Do this first
- Turn the pump off at its breaker if it's running and no water comes out, so it doesn't overheat.
- Never use a torch or open flame on pipes, the pressure switch or a well house.
- Open a faucet near the pressure tank so water can flow once the ice clears.
Where a well system freezes first
- The pressure switch tube. The thin pipe under the pressure switch holds very little water and freezes first. A frozen tube means the switch never sees pressure drop, so the pump never starts.
- Pipe at the pressure tank, when the tank sits in an unheated garage, crawlspace or well house.
- The line where it enters the house, if it isn't buried below the frost line or runs through a cold rim joist.
- Above-ground pumps and well houses with no heat or insulation.
How to thaw it safely
- With the pump breaker off, warm the pressure switch tube and the pipe near the tank with a hair dryer or a heat gun on low, kept moving.
- Warm the space too: a space heater kept well away from anything that can burn, never left alone.
- When you hear water move or the gauge changes, turn the breaker back on and watch the pressure climb.
- Check the thawed pipe for cracks or drips. Ice can split a pipe that only leaks once it thaws.
If you can't find the frozen spot, or it's underground or inside a wall, call a pro. If a pipe has already split, shut the water off and see a pipe just burst.
Keep it from freezing again
- Insulate the pressure tank, switch and exposed pipe, and seal drafts around them.
- Use heat tape that is listed for pipes, installed to its instructions, on lines that run through cold spaces.
- Keep a well house or tank room above freezing with a heater made for that use.
- On the coldest nights, let one faucet drip so water keeps moving.
Frozen pipes inside the house rather than at the well system? See frozen pipes.
Water still won't come back after the thaw? Go to no water from your well to check the breaker, gauge and pump.