OT- Water well pumps and accessories, how to change out?

My shop is fed water by a well that is 66' deep. The pump is 22 years old and has never been out. It's a 1.5HP and (I think) Red Jacket brand.

I'm guessing there will come a day when it is 'shot' and want to be prepared when it does.

I found this site that sells pumps....

Deep Well Submersible Pumps - Water Pumps Direct

So here are my questions:

1) Is one brand decidedly better than the other?

2) What else do I need? A Check valve? Wire? Pipe?

The starter which sits atop the well I replaced a few years ago, it's in great shape still. But I assume no one replaces the pump without also using new wire and check valve. And maybe pipe.


Or am I better off having a well service place do the whole thing? I'm assuming they would add $1000 to the job, or so. Pulling the pump out, I think, would be not too hard. I pulled one out of a different well about 35 years ago using a chain hoist and don't recall and issues.

I had exactly the same thing done back in 2017. The company I used was one I've used before and everyone around here trusts and they installed a Myers pump. There is a check valve on the pump and for 66 feet you don't need another one. They did replace the pipe and the wire.

There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do it. I'd check and see what a local company will charge, it wasn't a very difficult job and I doubt they will add $1000 for labor.

Steve

Does the pump hang on poly, PVC, or steel? Do you have enough room to put a tripod and block and tackle above the well to pull it with poly? Do you have a pitless adapter, or does the pipe come to the surface? Does Texas require a license for well work?

The well on my two acres was drilled in late 1976 for a new home. We bought the place and moved there in late 1977. It's been running nicely ever since with only a few things here and there like a couple of Square D pressure switches and a pair of capacitors. Our well is abut 148 feet with the pump down around 110 feet. The water is excellent. That's going on 44 years now and counting.

I would leave the pump alone and continue to wait for the day when it quits working. There are many companies that can change those out in one day. I wouldn't dream of attempting it myself. No need to get excited and spend money. If it ain't broke.........

I don't know anything about what pump motor brands are good, except to say that I seldom see my neighbors doing much well repair work.

I did a new well a couple years ago, I would definitely put in new pex to the pump, 1” minimum.
The old well had galvy, looked like crap.
I got my pump online from Macdonald Supply, they had a lot to choose from.
Swapping out the pump is dead simple.

jmead said:

I did a new well a couple years ago, I would definitely put in new pex to the pump, 1” minimum.
The old well had galvy, looked like crap.
I got my pump online from Macdonald Supply, they had a lot to choose from.
Swapping out the pump is dead simple.

Click to expand...

You say "dead simple". I'm no expert but on my well the well head would have to have all of the piping removed, the well head unscrewed and then somehow, without a hoist, I would have to remove 110 feet of tubing and wire with a well pump hanging on the end of it.

Then, there is the need to reconnect all of the tubing and drop everything back in the hole. Somehow that doesn't sound simple to me. There's no way I'm doing that alone.

I had to replace my pump in 2016 because the anti-backflow valves were leaking, the one built into the pump was totally wallowed out. I forget the brand of pump but it was installed in 79. The new pump is a Grundfos which of course is one of the better brands. Mine is a 3hp at 120 feet down. The old pipe was galvanized and so rotten it barely held together to get it out, the new pipe is plastic.

The way I would do it if I was in your shoes would be to hang the pump with rope, not sure which kind, and use continuous flexible pipe to the wellhead and do it myself. With this type of pipe you will need a torque arrester?? that keeps the pump from spinning when it turns on or off. I would bet you could pull your pump with your bare hands as well as install it, it's small, light, and not very deep. You could hire a "professional" but you will pay for their service and markup on everything to do something that is dirt simple. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing someone replacing a pump like yours by hand.

What is your static water level in the well? How deep is your pump? You want it to sit far enough above the bottom of the well that you don't pump any sediment, 10-20 feet. As shallow as your well is you probably only need the check valve at the pump but it is real easy to add one after the wellhead. Mine should have had a backflow valve at static water level since the pump is so deep but the "professional" forgot.

BY FAR THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT TO PUMP LIFE IS MORE PRESSURE TANKS!!! It's not very expensive and will greatly reduce the number of times your pump starts which is most of the wear and tear. Also, make sure the bladders have the right air pressure in them. I do mine every spring before I start watering the lawn, trees, etc. The bladders don't last forever and are replaceable, so make sure to inspect them when checking the air pressure.

If you do it yourself do your research. Grundfos has plenty of info on it on their website.

Newman109 said:

You say "dead simple". I'm no expert but on my well the well head would have to have all of the piping removed, the well head unscrewed and then somehow, without a hoist, I would have to remove 110 feet of tubing and wire with a well pump hanging on the end of it.

Then, there is the need to reconnect all of the tubing and drop everything back in the hole. Somehow that doesn't sound simple to me. There's no way I'm doing that alone.

Click to expand...

Pitless adaptor! My old well had the wellhead plumbing, pita.

If your pipe is poly you can pull it by hand by your self. I had no trouble pulling 90' and I'm old and skinny. Hopefully it uses a pitless adapter. If so all you need is a length of pipe with the proper thread (likely 1" NPT) to screw into the adapter and pull the pump. If the pipe and wire look good I'd just replace the pump. Everything above ground I'd leave as is. Check valve should be part of the pump. Barring unseen complications it's an afternoon's job with time left over for a beer........Bob

Well pump died, local guy was recommended, now I recommend him too.

Came out with his wife in the truck, had the check valve with him, fixed it in less than an hour for a very reasonable amount.

