Anyone Out There Ever Bush Hog A Well?

[J_J]

I have a damaged well casing.

Some idiot (no need to discuss the who ) backed his rotary mower into it. The cap was shattered, and the casing was bent and gashed. The highest undamaged spot on the casing is just five inches above the soil.

I have made temporary repairs to the severed wiring and have an inverted bucket over the well to keep stuff out for now, so it's not an emergency, but I do need to do a proper fix. Does anyone know how the pros go about dealing with something like this? Any idea what it might cost to get it repaired? I'd like a ball park before I call any drillers.

The well is six inch steel pipe with a pitless adapter and a one HP submersible pump at 400 foot. It was drilled 13 to 15 years ago, and the pump was replaced five years ago.



Any advice will be appreciated.

I think I would have a good welder come out and weld a new sleeve on at the height you want. I would also put a shut off switch for the pump in a water proof box. You could put two 90 degree fittings on the well and let the wire come out the bottom, that has a rubber insert for the wires to help keep out trash and bugs, etc. Mark it real good. Actually the switch box would serve as a marker, with a orange or white cap. You could also build a cement dough nut around the well. Then dress it up with a little shrubbery.

 

[Highbeam]

"Some hundred or so years ago, previous owners capped a 6'x6'x50' hand-dug well with redwood planks and about two feet of soil."

The first thing I thought of was the machine sinking fast into that shaft of darkness and the water sucking your life away with it's temperature, the shock, and the darkness, no air..... as you sink your ears are in pain from the pressure, you're trying to unbuckle the seatbelt but your floating body is keeping tension on it. What's happening? Those are the times when a clear head is all that will keep you alive. Wow. I would have had to sit on a rock for an hour even before changing my shorts.

50 feet is deep, really deep, remember being so happy to get to the bottom of the deep end at the local pool which was only like 12' deep and then gasping for air.

Anyway, the well drillers weld sections of that casing together as they install it. Right down to the last stick. They can easily weld on another chunk. Maybe even make it a couple of feet taller but be sure not to make it so tall that you can't reach to the pitless adapter. I stuck a traffic cone on top of that T-bar just so noone would run into it.

 

[randy41]

my guess is that you know exactly where that thing is now.

 

[Soundguy]

JJ has a good answer.. Weld a piece to it, and then don't do it again!

Soundguy

 

[turbo36]

Any well driller can cut off the damaged section to square up the end and then re-thread it to allow a coupler and short pipe to be installed to the proper height. Pretty common practice around here.

 

[SnowRidge]

I talked to the closest well driller yesterday. He said to just cut it off and leave it. He said that is all they would do if they came out.

 

[Soundguy]

I'd mark it well after you square it off, and then maybee remove some material and the vegitation from it so you don't do it again.. and also try to keep water and debri from piling / pooling around it.. etc..

Soundguy

 

[SnowRidge]

It is in the middle of the lawn.

There was a spot nearby that used to contain a pool. I was cutting the weeds in that area prior to regrading it and wacked the well when I backed away to get a different angle on the weeds.

I am thinking of four concrete filled bollards, four foot high.

 

[Highbeam]

Maybe build an old style well house, like a doghouse around it.

You are the customer, if you want a new section welded on then you get it.

 

[bearhawk]

I would say that if it is high enough not to allow ground water in. Saw it off and forget about it. Unless you go back out with the hog that is !

Cheers