Continued Plumbing Struggles

I’ve mentioned, in daily Island trip posts, the grumpy water heater, and having it serviced. It’s a complicated problem with at least two causes. Because I need to write this up anyways, I’m going to do it here! If plumbing forensics isn’t your thing, swipe left…

When we moved to the Island, the house’s water was supplied by a 4.5’ deep ground well. That meant we had almost no water, particularly in August. Two things happened after I moved away: 1) A second and much deeper well was dug. 2) A line was run from that well to the lower barn. I have found no records for either of these events.

In 1996 my dad had a 300’ ‘deep’ well dug, but never hooked it into the property’s water systems. I did that in 2018 before renting the house upon discovering the ground well had resident garter snakes.

When the property was using the ground well, water was pumped up to the barn. Now that we’re using the deep well, water is pumped from the barn to the house through the same PVC pipe.

Almost immediately upon taking tenancy in mid-November 2022, the new tenants started getting sediment in the aerators and shower head. Previous tenant did not have this problem, or never mentioned it. I do not have this problem in Stella, whose water goes through different piping than the house’s water. For the last couple of months, the on-demand water heater is working sporadically. The not-plumbers who came over from the mainland to service it found the same sediment in the water heater’s filter and found that it was scaled up after cleaning it with vinegar. They also told me the water heater wants lots of water pressure, which don’t seem to have at the house. Post service call, the water heater continues to misbehave, and the house water pressure is worse than ever.

My hypothesis is that the supply line to the house is full of this sediment. My AN and I are forming plans that start with me digging up the supply at the exterior of the house, and the tenants have been very helpful in sharing observations, ideas, and testing to see if the sediment will dissolve in vinegar. No conclusive results so far.

So, tomorrow I return to the Island. I would have gone sooner except I am hosting a meeting this evening and it’s only polite that I attend in person.