Is this a pitless adapter?

[JohnDN90]

Can anyone confirm if this is a pitless adapter (see attached image)? If so, how would I go about removing it? Searching around on internet, it seems nearly all the pitless adapters have female threads at the top to thread a pipe into in order to pull it up. However, this doesn't appear to have anything like that.

Searching my state's water well log, it looks like this well was drilled in 1972. However, there have been modifications since then by previous owners although I'm not sure what that all includes.

There's a shallow well pump in the basement with an inline check valve and a single 1 inch diameter line running out to the well. The wellhead is above ground with a nonfunctional manual pitcher pump at the top. There is no "well pit" or anything around it.

 

[Reach4]

Can anyone confirm if this is a pitless adapter (see attached image)?

No one will be able to confirm that IMO based on your posting. I am not a pro.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JohnDN90]

No one will be able to confirm that IMO based on your posting. I am not a pro.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm new to this so if there are any more details that anybody may find helpful in answering my question please let me know.

 

[Reach4]

Coy? Well, if you are in LA, it is unlikely you have a pitless adapter. You could compare the depth of the candidate with the frost line where you are if it freezes at all.

You could post a photo of the top of the well with the cap off if you have a well cap.

Looks like a big bug crawling up your casing, just looking at the photo.

 

[JohnDN90]

I'm in Ohio and I'll see if I can get some better photos this weekend. I added a couple other photos I already had to my original post in the mean time.

To be clear, those pictures are from the top of the well which had a pitcher pump on it as opposed to a standard well cap. I removed the pitcher pump when I took those photos. Nothing interesting about the top of the well with the pitcher pump removed, its just a 4.25 inch diameter casing sticking slightly out of the ground.

The white PVC pipe in the photo was part of the pitcher pump setup. The "down_well.jpg" is a photo with that PVC pipe removed as well. Other than that, the only thing you can see down in the well is just that connector on the side of the pipe and the drop pipe going down into the water.

 

[Reach4]

The white PVC pipe in the photo was part of the pitcher pump setup. The "down_well.jpg" is a photo with that PVC pipe removed as well. Other than that, the only thing you can see down in the well is just that connector on the side of the pipe and the drop pipe going down into the water.

Does that conflict with this statement?

Searching around on internet, it seems nearly all the pitless adapters have female threads at the top to thread a pipe into in order to pull it up. However, this doesn't appear to have anything like that.

 

[JohnDN90]

The connector in the side of the casing definitely does not have threads on the top.

What I'm not sure on is if there are any other types of pitless adapters out there and if this could be one of them.

It seems odd to me that someone would install a permanent connector in a well like that which would make both digging it up and changing it a major pain in the butt.

I suppose that could be the case, but I was hoping someone with more experience than me may have seen something like this in the field and be able to confirm, or at least give a good guess, at what this setup is and how to go about pulling the drop pipe up and out of the well.

 

[Reach4]

How far down from ground level is this mystery item?
How far down is the water surface?

 

[Boycedrilling]

I have come across wells that had a tee or elbow with a pipe running thru a hold in the side of the casing instead of an actual pitless adapter. I suspect that is what you have. Expect to excavate down to the pipe coming out of the well casing. Based on what you find there, you may need to cut the casing below that point to safely pull the drop pipe.

 

[JohnDN90]

Sorry for the late reply. I haven't had a chance to get back to it for a while.

How far down from ground level is this mystery item?

It's 48 inches below the ground level. It's 53 inches from the top of the casing (casing sticks up 5" above ground level).

How far down is the water surface?

I didn't get a chance to measure the water level, but going by the well log from the 1970's the static water level is 16 ft. with a drawdown of 6 ft. at 15 GPM with a duration of one hour.

I have come across wells that had a tee or elbow with a pipe running thru a hold in the side of the casing instead of an actual pitless adapter. I suspect that is what you have.

I'm starting to suspect the same thing, unfortunately.