Ugh!! Water Well contractors...

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Every Contractor I know is overtasked, and understaffed. It is currently impossible to hire people with any level of skill, in any trade. You cannot recruit younger folks to enter the trades. The Journal of Light Construction surveyed 16 to 24-year olds. less than five per cent would consider a career in the trades for any amount of money. Been that way for at least two decades.

A local MEP contractor has started hiring kids after their junior year of high school as helpers, and paying them for good grades, and working them on Fridays, (we have a 4-day school week to save on busses and heating). It is the only way he can recruit new blood.

The trades are getting older, and aging out as they get injured enough times that they can’t work and have to retire. One of the contractors I work with has a contract to do the rehab/remodels on the family housing on an AirBase. It is almost impossible to hire trades workers, who are under fifty, and can pass a background check to get clearance to go on the base. The Air Force lowered the standards so that they grant clearance if you have a felony conviction if it was more than five years ago, and you have been out of jail, and off parole/probation for 3-years.

If you are in the areas under drought, well drillers, and pump service companies are over whelmed. There are so many wells failing as the aquifers drop that they are going constantly and can’t begin to catch up. Local well service company is working 6-day weeks and getting further behind.

I rented their truck twice this last summer to service hand pumps in campgrounds, on Sundays, with our maintenance guys.

 

[lman]

Every Contractor I know is overtasked, and understaffed. It is currently impossible to hire people with any level of skill, in any trade. You cannot recruit younger folks to enter the trades. The Journal of Light Construction surveyed 16 to 24-year olds. less than five per cent would consider a career in the trades for any amount of money. Been that way for at least two decades.

A local MEP contractor has started hiring kids after their junior year of high school as helpers, and paying them for good grades, and working them on Fridays, (we have a 4-day school week to save on busses and heating). It is the only way he can recruit new blood.

The trades are getting older, and aging out as they get injured enough times that they can’t work and have to retire. One of the contractors I work with has a contract to do the rehab/remodels on the family housing on an AirBase. It is almost impossible to hire trades workers, who are under fifty, and can pass a background check to get clearance to go on the base. The Air Force lowered the standards so that they grant clearance if you have a felony conviction if it was more than five years ago, and you have been out of jail, and off parole/probation for 3-years.

If you are in the areas under drought, well drillers, and pump service companies are over whelmed. There are so many wells failing as the aquifers drop that they are going constantly and can’t begin to catch up. Local well service company is working 6-day weeks and getting further behind.

I rented their truck twice this last summer to service hand pumps in campgrounds, on Sundays, with our maintenance guys.

Where is that?

 

[ddbackhoe]

Every Contractor I know is overtasked, and understaffed. It is currently impossible to hire people with any level of skill, in any trade. You cannot recruit younger folks to enter the trades. The Journal of Light Construction surveyed 16 to 24-year olds. less than five per cent would consider a career in the trades for any amount of money. Been that way for at least two decades.

We have the media and gov’t officials telling everyone they aren’t worth anything without a college degree. Of course, there does seem to be quite a few young adults laying around mom and dads with all the comforts so there’s that. Apparently high school kids don’t need jobs in this area either.
On the flip side, I know of a couple recent college grads that are having a heck of time finding something. One is a certified music teacher with a masters in education.

 

[grsthegreat]

i never did anything with my masters degree......was a useless waste of time, but kept me from eating too much. after getting into electrical trade i have NEVER been out of work.

 

[etpm]

I see a lot of these. Looks like they sell the same Chinese made pump under many different names as they all look the same. Can't really do a 1.5HP load if it is on 115V, as that would be a 24 amp motor, and you can't get a 115V breaker larger enough to start it. Probably less than 1HP in reality. They are usually oil filled motors with ball bearings. Worries me as to what kind of oil they are using? Years ago we had some oil filled motors, and it isn't good when the oil gets in the well. Water filled motors with a Kingsbury type bearing are better.

However, the brand name pump companies have cheapened up their pumps so much there probably isn't much difference. Any pump will last longer if you limit or eliminate the on/off cycling, which is the most usual cause of a destroyed pump. For that price, especially if you install it yourself, you can't help but try one.

I have a lot of customers using Hallmark and Tuhorse. With a CSV to keep them from cycling to death, both of those seem to be lasting pretty good so far.

Greetings,
My well is about twenty years old now. It is fairly shallow at only 62 feet deep. When I connected to it I put in an anti-backflow valve. This valve is about two feet from the pitless adapter. I was told by the well driller as well as several other folks to put this valve in. It seems like maybe I should remove it.
My pump is a Grundfos pump and it has worked flawlessly. But I am thinking about avoiding the rush and having it replaced this coming summer when the weather is warm. When I do so I will also install one of those CSVs. After learning about them from the website per your suggestion I think one would be a really good idea.
Since you are in the business do you know if Grundfos still makes good pumps? Is there a better brand? I'm 65 years old and would love to install a pump that will outlast me. Then my son can deal with it.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[PILOON]

"certified music teacher with a masters in education."
Could he be over qualified? happens U know. Budgets can hurt.
I've known a few cases of over qualification.

I once had a qualified electronic engineer apply for a technician job but wanted bigger pay.
I rejected his application and soon was defending us in court,
Heck he'd wanted to modify everything to make it better.
I won since all our products were aviation and could not be modified without tests upon test for re certification.
Hey, we could not substitute a mil spec transistor with a 'radio shack' equivalent.

IMHO the big shortage will be in the blue collar and manual labor sector.
Entitlement is often another factor.

Oh, running a business is not a walk in the park.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Where is that?

South East Idaho

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Greetings,
My well is about twenty years old now. It is fairly shallow at only 62 feet deep. When I connected to it I put in an anti-backflow valve. This valve is about two feet from the pitless adapter. I was told by the well driller as well as several other folks to put this valve in. It seems like maybe I should remove it.
My pump is a Grundfos pump and it has worked flawlessly. But I am thinking about avoiding the rush and having it replaced this coming summer when the weather is warm. When I do so I will also install one of those CSVs. After learning about them from the website per your suggestion I think one would be a really good idea.
Since you are in the business do you know if Grundfos still makes good pumps? Is there a better brand? I'm 65 years old and would love to install a pump that will outlast me. Then my son can deal with it.
Thanks,
Eric

Call now and get lined up.

 

[randyjs]

We have the media and gov’t officials telling everyone they aren’t worth anything without a college degree. Of course, there does seem to be quite a few young adults laying around mom and dads with all the comforts so there’s that. Apparently high school kids don’t need jobs in this area either.
On the flip side, I know of a couple recent college grads that are having a heck of time finding something. One is a certified music teacher with a masters in education.

I recently saw a newspaper article saying that 51 percent of college grads are making less than $30,00 per year, I'm retired from manufacturing maintenance and haven' made that low amount since the late 70's. Many go and get student loans and can't find a job in their field. All the operators in the plants I worked in are making more than $30,00 a year.

 

[ddbackhoe]

"certified music teacher with a masters in education."
Could he be over qualified? happens U know. Budgets can hurt.
I've known a few cases of over qualification.

Oh, running a business is not a walk in the park.

She is looking for a teaching post in elementary music education and has been interviewing in 3 states. She is fully qualified and all school districts are saying how they have so few qualified applicants with many vacancies. makes you wonder…