BTW, the water came on about 3:30 PM which is much longer than it usually takes. In January we just bite the bullet and keep it about 50 degrees down there, regardless of the cost. Half of a shower makes the wife very unhappy!
Here I go drifting another thread, but is 50deg a recommended temp, or do you do that just for extra insurance? I was thinking of setting the main heater to go on at 40deg and if power went out, for the backup to kick in at 35deg. That's with average DEC-JAN temps in my part of Idaho in the low 20s to high 30s (night/day). Though this week for instance, it'll be hitting the low teens.
We get down into the 30s here at night (I'm still in CA until March or so) and high 20s sometimes, like tonight, and the pump here is just out and exposed. No well house, which is very common, and just a roof over the pump and controller. I just have foam pipe insulation on all the exposed pipe, and for nights like tonight, I wrap the tank in an old ensolite backpacking pad. Of course below freezing usually only lasts 5-6 hours at most here, and more commonly, just a couple of hours.
