After living and working through The Freeze of February 2021, we want to provide our fellow harvesters with advice about how to best protect your rainwater system during a hard freeze. We recommend downloading the guide before the threat of a freeze so you can familiarize yourself with your system, specific valve locations, etc.
If you have a property you will not be staying at during the winter months, we recommend following our instructions for “Decommissioning a Rainwater System” until your return (included in the downloadable guide).
WINTERIZATION SERVICE APPOINTMENTS
Our service team offers winterization service appointments. Contact us if you are interested in having our rainwater techs come out to inspect the system, ensure you are ready for colder weather or if you’d like assistance in decommissioning a rainwater system for a property you may not be returning to until spring.
Please note: While these recommendations are intended to help you protect your rainwater system during a freeze and minimize costly repairs, Harvest Rain cannot make any guarantees against system failure(s) during extreme weather.
HARVEST RAIN FREEZE PROTECTION GUIDE CONTENTS
DOWNLOAD THE FULL GUIDE HERE >>
1. INSULATE ALL EXPOSED SMALL DIAMETER PIPES
- Small diameter = anything 2” or under. Typically these are pressurized pipes coming from your tank and/or the suction pipe to the pump if your pump is outside of the tank.
- Wrap extra insulation around the main valve at the tank as this point is especially vulnerable during a deep freeze.
2. OPEN DRAIN VALVE OF COLLECTION LINE (OR FIRST FLUSH)
Keep the drain valve OPEN until the threat of freeze has passed and everything has completely thawed out (this may be several days after temperatures have begun to rise).
**WARNING: AFTER COMPLETING STEP 2 YOU WILL NOT BE COLLECTING NEW WATER. ALL WATER FROM THE ROOF WILL DRAIN THROUGH THE OPEN VALVE UNTIL CLOSED.**
3. DRIP FAUCETS
Find the lowest, furthest faucet from the disinfection station and open at a very slow drip. Depending on the severity of freeze, you may need to drip multiple faucets to ensure water is continuously flowing through house plumbing. You may consider dripping a bathtub faucet and retaining the water in case of an extended power outage.
4. HEAT COMPONENTS
- If any of your components (pump, disinfection system) are not in fully conditioned areas (ie non-insulated well house or exterior wall), consider running a heater, heat lamp, or wrapping in heat tape. You will also want to open faucets at a higher flow than a drip.
- If you have a submersible pump, it will be protected by the water in the tank.
5. CONFIRM UV LIGHT IS ON SURGE PROTECTOR
Extreme weather events are often accompanied by rolling blackouts or full power loss. To protect your UV light kit, ensure the unit is plugged into a surge-protected outlet.
**IF YOU LOSE POWER**
and it is unlikely it will come back within 30 minutes and temperatures are below freezing: immediately follow the included instructions for “How to Decommission A Rainwater System” included in our full Freeze Protection Guide.
You can contact the Harvest Rain Service team by giving us a ring at 512-645-2955 OR by filling in the form below.
