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My gas well keeps freezing

Jigstick

Jigstick

“What’s the matter colonel sanders….chicken?”
Full Member
Minuteman
    • Jul 21, 2017
    2,333
    3,162
    Pittsburgh PA
    #1
    My gas well is about 500yds from the house, and there’s no electrical over there. The pipe/valve keeps freezing up when the temps drop into the low 20s and we when we get snow.

    We’ve tried building wind breaks around the pipe, wrapping the pipe in foam insulation, etc. but it keeps freezing.

    The well workers installed an alcohol drip tank and valve for us. It does work to thaw the valve out and get gas flowing again. But walking from the house at 3am in a blizzard to do it is a headache.

    Anybody know of some type of solar / battery system that could power some heat tape we could wrap around the pipe?
     
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    #3
    western PA. We have 5 active gas wells on the property. The house is fed directly from one of the wells. There’s some piping coming from the holding tank that is above ground…before the piping goes back underground and travels 500yds to the house.

    It’s the exposed valve / regulator coming off the holding tank that keeps freezing up and choking off flow to the house.
     
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    #4
    Jigstick said:
    western PA. We have 5 active gas wells on the property. The house is fed directly from one of the wells. There’s some piping coming from the holding tank that is above ground…before the piping goes back underground and travels 500yds to the house.

    It’s the exposed valve / regulator coming off the holding tank that keeps freezing up and choking off flow to the house.
    Click to expand...
    Can they put methanol in the tank? That's what they do for propane tanks here. The moisture in the tank freezes when it passes through the regulator causing the problem.
     
    #5
    One , your gas is wet. The supplier needs to put a dryer in. Second the freezing is caused by a pressure drop across a pressure regulator valve. They can change the pressure drop or install 2 valves and divide the drop between the two valves. Third opinion is they install a heater on the line that’s powered by the gas in the line. This is common and fixable although the gas supplier may not want to because it cost and more maintenance for them.
     
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    #7
    You need to install a water seperator between the well head and the pipe that freezes.

    I had to install a second water seperator after the high pressure regulator. Even without the freezing issue you want the gas going to your house to be as dry as possible. Because that moisture has lots of dissolved salts and other nasty shit that will wreck your boiler and anything that uses the gas.






    Below a little info on seperator:

    tor" is a specialized piece of machinery used in the oil and gas industry to separate water from the natural gas produced by a well, essentially allowing only the dry gas to move forward in the pipeline by removing any liquid water droplets present in the gas stream; it is typically a pressure vessel designed to utilize the difference in density between gas and water, with the water settling to the bottom and the gas rising to the top to be collected separately.

    Key points about gas well water separators:

    Function:
    The primary function is to remove free water from the produced gas, preventing issues like corrosion, freezing, and damage to downstream equipment like compressors.

    Design:
    Most commonly, a vertical cylindrical vessel with an inlet at the top where the gas-water mixture enters, allowing the water to settle at the bottom and the gas to rise and exit at the top.
    Separation mechanism:
    The separation process relies on gravity, where the denser water naturally sinks to the bottom while the lighter gas rises.

    Types of separators:
    Two-phase separators: Only separate gas and liquid (combined oil and water).
    Three-phase separators: Separate gas, oil, and water individually.

    Other names:
    Sometimes referred to as "gas separators", "liquid separators", or "scrubbers" depending on the specific application.
     
    Last edited:
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    #8
    Once you've installed your seperator then once a week (or as required) you can go down and blow off the water collected.

    Hopefully there is a tank there to blow it into. If now it's up to you. People argue about how harmful the salts are.

    In my well most of the liquid is the fraking fluid coming up with the gas. So the first few years are the worst. Thirty years after fraking I'm getting about a quart a week during winter. So I can go blow off the tank on sunny days.

    I bought my separators and regulators at West Penn Pipe, unfortunately they've gone out of business.
     
    #9
    GrantB said:
    The underlying problem is too much moisture in the gas. Have them address this and it all goes away
    Click to expand...

    Every company that owns wells is going to be different as is Every contract with the land owner. In my case the contract requires the well owner to provide me a connection where I can install my equipment. There is no obligation for them to install or maintain any of my equipment. My advice is based on the assumption that Jigstick has a contract similar to mine.

    And if that's the case it could be a mistake to enter a conversation with the well owner believing that they have obligations not specified in the contract.

    You are 100% correct that the moisture tends to switch from vapor to liquid where the pressure drops.
     
    #11
    Could you build a compost pile around it? The natural decomposition would probably create enough heat to stave off the freezing.

    Only reason I mention this is, we had a large compost pile and deer would bed in it during extremely cold weather, that and I would see steam off of it during cold damp weather.
     
    #12
    chillywig said:
    Two things you can do. Add a small dryer or heater. I work for a company that can provide either. https://theblythecompany.com/
    Only problem is nothing is cheap. Who is the gas producer?
    Click to expand...

    I did a quick perusal of your website and did not see the size of separators that would be suitable for a guy supplying gas to a single home.

    If you have such a product could you include a link to it?

    Also are you in a position where you could help Jigstick make his purchase at the wholesale price?
     
    #15
    #19
    Jigstick said:
    My gas well is about 500yds from the house, and there’s no electrical over there. The pipe/valve keeps freezing up when the temps drop into the low 20s and we when we get snow.

    We’ve tried building wind breaks around the pipe, wrapping the pipe in foam insulation, etc. but it keeps freezing.

    The well workers installed an alcohol drip tank and valve for us. It does work to thaw the valve out and get gas flowing again. But walking from the house at 3am in a blizzard to do it is a headache.

    Anybody know of some type of solar / battery system that could power some heat tape we could wrap around the pipe?
    Click to expand...
    Move to LA, it's warm there.
     
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    #23
    Heat trace it....

    I can figure out what wattage cable it would need to be and how much to keep it above freezing.

    We install on industrial equipment all the time.
    Just a estimate, could be 100 watts as long as the regulator and adjacent piping gets properly insulated.
    Could run 15 amp circuit out there with #14 wire.


    Dealing with the condensate is another group.... Not within my skill set.
     
    #24
    missed said:
    Heat trace it....

    I can figure out what wattage cable it would need to be and how much to keep it above freezing.

    We install on industrial equipment all the time.
    Just a estimate, could be 100 watts as long as the regulator and adjacent piping gets properly insulated.
    Could run 15 amp circuit out there with #14 wire.


    Dealing with the condensate is another group.... Not within my skill set.
    Click to expand...
    The problem with anything electric is that it'll fail during a power outage.
     
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