Pulling well pump

[E/S]

I need to pull my well pump this summer, its on 1 1/4" galvanized pipe - 300' to 500' deep. What I'm looking for are ideas on how to do this myself pulling
21' lengths of pipe at a time. I have done it pulling 10' to 11' at a time, cutting the pipe and repeat. That process is slow and messy ( but its as high as my loader will go).
I am considering building a SSQA boom poll but am a little concerned about stability.
I pulled / set pumps for years as a younger man with a crane, but those days have passed. Now i just want to do my own and possible 3 or 4 others a year in my area.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

E/S

 

[Bigkrank]

Makes me glad all our wells are 35-55 ft deep. Have fun.

 

[nybirdman]

You are talking about 1500# or so plus the pump.I would replace with plastic.
I have done up to 400 ft.but had a crane.May-be a tripod with a chain-fall but your are still only going to be able to pull 10-12ft.at a time.

 

[Egon]

Tall tripod, chain hoist, pipe clamp, something solid to rest the clamp on, pipe wrenches, two sledge hammers, pipe cutters and helpers.

It is preferable you supervise and the helpers work.:thumbsup:

 

[beeforty]

Makes me glad all our wells are 35-55 ft deep. Have fun.

Yours is deep, mine is only 29'10":laughing: Years ago I helped my brother put in his pump, and he had a guy with a backhoe with a piece of channel iron bolted to the bucket to give him the reach needed for full lengths. Of course you need something to hold onto the remainder of the pipe, we just used 2 flat bars bolted together below each coupling.

 

[RoyJackson]

This is going to be a labor intensive job, no matter how you do it.
a 500' well using 21' lengths of galvanized comes to 24 lengths. Based upon your lifting height of 10-11 feet, that's two pulls per length.

You also need to rig a fixture or framework to hold the pipe as you rechoke it on your loader.
If you're planning to unscrew the pipe lengths at each coupler, you'll need to choke the pipe (in the well) as well as the pipe to be unscrewed. That's a challenge. It'll be easier to cut those lengths (as you wrote in your post), but then you cannot reuse them (if that was your plan).

The problem using a boom pole is, as you wrote, stability...plus you have the weight of that 500' of pipe. I don't know the weight of one 21' length of 1.25" galvanized...but multiply that by 24 (number of lengths used in a 500' well). Can your loader handle that weight even at the bucket?

 

[SandburRanch]

I've used a pipe vise and pipe wrenches for 40 ft. wells pulling 20 ft. joints but for 500 ft. I'd recommend going with the tool made for the job and un - couple every 21 ft.

Heavy Duty Column Pipe Holder 1" - 4": Water Well Casing Handling Tools

 

[RoyJackson]

I've used a pipe vise and pipe wrenches for 40 ft. wells pulling 20 ft. joints but for 500 ft. I'd recommend going with the tool made for the job and un - couple every 21 ft.

Heavy Duty Column Pipe Holder 1" - 4": Water Well Casing Handling Tools

Good post...I didn't even know such a tool existed.

 

[DJ54]

You are talking about 1500# or so plus the pump.I would replace with plastic.
I have done up to 400 ft.but had a crane.May-be a tripod with a chain-fall but your are still only going to be able to pull 10-12ft.at a time.

How long will that 300-500' of plastic last, with that pump torqueing on it, every time it comes on..?

Makes me thankful mine's only 86' of plastic w/Jet pump..!!

 

[RoyJackson]

How long will that 300-500' of plastic last, with that pump torqueing on it, every time it comes on..?

Makes me thankful mine's only 86' of plastic w/Jet pump..!!

My well is about 250' deep and is plastic pipe. It's about 20 years old...still functioning OK (Jeez!!! I hope I didn't jinx myself!!!)

If you do need to pull plastic pipe (I did to replace a foot valve), it's flexible enough that you don't need to cut it. You do need enough area to lay it out though.

 

[GregbkH]

I'd cut it out, scrap it, then replace it with ABS (plastic). It is the fastest way to do yourself.

 

[Damifino]

As others have stated, 500' is alot of pipe plus weight of pump and water in pipe, would I attempt it? yes, I would buy or rent a chain vise raise loader to full height, putting chain vise securely around discharge pipe and I do mean securely.

As soon as I had a coupling in view, would raise about 2' above top of well casing, set chain vise again around pipe and let rest on top of casing, before releasing loader from pipe allow small amount of slack and shake h*** out of pipe to make sure you have a good bite.

