New well set up for dummies

[ycgoat]

I have a property with an 80' long shed garage and am about to install a well (No house just a camper). The building is unconditioned, no existing water line penetration through the slab, I am putting a bathroom on one end of the garage opposite the well location. Septic is installed. I have power near the well location either from my service panel or garage panel on the well side of the garage. I am undecided / unclear on freeze protection and control of the well. We are out there for at least one weekend a month even during winter.

• Do I bring the water line in the building ASAP or run it under ground and bring it in at the bathroom (with separation from drain line)?
• Do I put pressure switch and expansion tank in bathroom or at well location (well location is undesirable to wife because it is visible)
• I am going to heat the bathroom, but am concerned for power outages during winter storms, and plan to put a stop / waste valve before the line comes out of the ground, but how do I set up bathroom plumbing to drain or be blown out? Is gravity enough?
• What devices or set ups are good for blowing out the water lines before I leave?
• Any good tips or cautions I have not considered? I have never had a well and only worked around shallow garden wells along the coast.

The property is in Southern Va but hard freezes do happen and busted water lines are not unusual.

 

[bluedog225]

I put a 3/4 ball valve underground outside my place in a vault where the water comes in. And plumbed the entire place so that it would drain out the waste clean out on the valve. Still have to freeze protect the toilet and traps.

 

[TurnipTruck]

Most cold weather wells use a pitless adapter installed through the well casing and run into the building below the frost depth with the bladder tank and pressure switch inside.
Alternatively, you could have the well/bladder tank/ switch in a small (4x6’?) cellar with a removable insulated roof and a drainable sloped water line below frost line.

 

[ycgoat]

I am liking the idea of the pitless adapter to appease the wife. It looks like they have a rubber seal, how long do the last? Are they hard to replace.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Water line for my garage comes in underground from the house. I have it run to a frost free hydrant and everything plumbed from that.

If need be, I can shut off the hydrant and drain the lines.

 

[ericm]

You can put the pressure tank inside a building like your garage. The pump controller often goes next to it.
Also any water treatment like a softener or filters.

If the wife hates the look of the pump you can build a small shed over it. That also helps keep the well from getting contaminated. If you make the roof removeable with a crane the well service guys can just pull it off when they need to pull the well pipe to replace the pump.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Fixtures are a problem in a power failure. Traps can’t be left dry, and they will be damaged if they freeze. A small propane heater in the bathroom that doesn’t need electricity might be an answer.