What you did there is called well fishing. I used to do pump service work. The variety of fishing tools people use to get things out of wells is almost endless. Your solution here was excellent! Pulling a pump on 160 feet of pipe by hand is quite an accomplishment, particularly for someone who has never done it before. I'd suggest that when you replace the pump you consider using 250 PSI poly pipe (because it won't fold, kink or break when the pump is lowered or raised.) Be sure to use steel barb fittings on both ends and double hose clamps over the barbs. (You'll need to heat the pipe in order to get the barb in all the way.) Nice catch ! Thanks for the video !
Thanx so much for the compliment and the advice for future adventures. If we ever pull it again we will look into getting the higher PSI pipe. Be safe and God Bless!!
I would add to this that stainless steel fittings may save you some future hassle. More than once I've seen galvanized fittings corrode to the point of getting a hole through them.
@@watavuemountain481 yes. You’re welcome. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing an acre of land in south Alabama that has a well on it with a old well house just like yours. I am clueless as to how to get this thing operational. Someone has stolen all of the above ground parts and I have no idea how deep or how old this well is. Thanks for the great video!!
@@AFloodofSolaceJohnWhigham I’m glad we could help. Good luck with your adventure, I’m sure God will bless you with the knowledge and resources you will need.
@@watavuemountain481 amen. Counting on it! He has performed miracles just so we could be in this position. Thank you for the blessings and I receive it right now, in the name of Jesus.!! The Lord is so good.
Great video and a very cleaver retrieval trick. Considering the huge problem you were having trying to fish the pipe and pump out of the well I would have been very nervous holding a flashlight with no tether cord on it over the well opening.
Thanx for the comment. That’s a great point about the light, sometimes I have a tendency to not think about those things on the moment. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Lol. Be Safe!!
Thanx for the comment!! We tied a small wrench to a string and lowered it into the pipe until it stopped. Once we hit bottom, I tied a knot in the string at the edge of the pipe then pulled it up and measured it. It was a little tricky "knowing" we were at the bottom, but after pulling it up and lowering it several times until it was slack, we were pretty sure we were there. Thanx again, Be Safe!!
Good job. just had ours replaced and, yeah, I don't think I would ever attempt pulling one out without some help because, like your vid proves, they are heavy as hell because of pipe and pump retaining water and they aren't light regardless. By the way, same with putting one back in... don't do it alone. It will be a lot lighter but it's still a pain. Also, you can rig up an old tire rim to help pull out or guide back in from what I've heard. the guys that did it for us had a tool to do it, looked like two pulley wheels on a metal stand that acted as a sliding mechanism. Good vid and good luck.
Thank you so much for the positive comment and the suggestions... If/when we have to do it again, we will definetely do something like the old tire rim. You should check out #8 to see how much fun we had installing a new one. Thanx again, Be Safe!!
Great video! Didn't quite understand the twist grip trick. Did you still use the steel cable, or did you snag the electric wires? Or did I completely miss the trick?
The steel cable was a fail!!! Just twisted the PVC until I snagged the electrical wires that were already in place. Thanx for checking us out and for the comment.. Be Safe!!!!
@@watavuemountain481 so I used a High Lift jack to pop the top loose, then we put hose clamps on the poly pipe, and then a rope on our fork lift on the tractor to lift it about 6 feet at a time, tieing off the safety rope each time. It was slow, but it worked.
@@richvantrease Great idea. When we pull that pump, and we will have to pull it, we will do something similar to save out backs and arms. Thanx for sharing so we have more options next time!
Well, this being a 2 year old video, I don't usually comment. Most everyone else commented on all the "technical stuff". I just wanted to post what I believe is the REAL reason this job got done. . . . . But I don't her first name- - but, in my opinion she's the number 1 reason this job was completed!
I couldn’t agree more…. If Shawn wasn’t there to help me there is no way I could have gotten it done myself!!! Thanx for checking us out and for the comment. Be Safe!!
