How to Recover a Lost Submersible Well Pump

[MossRoad]

Contrary to popular belief, Timmy never fell in a well. However he did:

...let a rabid dog out of a cage (“Graduation”)
…ate deadly nightshade berries (“Berrypickers”)
…threatened by an escaped female circus elephant (“The Elephant”)
…hides out in the treehouse when he has pneumonia (“Spartan”)
…threatened by a mother wolf (“The Wolf Cub”)
…falls into the lake (“Transition” and “The House Guest”)
…develops a high fever from the measles (“The Crisis”)
…is almost shot by Paul (“Hungry Deer”)
…ignores severe stomach pains; he’s diagnosed with appendicitis (“Hospital”)
…is trapped in an abandoned house with Boomer (“Trapped”)
…wanders into a live mine field (“Junior GIs”)
…is menaced by a bear (“Campout” and “The Renegade”)
…is trapped in a mine (“Old Henry”)
…gets a black eye playing football (“Growing Pains”)
…nearly flies a home-made glider off a cliff (“Flying Machine”)
…runs into a burning house to save a neighbor lady and passes out (“The Whopper”)
…is endangered by dynamite picked up by an escaped lab chimp (“The Man from Mars”)

 

[bdhsfz6]

The well company sent out a rep yesterday to see what equipment is needed so they can schedule a crew. He lowered a special light a few feet down the casing to get a better look. It turns out there is what he calls a "packer" in the well casing. It's a piece of 4" PVC pipe which is sometimes inserted in problem wells. The broken cable I saw just held the packer in place when it was installed and isn't attached to the pump.

He was not optimistic that anything could be done to recover the pump due to the narrow 4" PVC packer. He said recovery and replacement costs could be as high as $10K if it's even possible to do at all. They are going to bring in a special camera next week to get a better look.

This pretty much eliminates any possibility of me doing the work myself. I'll just have to wait and see what they find & hope for the best.

Thanks to all who posted their suggestions and ideas.

 

[Valveman]

The well company sent out a rep yesterday to see what equipment is needed so they can schedule a crew. He lowered a special light a few feet down the casing to get a better look. It turns out there is what he calls a "packer" in the well casing. It's a piece of 4" PVC pipe which is sometimes inserted in problem wells. The broken cable I saw just held the packer in place when it was installed and isn't attached to the pump.

He was not optimistic that anything could be done to recover the pump due to the narrow 4" PVC packer. He said recovery and replacement costs could be as high as $10K if it's even possible to do at all. They are going to bring in a special camera next week to get a better look.

This pretty much eliminates any possibility of me doing the work myself. I'll just have to wait and see what they find & hope for the best.

Thanks to all who posted their suggestions and ideas.

Yeah getting a wall hook and the tools needed to fish through that 4" liner is going to be a problem. Only thing might save you is if the camera shows a thread or coupling sticking up and not against the well wall. That way they could just send a pipe down and with help from the camera just screw right onto the pipe. I will cross my fingers for you. But I know of many where we just had to fill the hole and say last words over the burial of the pump.

 

[Egon]

PVC packer: can it be drilled out?

 

[MossRoad]

The well company sent out a rep yesterday to see what equipment is needed so they can schedule a crew. He lowered a special light a few feet down the casing to get a better look. It turns out there is what he calls a "packer" in the well casing. It's a piece of 4" PVC pipe which is sometimes inserted in problem wells. The broken cable I saw just held the packer in place when it was installed and isn't attached to the pump.

He was not optimistic that anything could be done to recover the pump due to the narrow 4" PVC packer. He said recovery and replacement costs could be as high as $10K if it's even possible to do at all. They are going to bring in a special camera next week to get a better look.

This pretty much eliminates any possibility of me doing the work myself. I'll just have to wait and see what they find & hope for the best.

Thanks to all who posted their suggestions and ideas.

Well, that stinks. Hopefully when they get a better look at it, they'll see something hopeful.

If they don't is it new well time?

If it is new well time, then I'd try at least for a few times, to do something myself, or at the least, get another estimate. If you're gonna need a new well, you can't really muck it up any further by attempting the long shot.

Good luck with the next camera.

 

[5030]

Not quite sure why you must recover it anyway. There shopuld be plenty of standing water level above the pump on the bottom, cannot you just install a new pump in the standing water level and leave the old one in the bottom of the bore. I know on ours, there is 20 feet of water between the bottom and the where the pump is located.

 

[MossRoad]

Not quite sure why you must recover it anyway. There shopuld be plenty of standing water level above the pump on the bottom, cannot you just install a new pump in the standing water level and leave the old one in the bottom of the bore. I know on ours, there is 20 feet of water between the bottom and the where the pump is located.

I think he said there's 500' of pipe in there still.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Well, that stinks. Hopefully when they get a better look at it, they'll see something hopeful.

If they don't is it new well time?

If it is new well time, then I'd try at least for a few times, to do something myself, or at the least, get another estimate. If you're gonna need a new well, you can't really muck it up any further by attempting the long shot.

