Ugh!! Water Well contractors...

[ddbackhoe]

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.

Yes, easy to believe. Higher education has been pushed at what expense? Blue collar jobs have been looked down upon as less than menial labor. The US military now doesnt want to promote enlisted members that dont have undergrad degrees. Cant promote to senior enlisted ranks without a conferred associates.
These same people cant understand why the trades bill as high as they do. The least of which are; A) running a business has expenses (transportation, taxes, insurances, tools) B) government rules and regulations now try to prevent homeowners from doing their own anything. (Insurance industry driven?)

 

[randyjs]

Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs is really pushing people to get into the trades rather than college and massive student loans. He has a web site about it but I have never checked it put.

 

[Oaktree]

Wasn’t that long ago company benefits included some kind of retirement/pension package. Now its a 401K and how many “employers” even do profit sharing to the employees account?

I started my first full time job in 1969. No employer I ever worked for offered a retirement/pension until 401K's came along, so those have been on the way out for over half a century now.

 

[grsthegreat]

Both my wifes and my union jobs had pensions and 401k. No other companies we worked for offered these.

 

[JM7500]

I contacted a well driller last week to have my well tested. We are building a house and to get a building permit the well must be tested for flow because it does not have a drillers tag. I think it was drill prior to the state requiring permitting and documentation for wells. The driller told me he may have records for it and I'm waiting to hear from him. Looking at the state well map, his number is on all the wells in the area, so I hope he has records or can flow test the well.

I've always been a diy type. Yesterday, I pulled the pump and installed a pitless adaptor and began trenching. The old underground pipe is PVC and in poor condition, above the frost line. I found the underground power cable right below the surface and just grass holding it in place. I've got the PEX to run to the house but waiting on a spool of UF-B to power the pump. I'm considering a Grundfos pump to replace the existing pump. It's 10-15 years old, and it will become a spare.

 

[Valveman]

I think as more of the population is now on municipal water systems there are less and less well contractors. I do also agree it is hard to get a younger person to invest in the equipment and be willing to do the hard work.

The incompetence is even more pronounced in municipal water systems. Some of the engineers who oversee these installations are scary. Young engineers, right out of college who think they already know everything, don't realize they have decades of learning to do. But because they have an engineering degree they double down on some really wrong ideas. There are the obvious problems like Flint, MI where they did not maintain water quality as needed. But there are tons of bad designs causing negative pressure, stagnate water, and other things that can cause Legionnaires disease, and other problems. Not to mention the waste of money on pumps and systems that are not designed correctly. Even water towers are obsolete and a waste of taxpayer money, but they keep putting up more and repairing the old ones at our expense.

It is much easier and safer for me to keep up with my own water well than to worry about what one of many, many other hands could be doing to my water. Where I live a lot of people in the city are now drilling wells. The water taste better, costs less, and no one else is in control.

 

[Valveman]

I contacted a well driller last week to have my well tested. We are building a house and to get a building permit the well must be tested for flow because it does not have a drillers tag. I think it was drill prior to the state requiring permitting and documentation for wells. The driller told me he may have records for it and I'm waiting to hear from him. Looking at the state well map, his number is on all the wells in the area, so I hope he has records or can flow test the well.

I've always been a diy type. Yesterday, I pulled the pump and installed a pitless adaptor and began trenching. The old underground pipe is PVC and in poor condition, above the frost line. I found the underground power cable right below the surface and just grass holding it in place. I've got the PEX to run to the house but waiting on a spool of UF-B to power the pump. I'm considering a Grundfos pump to replace the existing pump. It's 10-15 years old, and it will become a spare.

You would be surprised what information you can get from an old well driller. I might not be able to remember people's names. But tell me where you live, and if I worked there before I can tell you how deep the well is and what size pump you have. Those kind of things just stick in my head for some reason. Lol!

It is hard to keep an old pump for a spare unless you figure out how to drain the water from the motor and refill it before installing it next time. Not hard to do, but important.

 

[Valveman]

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

A check valve (backflow preventer) after the pitless will put the pitless under tremendous stress each time the pump comes on. When the water punches the check valve after the pitless, there will be a tremendous pressure spike, especially at the pitless. But really a second check valve anywhere in the line causes the same pressure spikes. Again, the only check valve you want is the one right on the submersible pump. Grundfos as you mentioned, has a really good built in check valve, so you don't need to add another anywhere.

Grundfos still makes a good pump. But they have problems with their motors. Franklin still makes the best motor, but I do not like Franklin pumps. My favorite is still a Grundfos pump with a Franklin motor. But you have to order them separately to get it that way. They are not hard to put together. I have several like this well over 20 years old. One was installed in 1982. Using a Cycle Stop Valve on them has greatly improved the life span as well.

The only thing you need to know to add a CSV is the max pressure of the pump, to make sure it doesn't exceed the limit of the CSV and/or pipe. Glad to help with that if needed.

 

[PILOON]

"I might not be able to remember people's names. But tell me where you live, and if I worked there before I can tell you how deep the well is and what size pump you have. Those kind of things just stick in my head for some reason. Lol!"

You are not alone on NAMES!
I also recall small details of bygone events, jobs etc but names?
Back in time I was a sales rep and often an a call I'd face a client but surprisingly enough at the very last second his name would jump out and I'd save face.

Also phone #'s give me problems, but modern cellphones come to the rescue.

PS, my memory is inherited from my mother's side, hers was almost non existent, LOL.

 

[PILOON]

Daughter's chalet uses lake water for household needs.
Would U not know it but it is a 3 wire pump with the start relay guts down in the lake under the ice.
Everything else checks out OK.
So now a new hole in the ice, pump + controls, heated tracing wire etc.
Only good thing is SIL and his kin will do all the work, I'll supervise! , hey I'm 83!

Off to my pump supplier to load up all the materials this PM.
Since the old installation is 25 yrs old they opt to do a whole new installation that will actually be more efficient.
We will also incorporate heated tracing as burial is impossible due to solid bedrock.
The worst will be making the hole in the ice and the rest can be preassembled.