaw out the pipes. This time, I put the thermostat control on the plastic piping instead of the metal pipe, hoping that the plastic might stay a bit cooler, and thus prevent the thing from shutting down thinking that it was thawed out already. These heat-tapes work well once they're actuall working - the last two winters they've kept the pipes clear and running even down into the -40's and 50's! That's part of why it's so frustrating that the pipes froze up at a mere -12°c (in the pit.)
I sincerely hope that the pipes will thaw out before bedtime; I'm covered in dust and dirt, and worse - Fibreglass dust from the insulated pipe-wrap. I itch all over, and I really need a shower.