Submersible pump stuck

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jeff1733

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After 25+ years, Submersible pump now spits water occasionally. Yes, it's the dry season in Fla and in prior years, other neighbors wells went dry but they resolved it by adding additional pvc pipe & wire and dropping the pumps another 30-60 feet. I thought I'd try the same but my pump is seriously stuck and won't budge an inch. It feels like it might be stuck in mud. From what I understand most wells in the area are drilled about 200 ft, cased with 4" pvc for 100 ft and the pump suspended about 60 feet on the end of 1 3/4 pvc. I tried to dislodge mine by I running 3/4 pvc down the casing until I hit something. To my astonishment it took 110 feet of pipe! I assume I've hit the top of the pump, but it's hard to get a feel of what your poking with 100 foot stick. I attached the hose to the 3/4 and tried to dislodge what I suspect is mud but after many hours of pushing, pulling, etc. the pump won't move up at all. Funny thing is even at 100 ft, I can freely blow air through the 3/4 pipe. Last year when we installed a pool the same dry time of year, the pit filled with water at 8ft. If I run the pump very little water comes out. If I leave the hose connected to the 3/4 for a while, I get larger spurts of water but stops when I turn off the hose. How can there be no water at 110 feet and what's preventing the pump from moving.
 

Speedbump

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Your problem is the 25 years. The pump is glued to the casing or the rock with mineral. If it's a Sta-Rite pump that had a mild steel pump casing instead of Stainless, you will never see it again. I have beat on them for hours with a walking beam and jars to no avail. Putting a 24" pipe wrench on the 1-1/4" pipe with my back against a wall pushing with my legs until I butted every joint would not budge the pump. It wouldn't turn and it wouldn't come out with a few hours of beating up and down with about 100 lbs of rod weight. When I luckily got my tools back, I gave up on that one.

Where in Florida?

bob...
 

jeff1733

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Bob, It's mine, I can't give up. Pump was there when I bot the house so I don't know whats down there. Am I re-drilling a new well? The pump seems to run, just little or no water. Do you think the pump is bad? There's no way in Fort Myers, FL there's not water at 100ft.
 

Speedbump

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You might be surprised how deep some of the wells are in Florida. Mine is 240' and the water level is 150'+.

You are probably looking at a new well. You can try to unscrew the pipe if the pump won't turn clockwise. If your lucky, you might come unscrewed at the pump. Then you could put a new one on top of it. Hopefully there is enough room around the old one for some water to squeeze by to feed the new pump.

bob...
 

Waterwelldude

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Do you know for sure if the pump is still inside the 4" casing or not?
(IF), it is in the casing, you may be able to get it out.
It may have melted the casing to the pump.
With the pump not pumping water, it will just build up heat and will melt the casing like a heat shrink around a wire.

If the pump is hung on pvc or poly pipe, you may be out of luck, but if it's on steel, there is still hope.

You can remelt the casing, by running the pump, while pulling up on the pump.
It will free it self.

All of this is dependent on if, the pump is inside the casing and hung on steel pipe.


Travis
 

Waterwelldude

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And what does that mean?
Do I detect a bit of sarcasm?
 

jeff1733

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I have no idea if it is still in the casing. Yes, it's hung on pvc. I doubt it overheated as it pumps like normal for about 5-10 sec then trickles for 30-60 seconds. It seems like it's just not getting water but I can't bring it up to check anything. Is it possible that it was hung just below the casing and the well has caved in on it limiting the water supply?
 

Waterwelldude

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I have no idea if it is still in the casing. Yes, it's hung on pvc. I doubt it overheated as it pumps like normal for about 5-10 sec then trickles for 30-60 seconds. It seems like it's just not getting water but I can't bring it up to check anything. Is it possible that it was hung just below the casing and the well has caved in on it limiting the water supply?


If it is below the casing, yes it is possible there was a cave in.
I know of two that has happend too. They did have to drill a new well.
Not saying that has happend to yours, but it is possible.

That short of run time will over heat a motor. There is not enough water going by the motor to cool it properly. If the motor does not have a thermal over load built in, it can over heat.
 
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Valveman

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And what does that mean?
Do I detect a bit of sarcasm?

LOL it was a compliment. I can think of a couple of times it would have saved me if I had tried that, before I broke off the PVC drop pipe, and had to redrill the well. Couple of times it wouldn't, because the motor would not run. Even then, you got me thinking about other ways to "remelt the casing". Thanks! Really!
 

Speedbump

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Yup, I thought that was pretty ingenious too. Remelt the casing. I have only had one pump I couldn't pull because it was in 4" PVC instead of 5" or larger. It was on 1" galvanized and all the beating and turning in the world wasn't going to pull that pump out. The motor was toast so I couldn't run it, but was lucky enough to unscrew at the pump and put another pump just above the old one where the pipe was shrunk. It's still working today as far as I know.

bob...
 
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