Best way to extend metal casing above grade

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Bigmesa

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Hello all, I've been lurking for while but finally coming out of the shadows to ask a best practices way for a homeowner who is mechanically inclined to extend a well casing above grade without welding. I'm having a hard time finding reputable recommendations to come look at my well, the few I've talked to tell me not to worry about it, that it's fine below grade. I tore down a home on the property that we lived in for a few years and we are constructing the new home right now so the well is not being used and since I have to run a new water line and electrical from the house to the well, I figure now is the perfect time to bring it up to code for the safety of my family and our water supply.

The current well is a 6" I.D. metal pipe that is about 9" below grade, no threads. I would like to extend it to 12" above grade and install a 1" pitless adapter slightly below wherever the extension joint is made. Our frost line here in SC is like 6" so I don't need to excavate several feet down. In my head I've got 3 methods to get this done. I plan on digging down a couple of feet below what is seen in the pictures to give me plenty of room to take a hole saw and cut in the pitless adapter. I figure take a grinder and clean up the pipe area from any pitting over the years to get a nice smooth surface for a good seal. From there I need to use a mechanical type extension to get it up so I'm thinking...
  • Use a 6" PVC Sch40 pipe with the bell end slipping over the existing metal pipe (but i don't know how you would seal a PVC to Steel connection? If this route is possible and allowed I'd prefer to do it for cost reasons.)
  • Use a mission coupling designed for underground use and connect a 6" PVC pipe to it. (Not sure if this is allowed by code)
  • Use a 6" dresser coupling and a 6" steel pipe to extend it. (due to cost of materials, would prefer not to do this)
I know that welding a pipe to this would be the best situation but I don't own a welder and I'm having a hard time finding someone who is certified to work on wells give me a price. If I can find someone, what do you think the price range would be to add 3' of pipe welded on and a pitless adapter installed?

Thanks for any help you can give me, I feel like this should be fairly simple to tackle but I'm just ignorant on the best method available to me. It's also not in a location that something or someone could hit it other than a lawnmower and I plan on putting something over it to protect it. The pump is easy to pull, probably 75' deep on poly. I plan on pulling and measuring the pipe and going back with all new pipe when I get ready to run it to the new house. I'll add for whatever length I extend by.

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Reach4

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I know that welding a pipe to this would be the best situation but I don't own a welder and I'm having a hard time finding someone who is certified to work on wells give me a price. If I can find someone, what do you think the price range would be to add 3' of pipe welded on and a dresser coupling installed?
You would not have a weld and a dresser coupling.

I am not a pro (so I can guess without consequence), but I am going to guess $1000 as a budgetary price to dig, weld, drill for the pitless, install the pitless. Connect the pipe. Install a well cap. Splice the wiring. This presumes that your local well people often work with pitless adapters. I am presuming that you don't usually have big-city prices in your area. If the local well people are not used to pitless adapters, expect an adder for something unusual.

I don't know that you need a specially "certified" welder, if you just hire that part out.

Of your suggested methods, I think the Dresser coupling might be best. But I don't think it would satisfy requirements that might be in place like welding would.
 

Bigmesa

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Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to put dresser, meant to put pitless. As far as big city prices, that depends on which direction I look. I'm 30 minutes south of Charlotte NC.
 

Reach4

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There is a thing called a Dresser coupling, that has been used to extend casings.

A pitless can be easy for DIY. You need to be able to drill the right size hole with a hole saw.
 

Valveman

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Call somebody who can weld. There really is no dresser or compression coupling that I would consider a permanent and safe way to extend and seal steel casing.
 

VAWellDriller

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Baker pitless units can be ordered with very nice water tight approved compression fitting....they call it kwik connect pitless unit. So you would do what valve man said....cut off well a little lower and use install baker unit..no welding needed and it will be done right.
 

Bigmesa

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I’m still looking to see if I can get a welder to come give me an estimate. If I could find someone reasonable I’d just have them weld it and I can take care of pulling the pump and installing the pitiless adapter and repiping/wiring everything. But if it’s going to be $1000 or more I’ll have to live with the ugly thing being below grade like it has been for almost 50 years, I don’t have any extra money laying around at the moment with the house construction going on.
 

Reach4

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You want a welder to come look at the thing for an estimate? For free?
 

Bigmesa

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No I never said for free. I don’t mind paying a trip fee to get an estimate/quote. I’m an hvac contractor so I know time is money. I’m having a hard time getting someone willing to come look at it. Apparently around here they either want to dig a new well or tell you it’s fine.

I’ve had two people quote me over the phone to slap a mission coupling on it with PVC. The point of my original question was that since I haven’t found someone to weld an extension as of yet, I’m certainly not going to pay someone to do a mechanical fitting like a dresser or a pvc bell slip over when I can do that. If I can’t find a local welder willing to take on the job then I will either extend it myself like I mentioned previously or i will leave it be the way it is. Considering how it looks it seems to me that even a Fernco coupling would do a better job at reducing potential contamination than leaving it alone. Not that I want to go with a Fernco.

I get that the best method period is sourcing a welder for the job. But either by budget constraints or by lack of availability to find a welder, I was exploring other options. I have been looking for two weeks without much success and the house construction will be dried-in soon so in about a month I will be reconnecting the well to the house. I would like to have this taken care of before then.
 

Boycedrilling

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If the pump is pulled and the well casing is ready to weld, it’s a 15 minute job to weld an extension on. A portable welder will probably have a minimum fee of $100-200.

Do you want him to cut the hole for the pitless or are you going to do that? Some people use a cutting torch. I use a hole saw on a 1/2” electric drill. I get 2-3 holes per hole saw.
 

Reach4

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But if it’s going to be $1000 or more I’ll have to live with the ugly thing being below grade like it has been for almost 50 years,
Maybe you are kidding, but the reason to extend the casing is to keep the well sanitary. The thing on the top of your casing is called a well seal. The problem is they don't seal.

The thing that finally motivated me to get my steel casing extended was that I cleaned the bottom of my pit with an excess of liquid laundry detergent. Soon after found soap suds in my water. I lifted the pit cover, and the water inside was right at the level of the top of my casing.
 
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