The Well

[scootr]

Many rural farms and ranches get water from the ground. These people know the importance of a good well with a plentiful supply of water and good equipment. Our good equipment went to hell this year. In the spring our poly holding tank 4200 gal split hear the bottom and had to be replaced after 25 yrs.
This week the pump motor died. Not a shock after 25 yrs of service, But what followed was.
My pump service guy showed up and began pulling 400 ft of stem to retrieve the pump. After pulling 150' the rig groaned to a stop. The pipe would freefall 1 foot and come up a ft only to stop the crane again and again. We speculated knowing the full depth and type of broken rock the hole was in that it could be a crushed liner, possible earthquake damage, or similar...We decided a camera should be sent down to see what the problem was. Camera guy was not encouraging...saying he was unsure he could get his camera down 250' without getting caught up on the pipe and wire and that if it looked to scary for him he would pull out and charge the full $900 fee.
On to plan B. Called the driller. His records were good. We talked about the ground structure and the equipment installed. He sent me geographical records by the ft. and we discussed My options to which his parting words were GL.
We called in a big crane to roll the dice and see it we could get the pump lose or snap it off the stem or simply break the stem. Not good prospects as some of those results could result in the Well hole becoming unusable.
With the big 40T crane set up and connected...we gave the signal for a gentle pull, all held our breath. I heard the engine load and saw the boom take some weight and I thought oh no. Then pop up came a ft of pipe... and then more. 50' more at normal lifting load and we were presented wit a giant ball of pull rope (200') wadded up on the midpoint check valve with obvious abrasion signs.
Seems the original pump installer failed to secure the line to the cap and again failed to tape it to the pipe in a proper manner at the proper intervals. Frustrating but what relief after worrying about everything else that could have gone wrong.
New pump, new motor, new wire, new rope securely taped to the stem every 20', new control box and we are enjoying a drink of water that will hopefully that will last me my lifetime.

 

[Sportsman762]

I am surprised the pump service guy would not send the camera down. I know the outfit I worked for would have. Then you know what your working with. Otherwise your running blind. Once you know its wire jamming everything up you can go down with the right tools and pull it out.

Wire is always a pain to deal with. We did more fishing then drilling so we had or made tools for most situations. In this case we would have sent down a tool that looked like a large cork screw around the drop pipe and connected it to a stem of 1" working pipe. Once we were at the wire nest we would have rotated the corkscrew around so it would have grabbed the wire.

Then we would have let tension off the drop pipe and lifted the pump, wire, rope and drop pipe out all at once using the corkscrew holding the wires. If the wire broke off we would keep the drop pile secured so we would not loose the pump down the well and then pulled the wire free before pulling the now wireless pump and drop pipe out. Just pulling on an obstruction is a great way to drop a pump and then have to go fishing for a much harder fish. (this is where we made the money, pulling other drillers equipment out of the well or going after fish other drillers gave up on.) I am not a fan of safety rope, it just adds more stuff in the well to cause problems.

I am glad it worked for you, however the method they used was high risk, and their techniques are along the lines of "get a bigger hammer" and could have cost you thousands to correct their choices. (one job I worked on was 15K to retrieve another companies tooling and then the pump) Next well you need fixed would be a good opportunity to try a different company.

We taped the wire every 10' as I cannot count the number of wells I pulled using just the wires when all heck broke loose and the drop pipe went bad or broke off. Good tape jobs are important.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

I'm reading this as I watch a drilling rig set up a new well on my place. Looks like it will only need to be 200' deep in mostly sand. My other well is 180'. No earthquakes here, only red dirt and sand. I'll have to see how often they tape off the lines, although at my age it'll likely outlive me.

 

[scootr]

Sportsman, sounds like you know your way around this problem very well. Unfortunately my pump guy is not a camera guy. Camera was my choice. Then we would have seen the mess of pull rope. Anyway it worked out and I learned more than I knew before. Hopefully there is not a next time and if it is it is just a routine pull. But if it's not - I know who to call now.
When we saw no rope we assumed there was no rope...never guessed somebody dropped it and it wasn't taped properly.

 

[steve tym]

We have never saved a pump because it had a rope on it, only lost them. We NEVER install or replace rope in the well, it doesn't belong there.

 

[ponytug]

Around here, stainless steel aircraft cable seems to be the norm.

All the best, Peter

 

[steve tym]

If the pump is stuck bad enough that the pipe and wire won't get it out, cable or rope probably wont help.
We've made up the same tool as Sportsman (great minds think alike). The rope will slid up until it get balled up under the pitless, then it stops. The corkscrew screws into it and pulls it out first time, every time.

 

[Valveman]

As was said, never use rope down a well. Cable makes an even bigger mess when it comes loose. I never put anything down the well that doesn't have to be there, including rope, torque arrestors, cable stand offs, etc. Glad you got it out, but like was also said, it could have been worse.