during due diligence on a park in midwest. The seller informs me that water riser well will be needed for each mobile home in order to prevent water riser from freezing and burst. I’ve never heard of this before.
Is it necessary to install WATER RISER well?
How much would that cost?
Good question. I suggest you call a plumber in the area and ask him. Or, ask the owner what it is. My guess is that the water riser is the water pipe that is exposed from the ground to the home. That section of pipe may freeze due to it being exposed and there is a section, perhaps 18 inches, that is in the ground that may freeze because it is above the ground freeze line. The owner may be referring to this section.
This is a great question. the water riser exposure varies from 0 in Phoenix, to significant in Flagstaff at 7000 ft. elev.
He said he has to dig 3-4 feet down and install barrel around water pipe above the freeze line.
Is it a common practice in Midwest?
I don’t know if it’s common practice but it could be in Northern States. Has he had problems with the lines freezing? I would call around to other parks that are near this one and ask the manager or owner if they have these. I’d also tell the seller that I would take care of building these myself… and only do it if necessary. And I’d estimate the cost and reduce my offer price by the cost.
He might be referring to the above picture. They run $200-$300 retail. We have this model in out park and it was a 3’ probe that act like heat tape ensuring the water line does not freeze underground. Total length is about 5-6’ All they are is a shut off valve with a very long extension rod so the valve part is far enough below ground that it never freezes.
We have some trailers with only a ball valve, heat tape and pipe insulation. As long as the unit is occupied we have never had any problems. Between the heat of the earth below and the heat of the trailer above we have done well during our Monatna winters that go down to -30F.
For those who are interested I am attaching a link below:
Unit description:
The Woodford Therm-5 Themaline® Freezeless Water Connector is a compact unit especially designed to provide water service to mobile homes. It is ideal for wherever a freezeless sanitary tight line installation is needed, such as waterers for livestock. This Woodford Therm-5 Themaline® water connector has a bonded polyurethane foam insulation which is permanently molded in a high-strength plastic casing. This protects the Thermaline from freezing. It also has a 15-watt (110-120V) portable insert heater with a grounded metal alloy sheath and a 3-prong standard plug. The heater can be inserted and removed from the Themaline® without interrupting the water service. This Woodford Therm-5 has a bury depth of 5 feet. It also has a pressure molded polypropylene rigid structural foam cover and a brass casting head with a 3/4" national pipe thread outlet. With its galvanized steel riser pipe with coal-tar coating on the lower end and an extra large cushion valve, this Woodford Therm Freezeless Connector is almost maintenance-free. All Woodford Themaline® products carry a warranty for 5 years against defects in workmanship and materials. Woodford is a trusted leader in the industry and its products are made in the USA.
I think this is overkill. The seller said he installed what he referred to “water riser well” on half of the park. The cost is 500$ according to him.
Thank you all the input!!
Water runs in underground pipes that can be 4 to 5 feet underground or more. It is brought to the surface with a riser. Most of our parks have a meter pit (or well) which is a 5’ deep hole in the ground with a corrugated plastic liner around it roughly 18" in diameter. See attached photo looking into the pit. A water line would be run from the meter to the home and must be heated and insulated.
We also use the Woodford Thermaline water riser in one of our Fort Wayne parks, which another person already posted. With this system, the riser is electrically heated so prevent freezing and the water line to the home is run to this device. Our plumber used to charge $1,000 to install the Thermaline riser for labor and materials. We now buy the materials from another source which saved about $200.
If you plan to do this work yourself, be prepared to dig a deep hole with heavy machinery, install all of the components, and tap them into your main water line. Reaching into the pit can be dangerous because you can get stuck in the confined space and suffocate. Also, if you are replacing leaking risers, the ground can be soft like quicksand as you dig. We once lifted a maintenance worker from a meter pit with a fire truck hoist, and fortunately he was not injured.
