On Fri, 25 Jan 2019 09:02:14 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

On 1/25/2019 8:47 AM, not my real pseudonym wrote:
On 1/24/2019 3:58 PM, Frank wrote:
Submersible pump failed on my well.Â* Plumber has worked on it in the
past and installed new pump and pressure tank over 10 years ago.

He pulled the pump, put a new one on to discover that the well must
have collapsed as it would only go to 3/4 previous depth. Then no
matter what he did, he could not pull it out.Â* He had to cut off the
top of the pipe to hook to the house.Â* We have water but water table
is up and pump surrounded with debris may not last long.Â* Plumber
would not take a partial hit on his bill but I paid him anyway.Â* I
should get water for transition to new well in a week or so.Â* Neighbor
could supply me through a hose but it freezes with low temperatures.
I had supplied the previous owner for a week a while back when they
had the same problem but weather was nice.

Just hired a well digger to put in a new well since the old one is
partially collapsed and new one will be needed sooner or later. His
costs are also less for a new pump, plumbing and pressure tank than
the plumber's.Â* My previous neighbor recommended him after going
through the same process.

My plumber who did good work in the past and will now be history has
taught me the lesson of not getting a plumber to work on your well.


Just curious but how/why did the well collapse?Â* Generally wells are
entirely encased in PVC with a slotted bottom section that allows the
water to flow in but prevents collapse.Â* Did the slotted PVC section fail?

They only case so far and this was below the casing which I believe only
goes down about 50 feet. The well was about 125 feet deep. Casing
probably depends on the strata which is rock here but downstate near the
coast is sand.

My pump was at about 119 feet and is not stuck at about 89 feet. It is
in water and we are still getting water but now bogged down in the
porous rock, it will not last long.

That is unusual. Our well casings go all the way to the aquifer, at
least past the last layer of rock that is sequestering the water.

If you lose a pump, it is gone. Typically the well is 200' and the
pump is somewhere in between. Mine is at 60'. What can happen is the
water table drops below the pump., the pump overheats, the threads
soften and the pump pull off the pipe. If you are lucky, the wires
hold it. The best practice is to tie a nylon rope to the pump and run
it with the wiring.