Good luck with the next camera.

New well will be 20-25k…if the well still works 10k is the check to write.

maybe pay them for removal only. Put new pump, wiring and pipe yourself to save $$.

 

[ruffdog]

I think paying for the camera look/see is worth it. At least you will know what you are dealing with, what there is to grab, and how far down it is. Good luck!

 

[LouNY]

Interesting that he could see the packer and that it still had an attached cable, but he didn't think they could pull it.
Well Packers to seal water well to hard rock
They should be able to easily pull the packer.
Then from what I read in the earlier post the section of the pitless adapter thats inside the well casing should still be on your pipe which should give them a good point to get a pull loop on.
I'm surprised at the rep's lack of confidence in their people, unless he doesn't know much about how things work.

 

[JasperFrank]

Get a second opinion.

 

[bdhsfz6]

PVC packer: can it be drilled out?

I'm not sure, I'll have to ask the well guys.

 

[newbury]

<snip>unless he doesn't know much about how things work.

Or the company likes to work and they are pretty sure your not going to get a second opinion.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Interesting that he could see the packer and that it still had an attached cable, but he didn't think they could pull it.
Well Packers to seal water well to hard rock
They should be able to easily pull the packer.
Then from what I read in the earlier post the section of the pitless adapter thats inside the well casing should still be on your pipe which should give them a good point to get a pull loop on.
I'm surprised at the rep's lack of confidence in their people, unless he doesn't know much about how things work.

I asked about pulling the packer and he said they're usually cemented in place. If they grab it somehow and pull too hard, it could damage the casing or even pull it out of the ground. It likely isn't in good shape since the packer had to be installed in the first place.

He said the same thing about possibly being able to hook the broken pitless adapter. He even took pictures of the broken part that I pulled out of the casing, hoping to match it with one they have in the shop. It may be below the point where the packer ends and assuming they can grab it, it could catch on the packer edge.

I've been dealing with these guys for a long time and I trust their expertise. I think the rep was just giving me the worst case scenario. A lot will depend on what the camera shows next week.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Not quite sure why you must recover it anyway. There shopuld be plenty of standing water level above the pump on the bottom, cannot you just install a new pump in the standing water level and leave the old one in the bottom of the bore. I know on ours, there is 20 feet of water between the bottom and the where the pump is located.

If the end of the supply pipe and broken adapter is in the 4" PVC packer, there won't be enough clearance for a new pump.

Well, that stinks. Hopefully when they get a better look at it, they'll see something hopeful.

If they don't is it new well time?

If it is new well time, then I'd try at least for a few times, to do something myself, or at the least, get another estimate. If you're gonna need a new well, you can't really muck it up any further by attempting the long shot.

Good luck with the next camera.

I might consider a 10K repair bill but at that depth, a new well will cost more than twice that. I've been thinking of giving up the livestock anyway and this might be the reason to do it. Without the animals, I have no real need for a well.

It's convenient to wash equipment at the barn but I can always do that down at the house. I do get a break on the fire insurance with water available at the barn but it isn't much. The premium savings won't pay for a new well in my lifetime anyway.

 

[stumblinhorse]

If the end of the supply pipe and broken adapter is in the 4" PVC packer, there won't be enough clearance for a new pump.

I might consider a 10K repair bill but at that depth, a new well will cost more than twice that. I've been thinking of giving up the livestock anyway and this might be the reason to do it. Without the animals, I have no real need for a well.

It's convenient to wash equipment at the barn but I can always do that down at the house. I do get a break on the fire insurance with water available at the barn but it isn't much. The premium savings won't pay for a new well in my lifetime anyway.

I would set an amount you are willing to spend to try to retrieve the stuff and then stop…. Then maybe it gets done for that amount. Then you can decide if you want to drop new stuff in. New stuff in the hole should be about $2k if you do it yourself. You can just use black poly 500’ long. You prolly could re-use the wire for the new pump. New pump will be $500-800. Do it in a couple years.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I didn't read all replies but small waterproof cameras with LED lights are not expensive ($50-$100).
One on Amazon had a 150M (about 500 ft) cable. It connects to phone or tablet I'm thinking.
Me, I would get something like that, especially since you could use it for other things, looking behind walls, etc.
That way you could see what you're dealing with. If I could snag it I'd use a strong cable with a loop using camera to guide it. Then pull up with a winch.
If you see you can't do it as mentioned just wait for the professionals to do it.

 

[5030]

I think he said there's 500' of pipe in there still.

Missed that. Guess it has to come out then. Don't understand the packer thing. All mine has in the hole is a torque limiter then keeps the pump from torquing and twisting the poly pipe.

 

[MossRoad]

Get a second opinion.

Sorry in advance.

 

[MossRoad]

...

I've been dealing with these guys for a long time and I trust their expertise. I think the rep was just giving me the worst case scenario. A lot will depend on what the camera shows next week.

At least you know them. That's a plus.