Well pipe removal

xtp308

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Ok, we've switched the pump/motor, tank, etc... as well as looked at all of the pipes under the house.
We get too much air in the pipes and it pops and spits at irregular intervals, mostly at the faucets on the uphill side of the house. You can see the air in the water if you pour a glass. So, we're thinking we need to pull the pipe that goes into the well and see if it's cracked or letting air in when it draws water up to the pump house.
Is this something I can do or do I need to call a pro ? I def don't want to drop the thing as I'm pulling it up, I know it has to be crazy heavy with all of the water inside. It's 19 feet to the water level inside the well from the top. I have no clue how far past the water level the pipe head is.

Thanks!!
 
Ok, we've switched the pump/motor, tank, etc... as well as looked at all of the pipes under the house.
We get too much air in the pipes and it pops and spits at irregular intervals, mostly at the faucets on the uphill side of the house. You can see the air in the water if you pour a glass. So, we're thinking we need to pull the pipe that goes into the well and see if it's cracked or letting air in when it draws water up to the pump house.
Is this something I can do or do I need to call a pro ? I def don't want to drop the thing as I'm pulling it up, I know it has to be crazy heavy with all of the water inside. It's 19 feet to the water level inside the well from the top. I have no clue how far past the water level the pipe head is.

Thanks!!

19’ ? That’s child’s play. We pulled my buddy’s several times it’s 692’. Have to use a tractor to pull it. If it were me I’d pull it myself being that shallow.


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Yessir, you can pull that up by hand since it sounds like your well is quite shallow. I have seen others use a tripod with several chain falls that you can rotate between. That is much easier on the shoulders, back and legs.
 
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We get too much air in the pipes and it pops and spits at irregular intervals, mostly at the faucets on the uphill side of the house.

Seems strange... if it was on the pressure side you'd see a leak. Air introduced into the pipe would be on the suction side.

Is there an intake pipe on the pump or is it a submersible pump?

Am I off base?

Oh, just saw. There's a pump house. The pump is in the house? If so, the pipe would be real easy to pull at that depth.

Did you check all the fittings at the pump, suction side?
 
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Sounds like you are on a jet pump -double check connections where it turns to go down into well. Those suction lines are notorious for leaking and find a way to support them and don't let them just hold the weight of the lines at the wellhead. You can pull that by hand -probably no deeper than 10' in the water.
 
Sounds like you are on a jet pump -double check connections where it turns to go down into well. Those suction lines are notorious for leaking and find a way to support them and don't let them just hold the weight of the lines at the wellhead. You can pull that by hand -probably no deeper than 10' in the water.

^^^ This.

Shallow well jet pumps are easier to pull than deeper well submersible pumps, due to the weight difference at the bottom of the pipe. Do you know how deep your well is? There should be a tag on the well casing that has the specifics.

I replaced my submersible pump earlier this year, and wrote about it in this thread:

https://carolinafirearmsforum.com/index.php?threads/well-pump-died.50348/#post-876141

Is yours a jet pump system or a submersible pump system?
 
I have no clue what system it is; we bought the house ten years ago and it was already in place. I'll check the tag tomorrow for total well depth.
I'll definitely check the pipe from the pump to the well, it makes sense the connection could intro air at the well cap since its holding the weight of the pipe there.
I'll def check that thread link !
I'll post some pics tomorrow after the rain stops.

Thanks, gents !!
 
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If you only have one pipe going down into the well, and it’s plumbed directly to a pressure tank, then you probably have a submersible pump.

On the other hand, if two pipes go down, it’s a jet pump.
 
Few weeks ago I noticed my kitchen faucet “spit” once in a while when I opened it. Couple days later I noticed a darker colored block on the well house. I had a leak next to the filter housing inside the well house
 
If you only have one pipe going down into the well, and it’s plumbed directly to a pressure tank, then you probably have a submersible pump.

On the other hand, if two pipes go down, it’s a jet pump.
Could be shallow well jet -only one pipe. Sounds like that might be the case -less than 50' deep. Just a check valve on the end instead of jet assembly.
 
Thanks for the advice, gents ! I just changed the height of the bricks supporting the pipe into the well cap; we’ll see if that takes the pressure off the joint and helps with the air coming in.
 
True test if check valve is leaking -turn pump off and wait awhile, if it loses prime, got to replace it. Do you have a shut off valve to house? Shut that off if you try this. If gauge works and pressure goes down you have a leak somewhere. If you do pull it and change check valve, if they ran PVC down in the well -change it to black roll pipe!!! -And use a brass check valve!!!
 
We may have a winner ! Since I messed with the bricks supporting the joint, we've had zero air coming into the water.

Should I purple cement the hell out of the joints to seal any potential future leaks/air intrusion ?

For future info, after looking at the pictures, what kinda system is this ? Jet, submersible, etc ..?

I'm not losing the prime when I turn off the power to the pump, fyi.

My sincere thanks for all the info, gents !!
 
Purple is primer only. You can put some PVC glue around the joints but honestly you are living on borrowed time if you have a leak in PVC, means there is a crack somewhere which with pump vibration will get worse. Might take awhile but one day... You have a shallow well (one pipe) jet pump. If it was me I would redo with black pipe as I mentioned before down into the well and install a proper tank tee to provide a good place to mount pressure switch and gauge. The only place i install PVC is in ground -then transition to either black pipe or Pex. But that's just me - one time freezing and all that PVC will be junk. Let me know if I can help further -wish I was closer, I'd help you with it. Not a big deal with your shallow well. Try a 11/2 hp 700' in the ground -had one of those last week. Now you are talking real fun!!!:)
 
Not sure if this has been said or not but two things about pulling your own well pipe. Lay out a tarp to pull the pipe onto. Try to keep it from laying directly on the ground. This is to prevent contamination of the well.

And before putting it back together dump some Clorox into the hole. I used a couple cups of pool shock when I did mine.

If you don’t want to bleach your clothes just don’t wash any clothes for a couple days. And run your water in a sink for a little while to clear out the worst of it.
 
Not sure if this has been said or not but two things about pulling your own well pipe. Lay out a tarp to pull the pipe onto. Try to keep it from laying directly on the ground. This is to prevent contamination of the well.

And before putting it back together dump some Clorox into the hole. I used a couple cups of pool shock when I did mine.

If you don’t want to bleach your clothes just don’t wash any clothes for a couple days. And run your water in a sink for a little while to clear out the worst of it.
This^^^ I also try to run all faucets so the chlorine sanitizes the piping.
 
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