Mine went out this am I have calls in for quotes but I don't think I'm going to like what I hear. I'm guessing based on the neighbors well the was drilled by the same person at the same time it's about 200-250 feet deep. Little too much to pull by hand. Not in a super hurry because the neighbor is letting me run a hose to my expansion tank. So I have a couple days to rig something.
If you haven't already, and before you do anything, make sure it isn't some simple electrical problem (do you have power to your well-head?) If it is black roll pipe it might not be bad to pull then. You can build a frame over the casing to hold the weight while you change your grip (either manual or whatever lifting device you use). I build mine so it got in a slight bind whenever upward pressure was released and couldn't slide back down....all I had to do was pull up over and over again. The hard part can be getting it loose. The well at my last house had a steel casing and a brass hanger. They has some corrosion and got fused pretty tight. After I got it apart I was able to lift it out fairly easily with the help of one other person and the frame described above. Mine was only 80' and I had plenty of space to lay out the pipe in a straight line. 250' sounds like you would probably need some equipment.
I was thinking about setting up some pipe staging up and then using it to rig a truck rim above the well head. Pull the pipe by hand enough to lay it over the rim so I could hook it to my tractor to the pipe and pull it all out. But I got my first estimate for 1000 to 1300 to pull and replace. Doesn't seem too bad. Pretty sure it's not electrical. 230 volts on either side of the pressure switch andmy non contact voltage tester senses voltage at the well head. I've been having a lot of crap in there filter the last few days so I'd bet the pump is gone.
If you do decide to pull it yourself be careful you don't booger up the wire...that would eat up any of your savings doing it yourself. $1k doesn't sound out of line if that's parts and labor.
I you can swing it, hire it done, you might be a whole lot happier sitting on the side with a cold one while the well is being restored. I replaced the holding tank and gages twice. But that was right in front of me. Parts are available at the hardware store. But pulling a pump and replacing it is another matter. That depth sounds like a lot of hard work. The guy you hire will come with some big wheel thing that just cranks the black tubing right up on it. The only thing you need to have is access to the well with his equipment. This and other demo vids available on youtube.com
Had my well serviced this summer by a local company. Had the old style well cap down 3' in the ground in a 36" concrete well tile. They came and removed the well tile dug around the casing, welded a additional 4' of casing to bring it above ground. They then pulled the pump, 124' of line. Replaced a defective foot valve installed new black poly (125') , new torque arrestor and then installed a new pitless adaptor. As well, they chlorinated the well and got eveything operational. Fantastic job. $975. taxes in. Couldn't be happier.
Have some one else do it the price seems fair my well is 675 ft deep Cost me $1500 a few years back , like saves say sit and watch with a cold one
I can remember pulling the deep well pump from the house I grew up in. Well in excess of 300' deep and we used a few good men to get it done. Well head was about 8-10 ft under ground in a large concrete well pit. 1000 gal storage/pressure tank on that one. Cows are thirsty I guess.
Had it replaced today, between their mark up on the pump and labor I paid an extra 450 or so to have them do it instead of doing it myself. Probably money well spent as it would have take me a day or more to get it done.
Sounds like money well spent. The other thing to consider is the condition of the bore, which can be a big unknown esp if you didn't have the well drilled, and can cause lots of problems if it's not up to snuff. My well was drilled sub-par and was not the standard 6 inch bore, probably used an old worn out bit. There was also only 20 ft of casing and when I started getting surface water infiltration because the rock below the casing was full of cracks, I had to have a Jaswell seal installed to seal out the surface water. The seal is designed to be installed in a 6 inch bore, so it wasn't happening, I had to have a drilling company out to re-bore the well $$$, NOT the same jackazzes that drilled the well. Big surprises and a lot of education getting that sorted out. It pays to hire a driller with a solid reputation.
I had mine go out a couple years ago and was scratching my head as well - found and older gentleman and his wife that came out and we(my coworker wanted to learn as well) helped lay everything out on the ground. It was black poly as well and ultimately ended up being worn through wire on one phase but the pump had a 1982 date code so I went ahead and paid a few extra for the one he had on the truck. Wire, pump, rope and labor was $750, he had an old wheel welded to a stand to keep everything from chaffing but I don't know if I'd have gotten the compression head broke free without his boom. Really nice folks though, I had to get him away from the switch wiring after he popped the main breaker putting a live leg to ground
Must be nice to have a pump from 1982 that was still working. My pump was 9 years old and locked up -- pulling 20 amps on each leg. This is the second time that I have had a well pump go that was less than 10 years old (different houses) The water is very hard here so IDK if that has something to do with it or just bad luck... The manufacturer warranty is only 42 months on the the new one but my installer said they can usually get them covered if less than 5 years old.
Yeah, you made the right decision. Mine went 2 years ago..replaced pump, wiring and holding tank. I knew the tank was on its way out..the pump was a surprise one morning. Cant complain as it was approx 15 years old and under powered. I helped him do the job which took 200 bucks off the estimate. Also went from a 3/4 to 1 hp pump-huge difference in pressure. We started mid afternoon and finished around 10PM. Not an easy task. Cancelled our 4 day vacation after that...
Do yourself a favor and order a replacement now. You can get 30-40% off list online, otherwise you'll be paying list price for the one on the truck.
