# build something to pull a well pump?



## Bottleneck (Apr 22, 2014)

well, my well quit the other week. I have been thankful that it has rained fairly often and that i'm not living there yet. I still need to investigate the problem because I know its most likely in the external electrical, but it got me thinking; what could I build to pull the pump out?

I guess its a good thing to note that I have been planning on drilling a new well.

its an old well, and from what I was told it was drilled in the late 40's/early 50's and is less than 100 feet deep, about 50 feet less than whats common around here. and it gets unreliable when the farmers start running their pivots.

but I was thinking if i could build some kind of A frame to pull up the old pipe and pump, as even when the new well is drilled, I would like to either make this one solar or put a windmill on it.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

100' you can pull by hand, especially if plastic pipe.


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

TnAndy said:


> 100' you can pull by hand, especially if plastic pipe.


and invite a couple friends over and your done


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

Plastic pipe wouldn't be a big deal, steel pipe is would be harder to handle.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

Rigging a pulling rig shouldn't be a problem. But make sure you rig something to make sure you don't drop the entire thing down into the well. If you are handy with a welder you can make a platform with a couple of pairs of vice grips welded to it. You drop the platform over the casing with the pipe sticking between the jaws. Pull it up some, lock the jaws TIGHT and get another grip on the pipe.

Being that old the odds are its going to have metal pipe not plastic so its going to be heavy and have three sections of pipe you are going to have to undo. You REALLY don't want 40+ feet of metal pipe swinging around over your head when the last 10 feet pop out of the hole. Since you are most likely not going to be reusing the pipe I'd suggest pulling 5-8 feet of pipe then using a recipsaw to cut a chunk. Smaller pieces are much less dangerous to deal with.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

Like this......


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## Bottleneck (Apr 22, 2014)

thanks guys, and yeah my biggest fear is dropping it down in and never being able to get it back out... especially if I cut the pipe as it comes out.

I like the idea of having the clamps, but are they enough to hold it? I was thinking it would probably be 2" pipe.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

1" or less.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

Bottleneck said:


> thanks guys, and yeah my biggest fear is dropping it down in and never being able to get it back out... especially if I cut the pipe as it comes out.
> 
> I like the idea of having the clamps, but are they enough to hold it? I was thinking it would probably be 2" pipe.


Like Andy said, 1 inch and that's what those clamps are made from.
The I.D. actually is probably close to .850" or so and it seems to grip a little better that way as it "digs" in just a little bit and holds great. 2 welding vise grip clamps and small piece of pipe cut in half.
I've pulled 3 or 4 pumps, some more than once,:badmood:, the deepest over 300 ft and never had a problem. I've seen guys use all kinds of clamps and pipe wrenches, whatever works for you. You'll do fine.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Won't there be a heavy submersible pump hanging on the bottom?


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

3/4hp pumps weigh in the 30lb range.....not that heavy. 

100' well, I doubt if there is more than a 3/4hp in it....could be a 1/2hp. Easy to tell.....look at the control box, they are rated for the hp of the pump. Deeper wells use larger motors, AND multiple stage pumps, which adds to the weight as the pump head itself is a lot bigger.

Assuming it's sitting right on the bottom (100'), there would be about 4 gallons of water in the pipe...another 30lbs.

Then the pipe itself, and wire, say another 30lb. (plastic pipe). Old galvanized is going to be much heavier, of course. If it IS galvanized pipe, I'd raise it a couple feet, clamp it off (see below), saw off what I'd raised and scrap it. IF the pipe is screw together PVC in 20' joints, you'll need something overhead to let the pipe 'lay' against as you pull it. We use a tractor front end loader, raised as high as it will go ( 9-10' ), or the stuff will kink or even break if you try to bend it too much.

Less than 100lbs all together, assuming 100'.

I'd pull the pump, then have THAT well drilled deeper rather than drill a new one. Save you the cost of casing, and that 100'.

Nice clamps that FarmrBrown made. We simply use a pipe vise and two guys. Pull up on the pipe, then one guy clamps the vise on the pipe. Pull up a couple more feet, loosen the vice and let it back down the top of the casing, clamp. Repeat.












When you put the pump back down the well, attach a piece of poly rope to the pump so next time you have to pull it, you have a safety rope as a backup.


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## Bottleneck (Apr 22, 2014)

good info andy. 

How long would that rope last. theres a peice of broken pump next to the well...

and yeah the 100' is just what I have been told, I might be able to tell roughly how deep it is when i start pulling it.

and part of the reason i want to pull it is to see how deep it is, and to see if the pump is at the bottom of what is drilled.

from what the local driller was telling me is that te water volume is much better on the other side of the creek bottom that cuts my property in half. (not far away are two smaller pivots) I want to put in at least one cistern, i was thinking about splitting the duties between the two.

while were on it he quoted me $100/ft drilled with casing.

I really need to finish up with my old Minneapolis Moline at my grandparents, Its loader would make piece work of this. however i do have a set of gin poles that i might be able to use.

also, I was doing some testing and even with the wires unhooked at the pressure switch, so I know that its problem is a short in the wiring. 

still planning on pulling it when I get the time.


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## Bottleneck (Apr 22, 2014)

oops, double post


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

Bottleneck said:


> thanks guys, and yeah my biggest fear is dropping it down in and never being able to get it back out... especially if I cut the pipe as it comes out.
> 
> I like the idea of having the clamps, but are they enough to hold it? I was thinking it would probably be 2" pipe.


If you are really worried about dropping it take the time to learn some rope craft and keep a dummy cord, or two, attached to the pipe below where you are removing pipe. If I were worried I'd use two ropes attached with prusik knots and keep sliding them down the pipe as I lifted it.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

fishhead said:


> Won't there be a heavy submersible pump hanging on the bottom?


Before I got my new pump plumbed in I managed to break the pipe at the top of the well head but I had the wire for the pump tied to it so it didn't fall all the way down. I was used to dealing with 300+ feet wells with 21 foot sections of galvanized pipe so I called the pump guy to tell him I needed him to come out an pull the pump. I expected him to bring out his big rig to do it. But two young guys showed up in a pickup, grabbed the pipe and pulled the thing up hand over hand and they didn't even break a sweat.


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