I have some trepidations about water
wells and altering those wells.
After reading the comments about
Water Issues, I wanted to provide some additional thoughts.
A pitless adapter in a well is used
to support the submersible pump and allow for the top of the well casing to be
terminated below the surface of the ground. The pitless is not just a plumbing
fitting but an engineered piece of well hardware that is fitted to the well
casing.
Altering the well head by installing
new well casing above, or over, the original casing will require that the well
head be engineered to support the below-grade well components and protect
against surface contaminates, which may leak into the water source through, or
around the well casing modifications. This protection cannot be overstated.
Sealing the well head should be viewed as an integral part of any well
development strategy.
Many states and municipalities
require certain minimum requirements for potable water wells; so a call or two
to the servicing public health professionals may prove useful.
Changing a water well constructed to
use a submersible pump is doable, but an appreciable amount of thought should
go into the alterations.
The homeowner may be served best by
retaining the services of a competent well driller to make changes in any
potable water well.
Caution should be taken in any
attempt to raise, remove, or otherwise lift an installed pitless adapter. The
weight supported by the pitless adapter, along with the supply piping, cables,
electrical wires, and submersible pump and the column of water it supports
should not be dismissed. Companies that service wells usually have a rather
sturdy A-frame they use to lift submersible pumps for service or replacement.
Also, some have discovered a tough
lesson about the costs of having a well driller retrieve the internal well
components, which once freed suddenly disappeared down the black hole! – D
Hugh responds: That’s wise advice. While servicing your well can be done
(I service mine), it is important to know what the specifics are. I do know of
a person who attempted to service his submersible pump. He didn’t realize that
the well was 900 feet deep or that the combined weight of the pump, pipe stack,
and contained water greatly exceeded the capabilities of the simple rig he was
using to pull the well. The result was a destroyed rig, broken arm, and the
humiliation of having to pay someone to fish the pump and pipe out of the well
as well as the for the service that originally started the project. It was an
expensive mistake.
Most wells in the U.S. are under 250
feet deep, which can easily be serviced with simple homemade equipment. Wells
as deep as 500 feet can generally be serviced with rented equipment. Anything
deeper usually requires specialized equipment and is best left to those with
the experience and access to the equipment.
From the Survival Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment