I have a well that is supposed to be 150 feet deep with a submersible pump. I need to pull the pump for some maintenance. I was wondering if I can pull it myself. Can this be done by hand? Is there anything special about doing this, or anything I need to watch out for?
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If its hooked to continuous roll plastic , theres not a lot to it unless some dummy made a mistake installing the hook up.
Tim Mooney
I just had this done last weekend when my pump went out. The snow on our drive made it impossible for the pump guy to get his service truck in so I helped him do it manually. Ours is 168 feet down. There is a fitting about 10 or 12 feet down that attaches the hose from the pump to the side of the well housing. You just drop a threaded pole down there, screw it on, knock the side of the housing to loosen it and lift it out. Put a pair of sawhorses on either side of the housing and have one person hoist the pump out while the other walks it away. It's a fair amount of work but can be done. You can save a few hundred bucks doing it yourself--just have to decide if the hassle is worth it.
I do think there is more than one method of "locking" the pipe in near the top, so that may take some investigation. Once you've freed the top and disconnected the wires, you just keep pulling while someone else walks the top end away.
Once the top is free, don't let go.
Remember to be thorough when installing the new pump. You're going to have electrical splices that are under water, not much room for error. Torque arrestors and safety lines are not there to look pretty.
I've only done two, but they were fun (no sarcasm intended).
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
Edited 3/2/2003 6:44:53 PM ET by Rich Beckman
The pumps I've had to pull all had a 1/2" oranged braided line attached to a stainless steel shackle on the pump (the pumps usually have an "eye" on the top of the housing for this feature.
After releasing the torque-lock (as somebody mentioned, there are several types) run the line (if your's is so installed) through a block mounted in the pump house or a secured "A" frame.
The pump can then be pulled with a pickup or a winch. Usually, at least two people are involved...one to keep the pipe free from hangups and kinks and another to do the pulling. Pulling one by hand is a little much if the pump is over 75' to 100' down, in my experience. (but maybe I'm just a weakling).
Michaelmosel, around here, if a pump company did the intial install, you will find either 1" or 1 1/4" galvanized pipe, in 20' sections, sooo , if that is the case, then you will need a tripod of some sorts, at least 22' feet tall, just in case that galvanized pipe is 21', with a type of "boot" to hold section's of pipe, while unthreading. I'am sure you will turn the Power off, to said Pump, at the start . I'am curious as to what maintance you are preforming? I have great confidence in you, while you are working around a very expensive hole.Best of Luck Jim J
I've done it several times - But never on one that deep.
All the ones I've done were with PVC pipe. We'd back a pickup over near the well. Then we'd pull the thing up and bend the pipe over to the the person standing in the back of the pickup. That person would pass it over their head, and another person on the other side would take the end from them. This kept the pipe from snapping if it was bent in too tight of a radius.
I like Beckman's suggestion - "Once the top is free, don't let go."
Avoid cliches like the plague.
It is heavy as heck. 150 foot of 1/2 inch galvanized, full of water with a 50 lb pump on the end?
Don't maintain it. replace it. The cost & effort to extract it isn't worth the effort if you have to do it again next year.
If the old one still works use it for something else. My dad put his on the end of a long black PVC tube and layed it in Lake Michigan for irrigation of his garden. Wether it was right or not, it worked. Generally anything free, cheap, or easy is against someone's sensibility.
(edit) I see now it is possible pvc is used as the pipe. I'd still go thru the math to figure out what the weight is of the system you are lifting. My Pop had a 240 foot well. Way too much weight to screw with.
Edited 3/3/2003 9:52:50 AM ET by Booch
If you're lucky, you will find:
PVC pipe is used, so it is easy to pull, and
no check valve at the pump, so once you break the line by disconnecting the "pitless adapter" (where the pipe exits the casing), all the water should drain out of the pipe through the pump.
Careful pulling it out so you don't damage the cable.