This may seem like a dumb question, but I bought a new farm and it has a small 1350 foot well maintained farm house 13 years old that is built on a crawl space. It has central heat and air (trane) heat pump. The vents are in the attic and the main unit is in the attic. It has standard pvc type plumbing in the crawls space. There is a space heater with a small fan in the crawl space hard wired to a thermostat that comes on at 37 degrees reportedly.The crawl space is not insulated. The house is 2x6 constructed and well insulated every interior wall is even insulated. It also has a wood burning stove in the living room/kitchen open area.

The well house/room is in the 30 x 30 building next door. There is an old refrigerator in the well room that the previous owner says keeps it always about 40 degrees. The room is completely sealed in the garage and has 2x6 walls with "extra insulation". Thus far I have seen in the low 20's and the room is 45 to 48 degrees always.

My question is I have thermostat in the house set on 50 degrees when I am not there. I had it set at 55 degrees but lowered it to 50 recently.

DO you think that is warm enough to keep pipes from freezing when it is single digit temps like this weekend? I stayed there alot during hunting season and trapping season. I noticed the wood stove would keep the place warm for two days before the internal temp finally got to 50 degrees even though the nights were in the thirties.

What would you keep the thermostat on not being there for extended periods of time????

Age of house? Drafts possible in foundation/crawl space? Water valve shut off at the well? The space heater in the crawl space would lend me to believe that it was needed in the past. I would move that up to 40 and the house to 55. Peace of mind and the extra money spent would be minimal. I would change everything over to Pex sometime in the summer.

House is 13 years old. Water not shut off.

X-2 and Insulate the crawl space this summer.

13 years old it should be pretty tight but not always. If it was me I would always shut off the water when you leave. If the furnace dies and the pipes break then there is no flooding/damage. It should be fine but I would still turn both up a little.

For an extended period, I would drain the lines and not heat it at all.

One thing we see even in new homes is the Plumbing in exterior walls freeze when it gets into the teens here for a couple of days. This is because the cabinets insulate that particular wall area from the heat or the living space. I would make sure the cabinet doors are open an and lavatory or kitchen sink that’s on an exterior wall.

Good info here. Like Hal said, if for long periods of time winterize it. RV antifreeze in the commode top and bottom. A little in all traps at sinks.

I keep my cabin at 55... I was told the newer electronic thermostats do not work as well below that, before we put in the new furnace and thermostat - always kept it at 51 degrees without issue.

Heat or don't heat. Keeping the temp under 55 will cause moisture problems. Mold and drywall problems. Either keep it cold or warm and dry.

Turkey Time gave you the best answer for you future years. Convert to Pex and no more busted pipes when they freeze.

As stated always turn water off wnen not there, winter or summer. If it has a water pump someplace that you cant easily hear it when running, run you a wire from the shutoff on pump to a small light that can easily been seen so you will know when pump is running. Sometime in the future either you'll pump the source dry, bad footvalve, leak on suction side (it will happen, its just when) and your pump will sit there and run maybe to its death, esp if its in a freezer it will get way hot fast if running dry.

Good idea always to have water shut off anytime your gone even if you dont have a pump. I know of two houses and a church that flooded either from a frozen pipe or just water pressure blew the pipes apart in summer.

If a water heater sets a few months with no fresh water being ran thru, it will sour so you might have to drain it before using,(myself I wouldnt drain and let set dry, really dont know tho whether freezing will hurt)

If draining the water pipes, you have to have all faucets open for the water to run back and may not then. You can use air pressure to blow out or use RV antifreeze. Put rv antifreeze in all traps, incuding tub. Washing machine switches and or pump in it may freeze if not drained.

I fixed a line under a trailer that was freeze proof, the fitting blowed off, lots of wet insulaion and a pond underneath. Never say never!

I have a customer who owns a vacation home in NJ. He keeps the heat on all winter and keeps it at 50 degrees with no problems other than when the heat goes out.

He lives about 2.5 hours away. He has a freeze monitor, a sensor connected to the phone line that alerts him when the interior temp drops below 40. That is something you could look into for peace of mind.

When I heated my camp over winter I kept the thermostat at 45 and never had any problems. I have since started draining water lines and toilets and shut the heat off when I'm not there.

Kill the power to to the pressure tank before you leave (should be a dedicated circuit). That way there won't be a flood if a pipe cracks.

I agree about insulating the crawlspace.

Here in PA it has always been considered bad building practice to run water lines in exterior walls.

^ exactly never make a winter here if water lines where on outside walls. That would be a NO NO!

X2

Yep for short trips have a wood burner in place and carry in water like a camp in the woods until someone lives there full time is what I would do would be fun also.

I left one cold for one winter. Will not do it again.
It cost a lot more than heating and ventilation costs.
Others mileage may vary.