Well question

[Russ from MN]

Usually I am answering questions about wells, but we have something here at our home well that I'm not familiar with. The well is what I call a high pressure artesian, with 12 feet of positive head, so it has this seal down 7 feet, above the pitless adapter for the submersible pump. This spider with the 4 setscrews is what holds the seal in place. Is anyone familiar with how you pull a pump with a seal like this above it? I have always done all my own pump installation and repair so if it fails I want to have a plan. We bought this house 12 years ago so it's older than that, and will fail someday. My immediate plan is to install a shallow well pump in series next to the pressure tank and hook it up to the existing pressure switch, that will provide water to the house until I can change the submersible. Thanks for any ideas!

 

[Janicholson]

If the artesian positive head is 12ft above ground level (mu grand fathers was 8 ft) is there a stand pipe on it to keep it from flowing all the time? if the Spider you show is lower than 12 ft, there will be water coming out if it is removed. Is the spider also supporting the submersible? Jim

 

[Russ from MN]

The seal that is 7 feet below the spider is what prevents it from flowing. The way I found out I have 12 ft + head is I shut off the pump, bled of the pressure, and then carried the hose up the stairway on the back of the garage. Water didn't stop coming out until the end of the hose was more than 12 ft above the ground. The casing only sticks out of the ground 3 feet, if it weren't for the seal it would boil right out the top. When we are gone in the winter we shut off the pump and run a hose to the lake, it runs about 5 gpm.

 

[Russ from MN]

I hope the spider is supporting the submersible, I kind of visualize loosening the setscrews and pulling everything out the top, the wires to the pump have to go through the seal without leaking. But then lining up the pitless going back together will be tricky. What I have done on other wells is make some good index marks so you know where the pitless is. Most of the wells we have owned the water level is above the pitless. Maybe I will never have to do it, but I like to plan ahead, but I can't find anything like this online!

 

[David G]

That is just amazing.

 

[Destroked 450]

I agree
I have 140 ft of standing water in my well, but that's still 340 ft below the pitiless adapter. wells 500 ft, pump hangs at 480 ft.
People around here wouldn't know how to react if water flowed out the top of a well.

 

[Russ from MN]

Wow, that must take a quite a pump, I just googled pumps for very deep wells, I saw one with 18 stages! I think the last one I installed was only 6 stages, but we have always had a high water table.

 

[Wheelio]

(quoted from post at 11:59:12 11/19/19)
I agree
I have 140 ft of standing water in my well, but that's still 340 ft below the pitiless adapter. wells 500 ft, pump hangs at 480 ft.
People around here wouldn't know how to react if water flowed out the top of a well.

Primary water usually sits at 300 feet below our feet,so I believe you are into the Primary Water table and not Artesion water that usually sits on top of the bedrock.
Primary water is superior water and is the only reason Israel can support 8 million people in a place where it rains once every 4 years.
Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust aka Balmoral Castle. The most recent castle to have drilled down to the primary water table.

 

[Destroked 450]

(quoted from post at 17:52:05 11/19/19) Wow, that must take a quite a pump, I just googled pumps for very deep wells, I saw one with 18 stages! I think the last one I installed was only 6 stages, but we have always had a high water table.

2 hp, 24 stage, they're not cheap.
Replaced it two years ago, pump and motor was around $1400.
It had pumped over 1.3 million gallons in it's 10 year lift span.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

If you have 12 feet of free flowing head, why even put a submersible down the hole? Won't a booster pump work by itself to boost pressure, if no more than 5 gpm is needed??

 

[Russ from MN]

Yes, that's what I plan to do in an emergency, but submersible pumps are much more efficient and you don't have to listen to them.