Well learned lesson - Submersible pump failed on my well

[invalid unparseable]

Submersible pump failed on my well. Plumber has worked on it in the past and installed new pump and pressure tank over 10 years ago.

He pulled the pump, put a new one on to discover that the well must have collapsed as it would only go to 3/4 previous depth. Then no matter what he did, he could not pull it out. He had to cut off the top of the pipe to hook to the house. We have water but water table is up and pump surrounded with debris may not last long. Plumber would not take a partial hit on his bill but I paid him anyway. I should get water for transition to new well in a week or so. Neighbor could supply me through a hose but it freezes with low temperatures. I had supplied the previous owner for a week a while back when they had the same problem but weather was nice.

Just hired a well digger to put in a new well since the old one is partially collapsed and new one will be needed sooner or later. His costs are also less for a new pump, plumbing and pressure tank than the plumber's. My previous neighbor recommended him after going through the same process.

My plumber who did good work in the past and will now be history has taught me the lesson of not getting a plumber to work on your well.

[trader_4]

Let me get this right. Your shitty old well collapsed and you're trying to blame the plumber, who you say did good work in the past? He didn't collapse it by pulling and replacing a pump.

[not my real pseudonym]

Just curious but how/why did the well collapse?  Generally wells are entirely encased in PVC with a slotted bottom section that allows the water to flow in but prevents collapse.  Did the slotted PVC section fail?

[invalid unparseable]

They only case so far and this was below the casing which I believe only goes down about 50 feet. The well was about 125 feet deep. Casing probably depends on the strata which is rock here but downstate near the coast is sand.

My pump was at about 119 feet and is not stuck at about 89 feet. It is in water and we are still getting water but now bogged down in the porous rock, it will not last long.

[trader_4]

And the result would not have been the same, anyway? A well company is going to eat the cost?

"He pulled the pump, put a new one on to discover that the well must have collapsed as it would only go to 3/4 previous depth. Then no matter what he did, he could not pull it out. Plumber would not take a partial hit on his bill but I paid him anyway. My plumber who did good work in the past and will now be history"

What did the plumber do that was wrong and why should he take a hit on the bill for what he did, given that Frank's shitty old well collapsed? IDK what they do where Frank lives, but here, the casing goes the depth of the well. I've had a well that was 180 ft deep with a casing all the way. Perhaps they have good wells that cost more and shitty wells for cheapskates?

[gfretwell]

The well company would have diagnosed the problem faster (less labor) and they might have given him a break on that call because he was drilling a well. They get a better price on pumps because they buy in bulk..

[trader_4]

It's pure speculation. We have no info as to how much experience that plumber has with wells and pumps, what discounts he gets on materials. A collapsed well is still a collapsed well and the plumber didn't do it. Yes, maybe a well driller might have given him a break. It's also possible that he could have chosen a well company that said, it's $6K for a new well, we'll forget about the existing $500 bill for the work we;ve done. And he might find another well company that will drill it for $5500 or less anyway. But the bottom line here is that despite what you claim, Frank is clearly pissed at the plumber, who did nothing wrong, as evidenced by:

"My plumber who did good work in the past and will now be history has taught me the lesson of not getting a plumber to work on your well."

He's like Trump, always blame someone else.

[Rod Speed]

He's not blaming someone else, he's just realised that using a well company to do stuff with your well can be better value.

[Clare Snyder]

Perhaps an older well with a steel or transite casing?

[trader_4]

No, only when he's wrong and does something stupid. It may look like that to you because Trump does something wrong and stupid so frequently. I supported him here for the past few weeks on his reduced, very reasonable request for a few hundred miles of border fence/wall for example.

BTW, for another example, he's going to make an address in a few minutes about a deal to end the shutdown. If he does that without getting his wall, what say you? Another Trump triumph or failure?

[Rod Speed]

Just another cave claimed to be a triumph, just like NAFTA.

What Trump does all the time.

[gfretwell]

It sounds to me like he just learned a lesson he wants to share with us. If your well is broke, call a well guy. Do you call an electrician when your car won't start?

Off topic bullshit in an otherwise on topic post.

[gfretwell]

What part of that is so hard to understand?

[gfretwell]

That is what I was thinking. In real life it doesn't even have to "Collapse" just get enough rust on it that the new pump won't go down. I suppose you could drop a camera down there these days and give it a look. You might be able to knock enough crud out to buy some time but he is still looking at a new well soon if the casing is compromised.

[Jose]

Changing out a submersible well pump hung at 100'  is an easy DIY job...until something goes wrong.  At that point you probably need a $500,000 drill rig and miscellaneous support equipment.

[Rod Speed]

He actually is that thick.

[invalid unparseable]

You can't teach stupid. Traitor is in my kf.

[invalid unparseable]

As mentioned, I have contracted with a well digger. First he needs to get a permit. He says he works in any weather but I pointed out that I had pictures of 2 ft of snow on the ground on this date. We do have water for now from the old well. There is water where the pump is and when we moved in we were told we had 15 gal per minute recovery rate. I was surprised when neighbors went dry a couple of years ago as his well head is less than 200 ft from mine and the well digger only dug the new one about 20 ft away.

[trader_4]

Nothing. What part of the rest that actually goes to my point and that you omitted is hard to understand for you?

"Plumber would not take a partial hit on his bill but I paid him anyway.

My plumber who did good work in the past and will now be history has taught me the lesson of not getting a plumber to work on your well."

Frank expected the plumber to take the hit on his bill for his legitimate work because he has a shitty well that collapsed. The plumber didn't collapse it. The plumber, in fact, left him with a functioning well! And now the plumber, who did good work in the past, and by the account of what happened here, also did good work on the well, is now blamed. Frank's mad that he wouldn't discount the work, and he dumped him from doing future work.

[trader_4]

The problem isn't that he called a plumber. The problem is that he has a shitty well that's collapsed. The plumber didn't collapse it or do anything wrong. In fact, per the story, the plumber replaced the failed pump and left him with a functioning well! Frank is just mad that the plumber wouldn't discount his bill. Why should he? Would you? Would you give him a pump at a reduced price? Free labor? And hence, while he says he did good work in the past, he says now this plumber is history.

Trump is an example of the same behavior, cheapskate, thinks someone else who did good work for them should eat the bill, blames others for anything, no matter how illogical.