Replace shallow well jet pump with submersible?

[Amateur Plumber]

Have lived in my current home for 25 years, replacing the single drop shallow well jet pump 3 times during that time as the pump wore out.

The input to the pump comes through the basement wall, and is 1.5 inch galvanized. I installed a new whole house filter a year ago, and now I regularly see some chunks of what I think is
rusted pipe at the bottom of that filter. Since the house is now 60 years old, I assume the galvanized well pipes are that old, and probably at the end of their life.

I dug down to that pipe as it exits from the house (about 3 ft down) and the pipe certainly is very much corroded. However, I am not (yet) getting air in the system and the water quality is
good. Given the age of the pipes, and the water safety concerns of a jet pump vs a submerged pump, I am considering installation of a new submerged well pump and plumbing.

Is this a difficult undertaking? Most wells in this area are 3 or 4 inch bored wells, so I assume I am going to find that the well pipe goes out some distance from the house, and then
attaches to a 90 deg elbow at the well casing, and then attaches to the down pipe and foot valve. Is it as simple as pulling out the down pipe, and putting in a submersible pump to the
same depth as the bottom of the existing foot valve? I know about the wiring, pitless adapter, and extension of the casing to the surface topped by a well cap, but I don't see much
information on how to remove the existing plumbing in the casing.

Thanks for your help!

 

[LLigetfa]

The real question will be whether the casing is large enough for a submersible. The other question is whether there is a cased downpipe with a footvalve or a single pipe with a sandpoint. Given that a shallow well pump works now, there is a chance the well isn't too deep if it turns out you need a new casing also.

Submersibles tend to be twice as efficient as a jet pump and being water cooled tend to last a long time. I pulled up my 12 year old pump this year that was still running. Still, the average lifespan on a submersible is 8 years and it looks like you are getting about that on your jet pumps too.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Valveman]

Only way to know is to dig up the well head and have a look.

 

[Amateur Plumber]

The real question will be whether the casing is large enough for a submersible. The other question is whether there is a cased downpipe with a footvalve or a single pipe with a sandpoint. Given that a shallow well pump works now, there is a chance the well isn't too deep if it turns out you need a new casing also.

Submersibles tend to be twice as efficient as a jet pump and being water cooled tend to last a long time. I pulled up my 12 year old pump this year that was still running. Still, the average lifespan on a submersible is 8 years and it looks like you are getting about that on your jet pumps too.

Thanks for the reply. How do you determine if you need a new casing? I will have to use a hole saw to install the pitless adapter. Is there a known thickness of the casing that I should be looking for?

 

[LLigetfa]

Only way to know is to dig up the well head and have a look.

Ja, right now it is a pig in a poke. Time to daylight the wellhead.

 

[Amateur Plumber]

Only way to know is to dig up the well head and have a look.

Thanks for the advise. Here is what I have found at the well head. This is my first time looking at a well, so I'm not sure what I'm looking at or what is my next step.

 

[Texas Wellman]

Can't tell from the pictures. Is there one pipe or two going to the well head?