davekempmeister Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 my well pump needs to be replaced and it's stuck. it's a submersible at about 65 - to 70 ft. and won't budge from the moment that i disengage the lines (that from the pump from that from the house). holding the engaged t-bar and pulling straight up, any upward play feels like it's strictly the line stretching as opposed to the pump actually moving. it's obviously obstructed and the fact that it won't move at all suggests that perhaps there has been a "cave-in" of some sort. aside from my own muscular efforts, i have attempted to apply symmetrical upward pressure under the t-bar hand holds with telescopic hydraulic jacks - to no avail. the jacks probably raised the t-bar 6 or 8 inches higher than I did with my own strength but again, i did not detect that the unit itself was actually making progress. i've tried inundating the well with a few bursts of water. i've seen some youtube footage of farm tractors hitched to t-bars and either pulling the line apart or successfully extracting the pump. other methods are for irrigation wells,where potability is not a concern. i've got a big problem (BIG) - any ideas other than the obvious (rigging equipment in the yard, new well - untold $ spent)? weird ideas most welcome, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) Hey Dave. Have you pulled the pump before? What diameter is the casing? Cast Iron? What type of supply pipe? 1" cast? Can you rotate it ? I just replaced the pump and piping at my folks rental. 125' The pump had lost pressure, found the pipe was rusted about a foot from the pump. It we had jacked it around much we would have lost the pump in the well. I rebuilt the http://us.grundfos.com/products/find-product/sp/jcr%3Acontent/tabbedpanel/brochures/par2/downloads/download_0/file/file.res/L-SP-SL-002.pdf replaced the 1" supply line and wiring while we were there. We used a well service truck to raise it. 125' of schedule 40 pipe, pump plus motor, wire, water made it a bit heavy to handle. Did you install it? Did you use anti rotate standoffs? Photos? Well seal loose? Bryan You don't want to call a well guy? Cost? Here is another Forum I like. Here is a thread on it. High volume air/ chemicals/ scraping the casing/ etc. Plumbing site I like. http://www.pumpsandtanks.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2378 Acid treatment <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-KgYKule7KQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Edited July 20, 2013 by www.oldsnowboards.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 If your impatient you pull till something snaps and then call a well drillier to pound the remnants to hell and start over with new pump, lines and a stainless tether cable (for next time) Important to try and determine water level as well as bottom of casing and exactly where in proximity to these your pump actually resides. @ 70 feet your just playing around. Try 165' with ABS plastic 30 years old it becomes as brittle as glass. So far none of this will help your present situation. If the pump is surrounded by sand and not a cave in you might inject air via long hose with weighted end to break the strangle hold the sand has on the pump. (turn it into a slurry and you may be able to lift the pump) Pounding it out of the way by a well griller gives some gratification since the old problem pump is both out of sight and totally destroyed never to bother you again. Sorry your having trouble, on the bright side its not freezing cold and it's not interfering with your boarding schedule. Good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) hi bryan, .i've pulled the pump as recently as a year ago (by myself, by hand) when i experienced a drop in pressure that turned out to be a pinch point in the line where it goes through the wall - the pump was strong, now i wish i'd replaced it. .6" casing, cast iron - the pump is 4". the line is plastic. if by "rotate", you mean while i am pulling on the t-bar, can i turn it? if so, no, it just twists the line and wiring and i don't sense that the unit moves in any way at all. .the pump is about 10 + years old and i installed it with the help of a neighbor who knows more than me, for sure . not sure about the anti rotate standoffs. the well seal is good, replaced a year ago. .i'll call a well guy first thing monday morning if i don't get this thing out, i'll have no choice. if a new well is in my future, the $ will fly, my yard gets destroyed, work schedule all to hell..................... good times. not so enthused for chemicals in my well, or an old pump laying at the bottom indefinitely - air maybe (thanks lowrider). a charge? maybe run another line down, pump out water until the pump or whatever obstructs it is exposed? use the go pro with a light to find out WTF? maybe attach rebar to a line and try to do some blind cave man impact driving? gopro can pay for itself in 5 minutes, sometimes. Edited July 21, 2013 by davekempmeister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 i like the gopro idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Are you certain what you perceive to be stuck is not just bloody heavy ? Rig up a tripod over the well and put a steady pull on it with a winch or come-along. A human heave ho is no substitute for a steady pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Are you certain what you perceive to be stuck is not just bloody heavy ? Rig up a tripod over the well and put a steady pull on it with a winch or come-along. A human heave ho is no substitute for a steady pull. hi lowrider - i've pulled the pump (manually) on my own in the past. it's stuck. and .....i have used two telescopic hydraulic jacks (10 ton), one under each hand hold on the t-bar, exerting tremendous upward pressure in lieu of a hoist/crane/tractor pull approach. the upward pressure on the bar is perfectly straight and symmetrical and i backed off and reset the line when i was convinced it was about to snap and drop the pump or drop the pump and the line, depending on where it severs. the go pro idea won't work unless i pump water out and expose the obstruction or the top of the pump. even then it might only serve to satisfy curiosity as opposed to lead to any real solution. maybe even more frustrating if i can see it clearly and can't do anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I know of two situations where pounding the pump out was required. Sounds like yours might be the third. I have abandoned a well due to sand infiltration, even a sand point wouldn't work. How much water do you have above the pump ? Any chance of dropping twin lines with injector and using a jet pump instead of submersible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 i'll update this soon. suffice it to say that next season might be a little more budget conscious than usual. i saw a mound of zamboni shavings behind the local ice rink - maybe i'll just jib in the back yard and do bonks off my new well cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 what happened? there were more posts and they disappeared. without water, i'd been knocked back to the first level of Maslow's hierarchal theory. back to my path toward self actualization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) Post ghost but no sucking sound, weird...Anyway, is the new pump still in the ground or did it get ethereal also? good one Ursle. the money is gone, for sure. thankfully, the new pump and the yield are strong. excellent water clarity from the very beginning. bizarre - i finalize this post and it indicates that SunSurfer edited it two days ago? Edited July 31, 2013 by davekempmeister somehow the original attachment disappeared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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