Deep well pump is close to 50 years old.

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Stanley75

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My well pump is close to 50 years old. My neighbors pump is a year older than mine. Should I replace now or wait for failure? I think it is red jacket pump (the controls are). The well cap (6 inch) has four bolts on top. Do I just loosen them a turn or two to get the cap off? What are the odds the bolts will loosen? Never worked on a well pump before. Thanks
 

Reach4

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If it were me, if you have a 3-wire pump with a control box, I would replace the capacitor. The old pump might be good for another 10 years or so. Ask what the expected life of a new pump is. The answer may be 8 years or so. I am not a pro.

I would research local well people so you know who to call if the pump stops working.

I suggest that you post a photo of the cap you are thinking of lifting. Is your water good?
 

Stanley75

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If it were me, if you have a 3-wire pump with a control box, I would replace the capacitor. The old pump might be good for another 10 years or so. Ask what the expected life of a new pump is. The answer may be 8 years or so. I am not a pro.

I would research local well people so you know who to call if the pump stops working.

I suggest that you post a photo of the cap you are thinking of lifting. Is your water good?
 

Stanley75

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I did replace the capacitor about 8 years ago. Water is good, pump is working OK. Just don't want to have to deal with a dead pump in the winter. Seems like everything else I own is breaking so figure the pump will be next. Posted a picture of the well cap.
 

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Cacher_Chick

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If I were going to do anything, I would plan on replacing ALL of the components, including the drop pipe, check valve, wire, tank, etc. The bad news is that most new pumps are really lucky to survive 10 years, so I am not sure how much of a hurry I would be in to replace things that are not broken.
 

Stanley75

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When I do replace the pump everything that comes up will be replaced with new before it goes back down. I'm not in a hurry to replace the pump. I have got to believe the pump has lived well past it's life expectancy. It is much easier to work on the pump in the summer rather than the dead of winter. I'm putting together a plan of action for when the pump does fail. Much easier to research now than when I'm in the muddle of no water, trying to get parts, trying to figure out how stuff come apart, etc.
 

Ballvalve

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I have a 80' x 6" well that is 25 years old. SS grunfos pump 1 HP. 25 GPM. 60 foot deep. I pump quite a bit of black sand and grit, and I see a reduction in the pumps ability to run all the sprinklers as it did several years prior. Just hate the thought of pulling it all, but might have to to get through fire season. 50 years? are you sure? If you do not have reduced pressure and flow issues, let it go full life. Buy a pump and keep it at the well head. Please tell us what sort of pressure tank you have and how many people are on this well. 50 years is way outside of all norms - vacation house?
 

Texas Wellman

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I have a 80' x 6" well that is 25 years old. SS grunfos pump 1 HP. 25 GPM. 60 foot deep. I pump quite a bit of black sand and grit, and I see a reduction in the pumps ability to run all the sprinklers as it did several years prior. Just hate the thought of pulling it all, but might have to to get through fire season. 50 years? are you sure? If you do not have reduced pressure and flow issues, let it go full life. Buy a pump and keep it at the well head. Please tell us what sort of pressure tank you have and how many people are on this well. 50 years is way outside of all norms - vacation house?
May seem counter-intuitive, but I find that vacation houses actually need more upkeep on their water systems and pumps than a normal-use house. In my time I have found that the longest lasting pumps are those that are paired up with ridiculously large tanks that are kept from being water logged. For example, a 1-HP 10 GPM pump paired with a 220 gallon tank. The size of the tank does not matter if it is allowed to water log.
 

Stanley75

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I have a 80' x 6" well that is 25 years old. SS grunfos pump 1 HP. 25 GPM. 60 foot deep. I pump quite a bit of black sand and grit, and I see a reduction in the pumps ability to run all the sprinklers as it did several years prior. Just hate the thought of pulling it all, but might have to to get through fire season. 50 years? are you sure? If you do not have reduced pressure and flow issues, let it go full life. Buy a pump and keep it at the well head. Please tell us what sort of pressure tank you have and how many people are on this well. 50 years is way outside of all norms - vacation house?

The neighbors pump is a year older than mine. He has the same pump controls Red Jacket. Flotec pressure tank. I did replace the tank about 10 years ago. I trying to figure out how to pull the well cap. I have a feeling the bolts will just break off rather than come loose. If I know the workings of the cap I can go from there. Thanks

I have 4 people in the house. Just having a pump on hand will do me little good. I need the down pipe also. I am going to switch to plastic. I am sure it is hard pipe. I will also replace the wiring. I have no data on the well. I don't know how deep it is. This why I am thinking about replacing now. I don't want work on the pump in the winter. If I have to have it done in the winter it will cost me way more.
 
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