Tips and Tricks for Finding a Buried Well in -10 Temps

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sat. Jan. 04, 2014 6:47 pm

Keving, You guys replace just the electric motor, or did you do the whole motor/pump assembly?

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Sat. Jan. 04, 2014 7:14 pm

Keving wrote:Temps shot up to 18 degrees which made unrolling the pipe go without much wrestling.

Sure! Might as well have been in Florida, with those temps.
Thanks for a fascinating story of do-it-yourself persistence and ingenuity. Looking back on it in ten years, you will say "Was that really ME that accomplished all that under such miserable conditions?"

Keving · Post by **Keving** » Sat. Jan. 04, 2014 7:56 pm

Mcgiever we replaced both pump and motor. We are very limited around here on a Saturday when it comes to parts or even Monday for that matter. The plumbing shops have plenty of gearing but the do it yourselfers pay premium prices and usually deal with a secretary that doesn't know where anything is. The closest Home Depot is 30 miles from here, the roads are snow covered with a 1" ice base so traveling is lousy at best. And when the sun comes out around here you have to watch out for the yuppies coming down the road in a uncontrolled skid in a expensive car with racing slicks so I have to take into account the fear factor when making hardware runs. When I saw the 525 dollar price tag for a 1/2 hp pump I told Larry we should head for HD since they were 325 dollars according to their website. He could see that the local purchase would have him hooked up by dark so he pounced onto the gold plated pump at a Viking store in Blue Hill. I can say the folks at Viking treat us very well, have a very knowledgeable staff and will jump through hoops to help the cause. At least Larry dropped his bucks on a deserving counter. Kind of a shame to spend that kind of money on something and shove it down a hole in the ground and hope you never see it again.

009to090 · Post by **009to090** » Sat. Jan. 04, 2014 8:20 pm

DITTO,DITTO, and DITTO.
This happened to our 7 year old pump. It kept blowing the CB. Pulled it up, it had no spacers, and no Torque arrester, and down by the pump the wire had been rubbed thru by the start-up torque on the side of the casing.
I installed all new EVERYTHING, since it was 185ft drop. Did it myself to make sure it was done right. And don't use electrical tape to hold the wire to the pipe. Use Wire ties.

Dennis wrote:
coalkirk wrote:Many times the problem he describes is damage to the wiring down in the well. Everytime that pump kicks on the torque twists the wiring and can cause it to wear away insulation and short out on the casing.

Yes and before returning the pipe back down in the casing,go to the plumbing supply and get those rings to keep the pipe and wiring from scraping the side of the casing

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sat. Jan. 04, 2014 8:35 pm

009to090 wrote: And don't use electrical tape to hold the wire to the pipe. Use Wire ties.

Might you explained the no-no for electrical tape and the wire tie endorsement? Has me quite curious as to the reasoning.

I have enough wire ties here for 2 lifetimes, but for me...electrical tape it is for my submersible.

Wire ties can and do come off and stay in the well forever...tape only comes off w/ a very sharp knife when pipe is out of the hole.