Lucky! Mine was 350 feet down. It was installed 25 years ago with rigid PVC pipe. One day lighting hit it and disintegrated sections of the pipe. I helped two other guys from the well company get it out. It took about a hour of the most intense death grip I've ever had. We would pull it up 10 feet and saw off a section of the pipe and then pull up 10 more feet. I will never do that again. They installed the new pump with the soft pipe, so all you have to do next time is reel it up.
I feel your pain Ben it was just exhausting!!!! I know we will have to replace that pump in the future and we hope it is easier with the continuous pipe. Thanx for checking it out and fir the comment.
3 wire pumps now have a 4th ground wire, which I run to an individual 8' driven ground rod near the head of the well. It's probably not a bad idea to ground the well casing (if steel) and the well seal also. The idea being to give lightning a path to ground which doesn't use the water in the pipe down the well, or the pipe or wire to the house. Lightning does weird stuff. You want to give it an obvious and inexpensive place to go. I had lighting hit a tree by a client's water meter and travel 300' to the house in the water in the PVC pipe and fry some electronics near the water entry into the house. I later thought if I had made the first 20' at the meter be hard L copper, it probably wouldn't have gone all the way to the house.
Wow!!! That literally never crossed our minds. We can easily add that extra protection. Thanx again for all of your helpful tips. Be Safe and God Bless!!
I wanted to point out that you did not make it clear in your video what you did exactly. I assumed you used the setup to hook some electrical wires that were taped to the old pipe or something like that but it was not explained. I watched twice to see what I missed. Otherwise thanks for making a good clear video to show people the trick. I'm suprised the snare wouldn't grab the pipe. When you use a snare like that pull on the cable not the pipe you lowered it with. That way it keeps the snare tight.
Thank you for the honest feedback, we will try to do better in future videos being more specific. You guessed correctly, we used the T-piece set up to snag the wires that were already in place on the old pump. I too was surprised that the snare didn't work, it would just slide off the old pipe no matter how much we tightened it from above. Thanx again, glad we could help a little.... Be Safe!!!
I’ll have to go back and look to see if I have it written down somewhere.. At about 02:00 minute mark I say 1 1/4 inch to 1 inch reducer…. I just took the pump with me to the store to make sure it fit. Goood luck and Be safe!!
Nope, we used what the call "POLY" pipe. It is like a heavy duty PEX made for wells. Check out our next video, #8 Installing the new well pump.... We show step by step instructions on how we did it. Thanx for checking us out and Be Safe!!
Not sure it would work... septic guy told me to put salt on the roots in mine and they went away. Guess it depends how deep they are and if you can directly put the salt on them.
You got that right, we get lucky a lot more than we like. Thanx for the tip though, if we ever pull it again we will definetely do that. Be Safe and God Bless!!
What you did there is called well fishing. I used to do pump service work. The variety of fishing tools people use to get things out of wells is almost endless. Your solution here was excellent! Pulling a pump on 160 feet of pipe by hand is quite an accomplishment, particularly for someone who has never done it before. I'd suggest that when you replace the pump you consider using 250 PSI poly pipe (because it won't fold, kink or break when the pump is lowered or raised.) Be sure to use steel barb fittings on both ends and double hose clamps over the barbs. (You'll need to heat the pipe in order to get the barb in all the way.) Nice catch ! Thanks for the video !
Thanx so much for the compliment and the advice for future adventures. If we ever pull it again we will look into getting the higher PSI pipe. Be safe and God Bless!!
I would add to this that stainless steel fittings may save you some future hassle. More than once I've seen galvanized fittings corrode to the point of getting a hole through them.
@WetSpotatBRC great idea. If we ever pull it again we will definitely add those. Be Safe and God Bless!!!
Man, I got emotional when y’all pulled that thing up!! I was elated. I love your grit and resolve!! God bless you guys.
Thank you for checking us out and for such a positive comment. We are excited that you felt so connected to our struggle. Be Safe!!
@@watavuemountain481 yes. You’re welcome. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing an acre of land in south Alabama that has a well on it with a old well house just like yours. I am clueless as to how to get this thing operational. Someone has stolen all of the above ground parts and I have no idea how deep or how old this well is. Thanks for the great video!!
@@AFloodofSolaceJohnWhigham I’m glad we could help. Good luck with your adventure, I’m sure God will bless you with the knowledge and resources you will need.
@@watavuemountain481 amen. Counting on it! He has performed miracles just so we could be in this position. Thank you for the blessings and I receive it right now, in the name of Jesus.!! The Lord is so good.
Hey
Seeing the two of you work together is FANTASTIC!! Awesome video!!
Thank you so much for the comments and for checking us out. Hopefully this will help when you go to pull your pump. Good luck and Be Safe!!
Great video and a very cleaver retrieval trick. Considering the huge problem you were having trying to fish the pipe and pump out of the well I would have been very nervous holding a flashlight with no tether cord on it over the well opening.
Thanx for the comment. That’s a great point about the light, sometimes I have a tendency to not think about those things on the moment. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Lol. Be Safe!!
Finally a video showing how to remove a pump from the well
Thank you That’s part of the reason we made it, I couldn’t find one.
Great video - thank you! Just wondering how you knew how deep your well was before pulling the old pump?
Thanx for the comment!! We tied a small wrench to a string and lowered it into the pipe until it stopped. Once we hit bottom, I tied a knot in the string at the edge of the pipe then pulled it up and measured it. It was a little tricky "knowing" we were at the bottom, but after pulling it up and lowering it several times until it was slack, we were pretty sure we were there. Thanx again, Be Safe!!
@@watavuemountain481 tks! okay - but it sounds like that was "after" you pulled the old pump?
@@curiouscat3384 nope.... we did that a few weeks before we bought the new pump. That's how I knew how much pipe to buy.
Good job. just had ours replaced and, yeah, I don't think I would ever attempt pulling one out without some help because, like your vid proves, they are heavy as hell because of pipe and pump retaining water and they aren't light regardless. By the way, same with putting one back in... don't do it alone. It will be a lot lighter but it's still a pain.
Also, you can rig up an old tire rim to help pull out or guide back in from what I've heard. the guys that did it for us had a tool to do it, looked like two pulley wheels on a metal stand that acted as a sliding mechanism.
Good vid and good luck.
Thank you so much for the positive comment and the suggestions... If/when we have to do it again, we will definetely do something like the old tire rim. You should check out #8 to see how much fun we had installing a new one. Thanx again, Be Safe!!
Great video! Didn't quite understand the twist grip trick. Did you still use the steel cable, or did you snag the electric wires? Or did I completely miss the trick?
The steel cable was a fail!!! Just twisted the PVC until I snagged the electrical wires that were already in place. Thanx for checking us out and for the comment.. Be Safe!!!!
@@watavuemountain481 cool! We just pulled our pump today. Fortunately the pipe was intact, as was the safety rope.
@@richvantrease that was great for y’all, at least got it started a little easier I hope..
@@watavuemountain481 so I used a High Lift jack to pop the top loose, then we put hose clamps on the poly pipe, and then a rope on our fork lift on the tractor to lift it about 6 feet at a time, tieing off the safety rope each time. It was slow, but it worked.
@@richvantrease Great idea. When we pull that pump, and we will have to pull it, we will do something similar to save out backs and arms. Thanx for sharing so we have more options next time!
Well, this being a 2 year old video, I don't usually comment.
Most everyone else commented on all the "technical stuff".
I just wanted to post what I believe is the REAL reason this job got done. . . . .
But I don't her first name- - but, in my opinion she's the number 1 reason this job was completed!
I couldn’t agree more…. If Shawn wasn’t there to help me there is no way I could have gotten it done myself!!! Thanx for checking us out and for the comment. Be Safe!!
Lucky! Mine was 350 feet down. It was installed 25 years ago with rigid PVC pipe. One day lighting hit it and disintegrated sections of the pipe. I helped two other guys from the well company get it out. It took about a hour of the most intense death grip I've ever had. We would pull it up 10 feet and saw off a section of the pipe and then pull up 10 more feet. I will never do that again. They installed the new pump with the soft pipe, so all you have to do next time is reel it up.
I feel your pain Ben it was just exhausting!!!! I know we will have to replace that pump in the future and we hope it is easier with the continuous pipe. Thanx for checking it out and fir the comment.
Amazing.
3 wire pumps now have a 4th ground wire, which I run to an individual 8' driven ground rod near the head of the well. It's probably not a bad idea to ground the well casing (if steel) and the well seal also. The idea being to give lightning a path to ground which doesn't use the water in the pipe down the well, or the pipe or wire to the house. Lightning does weird stuff. You want to give it an obvious and inexpensive place to go. I had lighting hit a tree by a client's water meter and travel 300' to the house in the water in the PVC pipe and fry some electronics near the water entry into the house. I later thought if I had made the first 20' at the meter be hard L copper, it probably wouldn't have gone all the way to the house.
Thanx so much. Not sure how we missed your comment. Be Safe and God Bless!!
Wow!!! That literally never crossed our minds. We can easily add that extra protection. Thanx again for all of your helpful tips. Be Safe and God Bless!!
Holy cow! How deep is that well? 😳Well done, folks. 👍👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
165ft, we thiink..... Thank you for the positive comment and for checking us out. WE appreciate the support, Be Safe!
I wanted to point out that you did not make it clear in your video what you did exactly. I assumed you used the setup to hook some electrical wires that were taped to the old pipe or something like that but it was not explained. I watched twice to see what I missed. Otherwise thanks for making a good clear video to show people the trick. I'm suprised the snare wouldn't grab the pipe. When you use a snare like that pull on the cable not the pipe you lowered it with. That way it keeps the snare tight.
Thank you for the honest feedback, we will try to do better in future videos being more specific. You guessed correctly, we used the T-piece set up to snag the wires that were already in place on the old pump. I too was surprised that the snare didn't work, it would just slide off the old pipe no matter how much we tightened it from above. Thanx again, glad we could help a little.... Be Safe!!!
Thank you two and im glad you were able to get er done. Video was great🙂🇺🇲
Yes sir!!! Thanx for checking out the video and Be Safe!
You would have never got that w/o her. What a good helper!! Better than gold! Take her out to a nice restaurant!!
You got that right, she works twice as hard as me usually!!! Nice restaurant it is. Thanx for the comment. Be Safe and God Bless!
Take 3 10foot 2x4s tie around top with chain use as tri pod to tie off and give u a break.. put a snatch block at top if have one
ABSOLUTELY!!!! I saw a video similar to that after we pulled it already. Appreciate the suggestion though. Thanx for stopping by. Be Safe!!!
Can you tell my size are this connectors, I have the same problem.
I am looking for a solution.
I’ll have to go back and look to see if I have it written down somewhere..
At about 02:00 minute mark I say 1 1/4 inch to 1 inch reducer…. I just took the pump with me to the store to make sure it fit. Goood luck and Be safe!!
Did you replace or put it back in with PVC? Im thinking PEX.
Nope, we used what the call "POLY" pipe. It is like a heavy duty PEX made for wells. Check out our next video, #8 Installing the new well pump.... We show step by step instructions on how we did it. Thanx for checking us out and Be Safe!!
Our well pump has no electricity cables , any ideas on how to pull up the pvc pipes, we have 60 year old jet pump?
We couldn’t see any wires either. Just made the PVC fishing line long enough to get below the waterline. You should still have some lines going to it.
i can't tell if you kept the loop at the end of the pipe to snag the well pipe.
We tried, it failed that’s why we switched to using the T hook at the end. Sorry wasn’t the greatest job of showing that part.
@@watavuemountain481 i must be missing something. i'll watch it again.
