Hello to all.

Well info: Age of house around 64 years. Assume well that old. Two wire 230 volt pump with pressure switch at tank. Tank (Well-trol WX-203) new, pressure switch new. Depth do not know but I "see" water maybe 20 feet down well shaft.

Just began the move to a new home and already it seems I have some issues to take care of. While the home inspector said there was plenty of water flow and we did make the prior owner replace the water tank (causing the pump to recycle over and over) it seems the pump is now gone.

What I've done so far:

Checked circuit breaker
Tested for 230 volts at the pressure switch at the tank
Tested the relay at the tank (it is now closed to send voltage to pump)
Measured the resistance at the motor side of the relay to check for motor winding and there is none... infinity.
-I do not get any current going to the motor leads. When clicking the relay there is no arcing like I'd expect to see if the motor was working and asking for juice.

So now at the well head:

Removed the cover. The only thing supporting the pump are the three power wires, green. red and black. No cable. Is this normal?

I can see water maybe 20 feet down the shaft. When I pulled up on the wires I was able to withdraw maybe 8' of cable. Then it stopped coming easily. Not sure if it is jammed or just the weight of the pump. Did not want to pull any harder not knowing what's what.

When I let the wire go it did not drop all the way back in. Instead it felt like the pump was now bobbing up and down in the water. Cannot see it though

Is this because the vacuum action of the pump will pull the motor back down when running?

I can also see what appears to be the fitting for the water line maybe a foot below the level of the ground. A right angle fitting. Not sure how the pump would clear that fitting even if it came back up.

Am I looking at digging this shaft up to get to that point?

So here I sit. Yes, I can call a pro and I may still that but still would like to tackle this myself if i can with some help from this forum. I'm sure a pro will charge big $$ that right now I do not have. Pumps can be had at Home Depot for $500 or less depending on the motor size.

Hope someone can help.

 

Pulling up a pump is not always an easy job. It depends on the depth and getting the sections of pipe apart. Also.... you need a way to lift the weight. Many people build a triangle type derrick to lift from.

You have what is called a pitless adapter. The pump is hanging on that via the pipe. The wire is never used to hang the pump from.

 

What were the symptoms BEFORE you began pulling the Pump up ?

Just a sudden stoppage; a build up of pressure to the Cut-Out point, and then a draining away of pressure down to the Cut-In to be repeated . . . . a slow reduction in pressures achieved ?

 

He said the pump is dead and shows no continuity across the pump leads.
It's going to be a defective pump motor or broken wire.

 

Not completely following that picture you posted. Can you answer some questions?

There is a well head in the yard with a maybe 6" diameter steel casing about 24" above the ground with a cap. The wire enters that cap from the top/side and goes down the casing to the pump.

You say it should not be hanging from the electrical wire so is there a chain or cable down below that I cannot see or should that be attached to the top of the casing? I do not see any studs or hardware for a cable to be attached.

How does the pump pass by that "fitting" I can see entering the side of the casing below the ground level? Does the casing need to be dug out to get to that point?

If I can see water at around 20" does that mean the pump is just below that level or way way down?

Can you give me an idea of what I can expect to pay a pro to do this job?

 

The male part shown in that drawing is threaded onto the pipe that is threaded into the top of the pump. And, typically, a second pipe is threaded into the top of that piece, extending to the top of the casing, so that you have something to grab onto to pull the pump. The female side is welded into the side of your casing, 4-5' below grade, and that is where the line to your house is connected. There are multiple designs of that fitting, but they all perform the same function; simply a transition point from the drop line to the line going to the house. Sounds like yours does not have a pipe in the top of it, but you should be able to see it, and can hopefully thread a 3/4" or 1" pipe into the top of the adapter, so that you can pull on that rather than the wires. Oh, and the pitless adapter is what holds the pump and line from it from dropping to the bottom of the well, so you hold the pipe to that side when lowering, so that it connects. Not knowing this before you started, you may already be off of it, so be careful.

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-a-Submersible-Well-Pump

Is this what I'm up against?

Any suggestions to add to make things go easier for me?

 

That's it.... more or less. They show one continuous piece of black poly pipe. You could have that or individually connected iron pipes that get disconnected as you pull the pump up.

 

If I can see water down 20' or so does that mean the well is that shallow or does that mean nothing in terms of the depth?

One quote:

$1500 for a 3/4HP US made pump with 5 years warranty on the motor, 1 year on the installation. $240/hour for two installers, $2/foot for the 3-wire cable. So depending on the depth and how much cable they use close to $3500 for the work.

And... if they find other issues the cost will go up.

 

No charge for piping, regardless of how deep the pump is going to be positioned ?

 

In the end, with another more reasonable installer and with me working as his assistant it came to just shy of $1300. New US made pump, all new wire and spacers, etc. Pump was at 142'. Well down to 152' with a 21 foot water table.

He had a machine to draw up the flex pipe that made it easy. About 3.5 hours later even with him going to get new wire I had water again.

In the end, my best decision was to use him but nice to know if I had to I can do the job myself next time.

Thanks to all for your help and comments

 

Thanks for giving us the scoop. Good deal.

Be sure to document everything..... put it in a special file for future reference.
If the house gets sold.... pass it on.