I have a valve-controlled T-fitting in the basement on the line leading from the exhaust pump. One arm of the T feeds a line that just dumps into a buried Big-O drainpipe that leads out into the adjacent pasture; this is usable only during the warm months.
The other arm of the T feeds a standard external faucet, onto which I can thread a garden hose that lets me direct water to wherever I want it. During the cold months, I must use a hose on this to pump water out into that pasture; the hose must be put in place just before the water change, and then removed immediately afterwards, to prevent freezing. I've shattered a couple of hoses that were forgotten outside a bit too long.
This winter-hose thing is the single thing about my system that I really don't like...but it's really the only way for me to deal with water disposal during sub-zero weather. I've considered running heat-trace lines along the buried Big-O and trying to use that during winter, but the contour of the land is so utterly flat that even if I can keep the water in the Big-O in a liquid state, it will freeze up and quickly plug the end of the drain pipe when it exits. So pac boots and parka are the order of the day once a week on water-change day.
duanes
, surely that set-up you show was useless during a Minnesota winter as well? Or did you have sufficient contour in your land that the water could run right out the end without pooling and freezing up.
