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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Gas explosions
  • Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:08:28 -0700


On Jan 15, 2009, at 6:59 AM, Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

If it's a cellar with a roof, what keeps it from freezing?

Earth temperature from the floor. Insulation outside walls and over roof. Light bulbs on for heat. A small cellar is much easier to keep above freezing than a house basement.

My basement
freezes in a sustained cold spell, if I don't heat it. I've lost squash
stored there, and had valves (but never the pipes, which are insulated)
freeze. I have no idea what that hole in the photo is the remains of,

Looks to me like the remains of a well house built of concrete blocks. All the straw bales were likely piled on top for insulation.

but I don't think most people have a well house here. Bringing water anywhere near the surface is a recipe for disaster.

What I've seen (and have) are wellheads..about 18" of casing with a cap on
it sticking out of the ground. The pump is 100-200+ feet down in the water,
and pumps the water to the house through an underground pipe that comes into
the basement about 6' below grade. There is (presumably) some way to pull
the pump to the surface for maintenance...I've never had to do it

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga Co. PA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gene GeRue" <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Gas explosions


As you know, water freezes in your neighborhood in wintertime. A well
house is typically built like a cellar with four poured or block laid
walls and a solid roof with access. The well casing comes up into the
bottom of the cellar. All water connections are made down there and
the water pipe goes into the house via an underground ditch. Thus, no
freezing of water lines.

This explosion is the sort of thing that causes building codes to be
changed. The pressure switches may one day be required to be outside
of the well house.

For your amusement I will tell you that as I awoke this morning I felt
like smacking my head. I had read the words "well exploded" but I had
seen the photo of the remains of the well house. Duh.

On Jan 15, 2009, at 6:25 AM, Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

Quite right. I was sidetracked by the misleading reporting that the
well exploded and was envisioning a broken wire at the pump but that
is problemmatical because it is under water. It was not the well, it
was the well house (pit) that exploded, thus using up all the gas
from
the traveling bubble. No gas was found in the water because it was
all
burned. For now.

Well house (pit)? What's that?

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga Co. PA
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Gene GeRue
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_______________________________________________
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Gene GeRue
www.RURALIZE.com








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