The pumps last decades, he explained that the previous company had used a cheap valve that rots out.


A much larger company that had done the previous work[for PO] wanted to replace everything at a very high price when they came out to look at the pressure valve.
moral: Find a good well guy

Thanks all.

I never woulda guessed a pump could hang on plastic pipe. The one I did 35 years ago was galv pipe. I assume mine is galvanized but since it's never been out, I don't know. The top side fittings are all galvanized.

Good questions...I don't know how deep the water table is, and the 66' figure was told to me by the people I bought the house from...I am only operating on that. My next door neighbor waters like a maniac...his pump burned out 8 years ago and he replaced it with a 5HP (!) pump. But neither of us has ever run out of water, even with his over-use.

The deal is .... I don't want to have it break then be without water until it's fixed, if I can avoid it. I don't like 'buying under duress'.

Finding a good pump guy.....easier said than done. It's not the old days when people talked to each other.

This is relativly easy to swap out. Watch this from a fellow texan with a 60' well:
SUBMERSIBLE WELL PUMP REPLACEMENT - YouTube

It is a real smart idea to add a rope of some sort from the pump to the wellhead just in case the pipe should fail, it's dirt cheap insurance. Trying to fish a pump from the bottom of a well is something you want to avoid. Also don't forget to shock the well with chlorine after messing with it, something you should do once or twice a year anyway. If you are on a septic try to keep the chlorinated water out of it.

ALWAYS replace the wire, My 10 year old pump failed, so I thought. I pulled it out myself same as last time, dead simple but a lot of physical labor. When I did it 10 years ago the wire looked good so I did not change it. 4 months ago no water, G D pump dead again. After I bought a new pump and had it on the lift tube and was putting the old wire on the new pump I discovered where the wire rubbed the well casing till it shorted out, the old $800.00 pump was fine. I almost put it the new one back in with the old wire again.

I watched most of that video, some good parts but like always, it leaves a lot of questions unaddressed. Like, how did they know how deep the let the pump hang? Did they measure anything or? Also, that well is a big hole, mine is a 4" casing, I think. Makes it harder to work.

I did a little more reading on the submsersible pump site I linked above. Holy shit. The 'higher end' pumps, like Grundfos? They have...that's right...a computer chip! WTF. The usual BS....the pump can run at different RPM to only flow what's needed, and it 'knows' when water is low, etc. Just what the world needs.

So, now I gotta be sure when I do buy a pump that it is not smarter than I am.

The "professional" would measure the depth, if they are the 5% that care, on a good day. Sometimes you need to pump the silt out of the bottom if it fills up. 4" or 6" casing is normal and doesn't make it any harder to work on. My Grundfos doesn't have a chip, it just turns on and off, no variable flow. Go with enough pressure tank volume to get away from variable flow. That is to keep them from cycling as often. I think my pump isn't supposed to cycle more than 6 times an hour, too much and they overheat. Keep it simple, since it is. There are a lot of ways to reduce cycling the pump, the only good one is more storage capacity. The main point of that video for me is how easy it is to pull your pump, and why you shock it with chlorine when you are done dragging the pump and pipe through the dirt before putting it back in your drinking water, just like the pros do.

moonlight, you got a torque arrester on your pump?

30+ years ago I changed my pump by myself, using a couple of pulleys and a tripod of wood poles.
But now the 4” casing has rusted so as to decrease the I.D.
The pump was recently changed, guy had a crane truck contraption, said it was 6 ton capacity.
He had a rough time getting the pump out, as it was acting like a reamer inside the casing, peeling off 40’ of rust on it’s way to the top of the casing. Years ago, I had replaced the rusted out galvanized pipe w/ S.S., don’t think PVC would have survived the yanking forces from the well guy’s attempts to pull on it.
Saved some $$$ on the job he did for me by making him a reamer in my shop, he uses it on empty 4” casings now, before installing the new motors.

I have a 40 foot with poly pipe and it's real easy to pull out.

DavidScott said:

The "professional" would measure the depth, if they are the 5% that care, on a good day. Sometimes you need to pump the silt out of the bottom if it fills up. 4" or 6" casing is normal and doesn't make it any harder to work on. My Grundfos doesn't have a chip, it just turns on and off, no variable flow. Go with enough pressure tank volume to get away from variable flow. That is to keep them from cycling as often. I think my pump isn't supposed to cycle more than 6 times an hour, too much and they overheat. Keep it simple, since it is. There are a lot of ways to reduce cycling the pump, the only good one is more storage capacity. The main point of that video for me is how easy it is to pull your pump, and why you shock it with chlorine when you are done dragging the pump and pipe through the dirt before putting it back in your drinking water, just like the pros do.

moonlight, you got a torque arrester on your pump?

Click to expand...

No torque arrestor, I had to use a Grundfos pump, about 2.5" diameter not supposed to need one. I have to use the small diameter pump because the original 4" case went in at an angle, then somebody replaced the top 10'of the case with 5" plastic. Vertical, so now there is a Kink where they join. The small diameter Grundfos is a stainless steel work of art as it should be for over twice the price of a normal 4" pump.

If you have 3 phase ,there are usually new Grundfoss for sale for peanuts from mining company inventories ......once I started checking ebay for pumps ,ended with several for around a tenth of list price.......Huge quotes to do the work ,so rigged up a tri pole over the hole ,and did it with a truck winch ......buuut ,pros are young guys ,do it without any help at all,just pull up the pipe and wire by hand....... they are pretty careless about not damaging the supply cable,as the casing often has a very sharp edge.