Pulling well pump

[gfretwell]

I have a 4" well with a pump 60' down. I am going to have to pull it. Any tricks?

[Paul Drahn]

Sure. Hire a local well maintenance company. I have had to do it several times. first on a 350 ft. well and twice on a 650 ft. well.

they have the equipment and the expertise. They will also check your motor controller and probably replace the AC capacitor, if nothing else. they will also check the wiring for shorting to the pipe, then pull the pipe and pump and check the check valves on the way up.

If the pipe is rusty, they will have the replacement pipe right there.

On the way up, they will also examine the wiring for damage and the torque arms for proper resistance to movement.

Finally, they can put the pump in a barrel of water to see if is truly the problem.

They will also check any screening on the pump to be sure it is still useable.

A 60 ft. well should take less than an hour to do all the above.

I guess the ultimate question is: can you actually get to the well to pull the pipe and pump? I have to use the Kubota to lift off the well house. One nearby property we looked at had a barn built around the well, so there was no way a truck could get to the well and then there was a roof in the way of pulling the pipe.

Paul

[repairs]

It never fails to amaze me why darn near every answer on here lately is to hire a professional. If people want to do that, they dont even need to post a question to alt.home.repair.

Considering this is a DIY newsgroup, lets assume the OP is ready and willing to DIY.

Several years ago, I had to pull a 500 ft well with all steel pipe and a pump at the bottom. The loader on my farm tractor could not even budge it. I tried darn near everything, and finally hired a pro to do the job, which cost a small fortune. But a 60 ft well is another matter. I once pulled a 40ft well, with jot pump in the basement. The well pipes were plastic. I actually pulled it by hand. It was no easy task, because the weight of the water is more than the pipes. But I did it.

If the OP has plastic pipes, use a winch. If the pipes are steel I'd suggest a tractor with a loader, or front end loader. Or a strong come-along on a tree branch if possible. But first buy or rent one of those clamps that lock the pipe as it's raised, so it dont fall back in the well. I dont know the name of that device, (maybe someone can assist with the name).

60 feet is doable, and if the pipes are plastic, it's not even a needing machinery, other than a winch or sturdy come-along. Steel pipes will need some machinery, but is still doable for the homeowner.

[gfretwell]

I had not thought about the weight of the water but 60' of 1.25" pipe only holds ~30 pounds of water. This is black flex pipe, I watched them put it down. I assume the water will stat draining out as it comes up and the pipe flops over. I do see that a way to hold it would be handy. Another thought might be to shoot 60 feet of air hose down the pipe and blow as much water out as I can get,. I have air.

[dpb]

On 5/13/2013 12:30 AM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

Yeech...never seen that, but then again minimum water table around here is about 200' so different animal...

Did they put a cable or something on pump to pull with? I've no clue what you'd try to pull flex with to try to grab the pipe itself...one uses the standard well clamps under the couplings for either metal or solid plastic but that won't work w/ nothing to grasp...that's basically like fishing for a broken piece.

[harry]

It all depends on what it is suspended on and the sort of pipework. Usually special equipment is needed. If you were handy, you could rig something up. If not leave it to experts. There is potential for a real good f**k up.

[harry]

Usually there is a stainless steel pump suspension cable with flexible pipe. I have seen a roller device put over the well and the pump raised by attaching the cable to a 4x4 or similar vehical.

[RBM]

You probably need a piece of 1" threaded pipe, preferably with a "T" handle, to thread into the pitless adapter at the top of the well pipe. Disconnect the well pump wires under the well cap. There is probably a poly line attached to the pump so you don't loose it if a fitting breaks. Once you jerk the pitless adapter out of it's fitting, you should be able to lift the whole mess out by pulling on the poly well pipe. Have another person walk the pipe, wire out while you keep pulling, until its all out. My well is 160 feet deep, with poly pipe and I pull it by hand by myself, with the kids or wife walking the pipe down the lawn as I go. It's a little tough at first, but the weight decreases rapidly, so 60 feet should be a breeze. Look for bare spots along the wire if there are no, or too few rubber disk protectors, don't know what they're called.

[dadiOH]

1. Exceedingly unlikely that you will be able to DIY.
2. Since you will hire it done, have your checkbook ready. Two months ago we had to pull ours and replace 60' of drop pipe. Cost: 0. The price of 1

1/2" galvanized pipe is ridiculous, close to $3.00/ft

[dadiOH]

It is doable if one has a way to get (usually) 20-24' of pipe vertically into the air so that it can be unfastened from the next section.

[trader4]

You can't blow the water out because there is a check valve in the pump. Had a 50 ft well put in a few years ago and the well drillers installed the pump by hand. It used poly pipe like you have. To pull it out, it will be heavier because of the water, but should still be doable by hand.

[CRNG]

On Mon, 13 May 2013 07:11:54 -0400, RBM wrote in Re Re: Pulling well pump:

This is exactly how I pulled my 50' deep well pump.

[trader4]

Wrong yet again.

Yes, if you or your advice is involved.

[trader4]

Why?

That's one reason they've been using poly for a long time, . like gfretw has.

[gfretwell]

I wasn't talking about blowing the water out the bottom. If you put enough air at the bottom the water will come out the top. That was how they pumped the mud out when they drilled the well. It was shooting 10 feet in the air.

Thanks for the encouragement. One guy put this well pump in there, I watched him do it and there is no metal pipe here at all. The well casing is PVC and the pump is hanging on black poly pipe.

[trader4]

You have 60 ft of pipe that's vertical, full of water. How do you propose to get air to the bottom of it to blow the water up and out? Also, it's only the water above the waterline that adds weight when you're pulling it.

Yep, that's how it's done here too. The pump is just suspended from the poly pipe. No reason you can't pull it yourself.

[Harry K]

Why?

Checkbook? One very good reason to DIY and it is commonly done by people who have never done it, or even seen it done. It is not rocket science.

Harry K

[gfretwell]

My plan was to shove 60' of air hose down there but I just grabbed it and it wasn't that heavy so I just pulled it out myself. It is in the yard now.

I was wrong about the pipe, it is sch 40 PVC all the way down.

The problem was the pump unscrewed from the pipe. I put it in a bucket and it still shoots water. I am on my way to the store to get the fittings to put it back. I may go ahead and replace the pipe too.

Thanks for your advice, Saved me $300, assuming they did not try to sell me a pump. I owe you a case of beer.

[dpb]

On 5/13/2013 10:11 AM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

Must be nice... :) Try 200' 2-1/4" Sch 60 w/ 2-1/2 hp submergible on the bottom... :)

_MUCH_ more sensible... :)

...

While you're at it het a snubber to keep that from happening again...of course, it makes it a little tougher to pull owing to the friction to break it loose after it's sat there for years... :)

[trader4]

Thanks, good to know it worked out ok. But you don't owe me anything. You've given a lot of good advice to lots of people here over the years. I think it was you who told me about the "relay in a box" a few years ago.