Cubans LOLOL

I'm sorry, ANOTHER ANNOYING STORY from the old days

Somewhere around 75-76 we had a very odd year. Sometime around Thanksgiving, it had rained and RAINED and saturated the ground heavily, and then FROZE HARD down to 10, 20F at night. This kept up without warming for awhile, and "drove" the frost deep into the ground. There were pipes froze around the area "had never frozen" before. I remember on the "news" in Spokane, folks were jumpering garden hoses across houses for short periods so their neighbors could get some water

Anyhow at the time I was living in a trailer, with a well about ?80-100? ft from the trailer. It had had a "shallow well jet" pump UNDER the trailer and the well had a large dia. casing--it was hand dug. So I made some brackets and hung the pump down in the top of the casing with a thermostat controlled pair of lamps for insurance heat. Turned out the heat of the water below is all it needed, "sort of."

One night.........no water............and I had it from the spigot inside the well off the pump. I ran down a friend and his loggin jitney, a 1T Ford with welder in the back and got him up there. Hooked the welder to the pipe under the trailer and to the pipe in the well, and ..............

NADA.........NOT A SPARK!!!

So I ended up getting ahold of the owner and it turns out the well piping is indeed metal in the well...........and metal coming up under the trailer........BUT PVC IN BETWEEN!!

So I sent the welder buddy home

Then went down to my folks, retrieved an old R12 bottle that had a screw-in valve, filled it halfway with hot water, and pressurized it with my compressor. Then drove back up the hill and plumbed that to the well pump. Maybe 2-5 minutes later..........a couple drips out of the kitchen faucet. ...........and a couple minuts later...........an few more drips..........and a couple minutes later...........a small stream, until, finally, the pipe starts to flow

For unknown reasons, I had no more trouble with frozen pipes