A winter snowstorm (and a well pump update)
We arrived last winter ahead of a big snowstorm, by intent. We had left early from Asheville to make it ahead of the storm.
But we didn’t see the almost white-out conditions in that storm like we saw this afternoon. It was remarkable.
Happily we could stay home in our warm cottage, with the robust power that Hydro-Quebec seems to provide (we lose power a LOT more in the Southeastern U.S. than it appears to happen here.)
It’s perhaps a combination of more robust maintenance (we had HomeExchange partners last summer where the husband had worked for Hydo-Quebec managing repair crews) and less icy/heavy snow conditions on the lines, compared to our winter snow/ice conditions in the Southeastern U.S.
The snow was light and fluffy today as it accumulated.
And happily, in another part of living in the “country” experience, albeit really within the larger city of Rimouski, our plumber’s evaluation of our well pump system this morning revealed no problems with the water pressure tank, the well pump, or the float valve down in the well. The longer pump running cycle is apparently triggered by our water-softening system’s periodic back flushing - it can last from 15 minutes to 95 minutes. Hmm, who knew? He has the same system and said his can run up to an hour.
No wonder we were alarmed, I thought, as the pump kept running. In winter, all of the doors in the basement are open, so we hear it quite clearly. In summer, the doors to the various rooms in the basement and to the pump closet are all closed, and we’re not sitting in the house next to the basement stairs, as we’re outside or out and about, so obviously we hadn’t noticed the long back-flushing cycle before.
But now we understand the entire system MUCH better. I spent a lot of time (well, actually a LOT of time) trying to figure out what might be going on, having no previous knowledge of how all of this worked. But all of that helped me understand much better how the system functioned and what could go wrong.
But happily, ours is fine at the moment. Even if our well pressure tank and well pump are old, they’re sound, he said. What a relief. (The older pumps and tanks were better constructed, not surprisingly, based on my internet research).
We still need to locate the exact location of the well, in the context of being prepared for future problems, but all is well for now.
But we didn’t see the almost white-out conditions in that storm like we saw this afternoon. It was remarkable.
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| The view towards the mountain ash |
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| the kitchen window |
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| out towards the bird feeders |
Happily we could stay home in our warm cottage, with the robust power that Hydro-Quebec seems to provide (we lose power a LOT more in the Southeastern U.S. than it appears to happen here.)
It’s perhaps a combination of more robust maintenance (we had HomeExchange partners last summer where the husband had worked for Hydo-Quebec managing repair crews) and less icy/heavy snow conditions on the lines, compared to our winter snow/ice conditions in the Southeastern U.S.
The snow was light and fluffy today as it accumulated.
And happily, in another part of living in the “country” experience, albeit really within the larger city of Rimouski, our plumber’s evaluation of our well pump system this morning revealed no problems with the water pressure tank, the well pump, or the float valve down in the well. The longer pump running cycle is apparently triggered by our water-softening system’s periodic back flushing - it can last from 15 minutes to 95 minutes. Hmm, who knew? He has the same system and said his can run up to an hour.
No wonder we were alarmed, I thought, as the pump kept running. In winter, all of the doors in the basement are open, so we hear it quite clearly. In summer, the doors to the various rooms in the basement and to the pump closet are all closed, and we’re not sitting in the house next to the basement stairs, as we’re outside or out and about, so obviously we hadn’t noticed the long back-flushing cycle before.
But now we understand the entire system MUCH better. I spent a lot of time (well, actually a LOT of time) trying to figure out what might be going on, having no previous knowledge of how all of this worked. But all of that helped me understand much better how the system functioned and what could go wrong.
But happily, ours is fine at the moment. Even if our well pressure tank and well pump are old, they’re sound, he said. What a relief. (The older pumps and tanks were better constructed, not surprisingly, based on my internet research).
We still need to locate the exact location of the well, in the context of being prepared for future problems, but all is well for now.
What a relief you must be feeling having more knowledge of your system. Hopefully this spring or summer you will find the well and feel even better about the water coming in to your home. Your pictures look beautiful. It sure looks like a time to stay indoors.
ReplyDeleteYou'll appreciate what a science project it was to try to better understand how the well/water system components work together!
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