Bigmesa
New Member
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...
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.
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)
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.
Last edited: