Raising Well Head

LNG24

I have a well head that is currently 48" below grade. I need to raise it above grade. Pitless Adapter, Pipe, Coupling, and wire.

I have done a tremendous amount of elextrical and plumbing, but never did a well before. I have the head excavated out already. At $1,200 to $2000 quotes for raising it 5' I am seriously considering doing it myself.

I would appreciate any feedback on either doing it myself or not.

mdshunk

I understand raising the well head and the wiring, but why raise the pitless? That's a royal pain, for little benefit. If you need to lift the pump later on, they'd just have to use a longer piece of pipe to snag the pitless, is all.

Grumpyplumber

That reminds me of a thing that happened to me a month ago...I told a fella on an estimate what it would cost to do some repairs after going 1/2 hour out of my way to meet him at his home - at his convenience, he told me "that seems a little expensive...I think I'll look it up online."

He never did get back to me....

LNG24

Grumpy: I am a contractor, so doing the work myself is in my ball park. I just never did a well head. Seems simple enough, but so is sodering a pipe, but if you never did it before, you would never know where to begin. The estimates I got are only putting a boot around the pipe, I guess like a large Fernco.

MD: It isnt a pitless now. I want to make it a pitless. I gues that makes it a Pit Well as there was a pit 4' down. Here are some pictures

Attached Images

  

All Clear Sewer

I`v been there a time or two myself

All Clear Sewer

Digger thats a nasty hole you got there son

Better think about the frost line before you bring it up to grade

Why do you need to raise it anyway?

jmic

Hi Larry,
I don't think you'd want to use a fernco on your well casing, what they probably meant was a slip coupling for the well casing that would get welded on if in fact the section that you have there now is not threaded.
The situation you have there actually looks like a simple fix. I'd drill the pitless in the existing casing, maybe down a foot to leave enough room for the coupling. Just make sure that you don't drop the pump.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

Kgmz

Do it yourself.

Just get some well casing and someone with a portable welding truck to weld it together. And remember it has to be water tight, don't want any surface water leaking in.

I don't know what your frost depth is but if it is deep, you could put the pitless adapter where the current level of the top of the pipe is now. This way you won't have to change the piping in the well, but it will be a little harder to get the pitless adapter together that far down. Then just get some waterproof connectors to extend the wire higher if you need to, get a well top with electrical connection hole, run some pvc conduit up the side of the casing to the well top and connect the wires. Easy.

Also when you run a length of pipe above the pitless adaptor. Put a cap on the end so your hand won't slide off the end or a elbow and short pipe so you have a handle. And don't forget to extend the rope.

mdshunk

That's a heck of a lot of work to be done there. I think 1,200 to 2K seems about right to me.

LNG24

Thanks Guys,

Just to clarify; I didn't mean to imply that $1,200 to $2,00 was too much for the job...Better stated, It is too much for my check book at this time!

I called 3 more companies today. It seems that one company here operated under 5 different names. I guess they just keep buying up the competition. I had this exact job done in Vermont and it was well below these prices. The pay scale in that area was about the same as this area too, so I was shocked when I started to get the estiamtes.

The other tow companies came in at a price more of what I had in mind. Both quotes $700-800 right over the phone. That included pulling the pump and replacing the plastic pipe with Sch. 120.

As far as WHY, All Clear? The "pit" was holding water and the sanitary boot on top was no longer sanitary allowing muddy surface water (and who knows what else) to enter the well. Thus the reason this type of well is no longer permitted around here.

Why do you say it is a Nasty Hole? That was excavated out about a month ago and had sustained 3 super heavy rain storms. I should have just dug out the trench to the french drain, but I figured it would have been extended up much sooner than now.

FYI: that head is 48" below grade.