@@robertuffman3041could it be that the wire that wrapped around the pipe was the wire that powers the pump?
@shermanwatters7503 you got it. That’s exactly what we caught. Be safe and God bless
Victory when u got that pump out mine is 150 feet down
Absolutely!!!!! We knew it would be difficult, just didn’t anticipate it being that difficult. A great feeling though when we got it out.
You two are troopers! Thank you for the video! 👏😁
Thank you and thanx for the comment, we really enjoy it. Be Safe!!
got lucky usually they get stuck in the mud and are a bear to get out good job on we don't use any plastic fishing tools all steel and screw together
Yes sir!!!! Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Lol. Thanx for the comment. Be safe!!
I pulled my pump up a few days ago all by myself. 200 foot long, almost killed me. My back still hurts now 🤭
Wow that’s impressive, I don’t know if I could have done that. Strong work, Biofreze works wonders for the back. Thanx for checking us out. Be safe!!!
Thank You for sharing! That saved $1000's
Glad we could help. Good luck and God bless!!
about 8lbs. per gallon of water plus wt of pump.
You got it for sure. When we were recording I forgot about the check valve keeping all that water in there. Thanx for checking us out and be safe!!!
GREAT JOB GUYS!!!
BRAVO!!!
EXCELLENT!!!
Thank you for the wonderful comment and for checking us out…. Be Safe!!
Great save. Way to go!!!👍❤
Thanx so much!! It could have been real bad if we didn’t get it out!! Be Safe and God Bless!!
I’m trying to remove roots from my well. Not sure how to do that. Any ideas?
Not sure it would work... septic guy told me to put salt on the roots in mine and they went away. Guess it depends how deep they are and if you can directly put the salt on them.
Great teamwork! 👍
Thanx a million. It was just as hard as it looked and we absolutely could not have done it alone. Be Safe!!
"Holy hay bale". Lol!!
Thanx for checking us out... I'm sure you thought something else was coming out of my mouth, we try to keep it G rated. LOL... Be Safe!!
Bravo!!!
That was an awesome job and well (pun intended) done video.
Thank you so much!!!! We truly appreciate the comment and support, Be Safe!!
When pulling PVC pipe bring up 10 to 15 feet and then cut it off you Lucky it didn't break and then back in the well it go's
You got that right, we get lucky a lot more than we like. Thanx for the tip though, if we ever pull it again we will definetely do that. Be Safe and God Bless!!
well done
Thank you for the comment and for subscribing!!
Cheap and easy. I want a surface pump.
I was really trying to find land with a shallow well to use a surface pump. This was too good to pass up. Thanx for checking us out, Be Safe!!
Not that easy here in California 300 feet on 2" galvanized pipe
Ouch!! Now that’s deep for sure. And I can’t imagine how heavy that pipe was. Thanx for checking us out and for the comment. Be Safe!!
Try New Mexico for 500’ 🥲
@@MrOlvidado89 dang dang now that’s deep. Did you get it all squared away??
Thank God for that.
Absolutely!!!! We thank him daily for our blessings. Thanx for watching.
Respect 👍
Thank you… it was a job for sure. Be safe!!
Crosby clamp
There ya go, thank you!!! We appreciate you checking us out and the comment. Be Safe and God bless!!
That was interesting......
Yeah it was way harder than we anticipated. Thank goodness for that quick little tip..
Why you breathing so hard? it only took just over 2 minutes @13:30 till around 15:45 and you were done🤔
😂😂. Just old and out of shape I guess!!! Thanx for checking us out!!
@@watavuemountain481 😂🤣jk
Never use pvc pipe EVER
I agree, we only used it to get the old PVC out, lol. Thanx for checking us out, Be Safe!!
What a mess
Absolutely!!! That pump was sitting in the mud at the bottom so a lot of it came out too. Thanx for checking us out, Be Safe!!!
You need a pipe dawg.
Yup. We’re all good now. Thanx for the comment. Be Safe and God Bless!