deep well questions

[rocco611]

with the ongoing ground water issues here in California, I decided to check my well depth and water level, drillers report shows the well at 210 feet water at 85 feet, I checked it with a string and a plumb bob, depth appears to be 203 ft , water now at 101 ft. I am in a shallow aqua-fir in my area, soil is red clay . I am still on the original 1/2 hp pump from 1997 . I have always had a turbidity filter on the house due to the clay in the water. the well is still working fine, but I am concerned that in my be silted up with clay is there a way to clean out the well and remove the silt ? I am going to purchase a new pump, any recommendations? plastic or iron pipe? it currently has iron pipe. I was also planning on building a boom for the 3pt hitch of my Kubota to pull the well myself. local pump company labor is pretty reasonable $450 to replace the pump, but they charge 3x more for pump, pipe etc than if I source it myself. they recommend the starite brand of pump.

 

[oosik]

Man - I hope you know what you are getting in to by pulling your own pump. Have you ever seen a pump and 200 feet of steel pipe pulled. Have you ever done it - have you reset a pump, pipe and wiring?

My recommendation - FORGET pulling the pump yourself - - hire the local pump company and get the job done right. They will charge just as much to come out and fix what you screwed up as they will charge to do it correctly the first time.

 

[turnkey4099]

Man - I hope you know what you are getting in to by pulling your own pump. Have you ever seen a pump and 200 feet of steel pipe pulled. Have you ever done it - have you reset a pump, pipe and wiring?

My recommendation - FORGET pulling the pump yourself - - hire the local pump company and get the job done right. They will charge just as much to come out and fix what you screwed up as they will charge to do it correctly the first time.

+1. I had a well service pull mine a few years ago. Only a 65' depth with pump at about 50' and I didn't even consider doing it myself. Turned out that the galvanised pipe had a hole in it just above the pump and the galvanised fitting at the well adapter at the top failed as we insstalled the new drop pipe. Galvanic corrosion in both cases.

 

[Diggin It]

What would it cost you if the wall collapsed and it had to be redrilled? Can't they insert a plastic sleeve?

 

[3Ts]

Man - I hope you know what you are getting in to by pulling your own pump. Have you ever seen a pump and 200 feet of steel pipe pulled. Have you ever done it - have you reset a pump, pipe and wiring?

My recommendation - FORGET pulling the pump yourself - - hire the local pump company and get the job done right. They will charge just as much to come out and fix what you screwed up as they will charge to do it correctly the first time.

+2 Do you know if the pipe sections are 20' or something else? They used 20' plastic pipe on mine - and it's not what you can get at the box stores. They had a special type of pipe I've never seen before. (It is PVC, but it goes together like iron pipe.)

Something to keep in mind - when they drilled my well (600'), they were almost done and were pressurizing it with compressed air. The top of the well blew off and the well casing collapsed. They had to drill a whole new well and it didn't cost me any more. Even if you can do it yourself, sometimes it's better to let others do it.

 

[Egon]

Forget the tractor boom and make a tall tripod with an electric winch. The three point has limited lift distance.

Do you know the weight of your tubing & have the proper tools to handle it?
Will the hole have to be flushed?
With silt in the water will you be raising flow rate?
Most important, do you have available help with strong backs that work well at breaking tubing joints?