With more and more home owners moving into rural areas where city water isn’t offered, there exists a growing demand for insulated water well pump covers.
Exterior water wells usually consist of an electric well pump mounted next to the wellhead and large pressure tank. The pressure tank consists of a steel capsule enclosing a thick rubber membrane inflated like a balloon to add air pressure to the water line, pushing it out of faucets and shower heads in the home.
Outdoor pressure tanks don’t like the cold, making insulation an important component in climates where snow, frost, and freezing weather can occur during the cold winter months.
How To Choose The Best Insulated Well Pump Covers For Your Home
When choosing which insulated well pump covers to buy it’s important to first consider your application.
Is it just the well pressure tank you intend to cover or is it necessary to protect all of the components?
Most applications require the entire assembly to be protected from the elements if there is an electric pump motor exposed above grade. Leaving an electric motor running outside in the rain and snow unprotected isn’t advizeable in most circles.
Other installations may have to use a submersible well pump without any exterior motor to worry about. Submersible pumps are often employed for deeper wells and are placed in the well under the water level. In these cases, insulated water well covers are used over the pressure tank alone. It’s not adviseable to use fiberglass insulation over exterior pressure vessels. Fiberglass insulation breaks down quickly when exposed to rain and U.V rays.
What Are The Best Insulation Bag Options For Well Tanks?
Instead, use insulated well covers made to slip over the tank to keep it cozy. DekoRRa Models 604, 614, and 617 pressure tank insulation bags are very popular and designed to withstand the elements in a wide variety of climates. These bags provide R-16 protection with the insulation weather sealed in thick and durable elastomeric outer shell that is highly U.V. resistant.
Insulated well pump covers for applications requiring more coverage usually call for a large fake boulder or well house covering the entire layout. For added protection many homeowners choose to also place an insulation bag over the tank. This strategy allows for wind protection from the hard exterior with additional R-value over the tank where it is most needed.
It’s important to consider the electric motor if it is mounted above grade and out in the open. Without proper air flow, the moving parts inside the motor can overheat and seize up. This is bad! To prevent excess heat from building up under the cover, vents should be placed in the exterior shell to allow for air flow and proper cooling of the electric pump motor.
DekoRRa Mock Rock Models 104, 114 and 123 are all popular for exterior well protection. Vents are easily added to rock enclosure orders and installed prior to shipment.
Some areas, where the weather can be extremely cold over long periods of time, insulated well pump covers are combined with an electric heat source. The old fashioned route was to throw a light bulb in the enclosure and hope it generates enough heat to prevent things from freezing up. Heat tape is more popular now, with many designs incorporating a thermostatically controlled switch turning the unit on and off when necessary.
How Do I Know What Size Insulated Water Well Covers I Need?
Correctly sizing insulated well pump covers can be tricky. If your sizing the entire footprint, carefully measure the length and width needed at the top and the bottom. Most enclosures have more room at the base vs the top. If you are using an insulation bag over a pressure tank measure the diameter of the tank and the height. Consider the insulation inside the bag as well as the exterior dimensions of the bag. Remember, fluffy insulation can eat up a lot of interior space insude the insulation bags.
As a general rule you want to error on the side of caution when choosing the right insulated well pump covers to use. Being left without running water due to a frozen pump or piping is never much fun. If you’re worried the existing cover isn’t going to provide adequate protection it’s best to remedy the situation before it’s too late.