Take 2 -18" - 24" pipe wrenches and use one to prevent turning of pipe still in well and remove 21' section, I would also have a towel ect, wrapped around coupling joint as a 21' head of water is about to expose itself.

Keep repeating until you see the pump, will this be a job? yes, is it going to take some time? yes, will you save any money? yes as long as you are not missing any work and a paycheck. Just my 2 sense.

 

[bironacad]

Tall tripod, chain hoist, pipe clamp, something solid to rest the clamp on, pipe wrenches, two sledge hammers, pipe cutters and helpers.

It is preferable you supervise and the helpers work.:thumbsup:

Man Egon you are good:thumbsup:

 

[Cat_Driver]

Pump Setting and Pipe Handling Tools

Pipe Holder - Baker Manufacturing Company

Drilling Equipment Sales, Inc. Lifting Tools

Well Pipe Clamps

Drillers Service Inc.

 

[Egon]

you'll need to choke the pipe (in the well) as well as the pipe to be unscrewed. That's a challenge. /QUOTE]

Not really. You put the pipe clamp or ??? below a coupling and set it down, usually on the casing. Then pipe wrenches to unscrew the top section which is then laid down. The hammers are for couplings that are reluctant to let the top pipe go.

The height of the tripod usually denotes how long the sections pulled will be. With rigs they are sometimes denoted by how many sections of drill stem can be pulled at one time.eg single,double triple.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Many years ago while working for an excavating contractor, we assisted a plumber pulling a pump with 20 foot sections of galvanized pipe. The plumber has some sort of clamping device setting on the well head.

We used a backhoe with a pretty good reach to pull the pipe but it has been too many years to recall if we used a chain or what on the pipe.

Some plumbers will have a puller that has three rubber tires under hydraulic pressure to grip against the pipe. They work really great with plastic pipe and I would expect the same for galvanized.

Regardless, I don't see this particular job as being much fun solo.

 

[cmyoung2]

Pulled my mom's pump last month, been in 35+ years. 200', 1" black plastic pipe. Has stabilizers to keep it from rotating from torque. The plumber had one of the three wheel lift things QRTRHRS mentioned. Really cool, Made a hard job easy, but I still would not want to do it by my self. At least two people needed. 500' iron pipe will be a job 21' at a time. If you rep;ace with plastic, make sure to add a safety rope, just in case

 

[adjusterr]

How long will that 300-500' of plastic last, with that pump torqueing on it, every time it comes on..?

Makes me thankful mine's only 86' of plastic w/Jet pump..!!

If installed properly, black plastic well pipe lasts a long time. The key is to install spacers that fit on the pipe and take up the space between the pipe and the well casing. The spacers keep the pipe from "whipping" caused by the torque of the well pump. I think I'd spring for some professional help in pulling that much galvanized pipe. If you lose the pipe down the well during the removal process, you will have a big job ahead of you. Good luck.

 

[Qapla]

Our well has 4 sections of 1.25" galvanize pipe. We used the front bucket and chain to do the pulling and pipe wrenches to guide/hold the pipe. A "chain vise" works good for holding the pipe at the top of the well casing in order to remove sections, but a pipe wrench will work - you just have to take your time and pay attention so you do not drop pump back down the well.

Galvanize pipe is rigid enough that it will stand up while it is removed/replaced - you just have to be careful when lowering/raising the sections as it gets heavy during the process.

An alternative to a tripod is to erect scaffolding next to or around the well and use the to help guide the pipe and to stand on to help lifting and setting the sections.

If this is a submersible pump you also have to deal with the wires. You need to keep them from being under foot while working. Try to put the pipe and the wires somewhere relatively clean - remember, they are going back down the well and you do not want to contaminate the well.

When I use plastic, I use schedule 80 PVC with threads. They make it for this purpose and it comes with threaded bell on one end and male threads on the other end.

I have never used pipe stabilizers on the pipe, but then I have never done one as deep as you are saying.

Are you sure that the drop pipe is actually 500' or is the well that deep with drop pipe only extending to about 20' below the water line? (Just a thought)

 

[Artisan]

Here ya go. Just get this machine. It is a one man job.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB_jzeU1Xgw]Pul-A-Pump well pump replacement - YouTube[/ame]

There is NO WAY "I" would ever allow to be built a submersable pump
with PVC pipe. NO WAY JOSE! Steel is just fine thank you.