RNeumann
Elite Member
How did you run the hydraulic winch?
Q. Replacing a (very) deep well
- Thread starter amashinga
- Start date
bigdeano
Platinum Member
Off the rear remotes on the tractor. I looked for a picture I have of it set up pulling the pump, but I can't find it.
RNeumann
Elite Member
Thx that has my wheels turning! May wife is the prepper and wants to have a way to do this in our 600' well. I'm too much of a sissy to make my own clamps/stops but with a boom and the commercial stops I may be temped in the zombie apocalypse.
Good excuse to get a winch too!
hawkeye08
Elite Member
Keep an eye on CL for used pump truck (with boom and winch). They come up now and again..Wish I had picked one up years ago when they were cheaper..
bigdeano
Platinum Member
Don't know if this will help anyone, but I found a couple of pictures from 25 years ago. To hold the pipe up while unscrewing each piece we used a 1/2" plate like the piece of paper in the third picture. Just slip it over the pipe and the coupling stops the pipe from falling while you unscrew the piece up in the air. I used a 6" pipe nipple and welded a piece of 1/2" rebar formed into a U shape onto it to hook the cable to. The hook has to be able to swivel because you're going to be turning the pipe.
RNeumann
Elite Member
Nice old 35mm photos!
Valveman
Platinum Member
Pulled a few thousand pumps in my day. I applaud anyone who can DIY a 400-600' deep well, especially on steel pipe. The plate and bell method works very well. I used those for many years until I discovered elevators, which are much safer. With plate and bell you need a really good swivel. While you are unscrewing the joint you have in the air from the one setting on the plate, the bell screwed into the pipe 21' above will be trying to unscrew itself. If the bell holds by just barely one thread and you lift the pipe and remove the plate, the whole thing can go south in a New York minute. When that happens the wire you have nicely looped up on the ground or spool will turn into a hundred snares flying by trying to grab you, tools, or anything else close by and pull them down the well. NEVER stand close to the wire or have anything close to the wire the ENTIRE time you are working on the well pump. Always look up while unscrewing the pipe and make sure the swivel, not the bell threads are spinning. Also make sure as you are pulling the pipe that a foot of wire comes out with every foot of pipe. If you let slack in the wire it can cause the pump to get stuck in the well.
Pulling pumps is not hard as long as everything goes right. But when bad things happen the little tricks that a good pump man has learned over many years can make quick and easy work out of what could be a nightmare for someone doing it themselves. That being said, there are not that many good pump men anymore. If you can find one of the 5% of good pump men, he is worth whatever he ask. But you are probably better off doing it yourself than to use one of the other 95% of pump men that don't know what they are doing.
Also if you are having to pull a pump every couple of years, something is not right. Knowing how to make sure you get proper cooling flow past the motor and how to keep the pump from cycling can make the difference between 2 and 20 years of pump life.
Pulling pumps is not hard as long as everything goes right. But when bad things happen the little tricks that a good pump man has learned over many years can make quick and easy work out of what could be a nightmare for someone doing it themselves. That being said, there are not that many good pump men anymore. If you can find one of the 5% of good pump men, he is worth whatever he ask. But you are probably better off doing it yourself than to use one of the other 95% of pump men that don't know what they are doing.
Also if you are having to pull a pump every couple of years, something is not right. Knowing how to make sure you get proper cooling flow past the motor and how to keep the pump from cycling can make the difference between 2 and 20 years of pump life.
bigdeano
Platinum Member
My neighbor had weird things happen with his well. Once the little nut that holds the check valve in place in the pump came off, so we had to pull it out. Should have dinged up the threads a little to lock it on. Another time the pump shaft twisted off when it started. He was careful not to let it cycle very often. It would run continuously while he was irrigating. He was just very unlucky with that well.
Thanks for all the good info from your experience. You have to be careful and think about what you're doing.
Valveman
Platinum Member
Sometimes little things happen for no reason, but it is rare. The nut coming off the check valve could have been from cycling the pump and the slamming of the check valve that comes with cycling. Then when the check valve fails the pump is spinning backwards at the time of pump start, which besides cycling is one of the only ways to "twist off" a shaft.
A lot of times people think their pump is running continuous for irrigation when it is not. If you have a 20 GPM pump and irrigation set up for 19 GPM, it takes a LONG time for the tank to fill and shut off the pump. But when the pump does shut off, the 19 GPM irriagation system quickly dumps the tank and the pump is re-started. When a pump shuts off while pumping maximum flow, the check valve slams shut from the wide open position. Then when a pump comes back on at full flow, the check valve gets thrown all the way to the top. A few of these kinds of cycles can make it hard on a check valve and many other things in the system.
Although some of those "built-in" check valves are just junk. The ones without any nuts on them are the best.