Life span of submersible well pumps

[sillycat41]

I feel like I was taken advantage of by a well company and would like some opinions. In April an ice floe coming off the lake damaged the well head... bent it over several degrees, knocked the cap off and exposed the wiring. The crew from the well company brought equipment to dig around the well head, placed a section of the 4" pipe, put a new cap on and reconnected the wiring. The water was running when they left but the next morning there was no water pressure. They came back, checked everything again, replaced the check valve, checked the pressure tank, replaced the pressure switch, etc. and got the water running again. Overnight same thing happened... no water in the morning. After 4 visits it still wasn't fixed so the boss came out for a 5th visit on August 15th. He ended up checking everything and when he pulled the pump commented that it was an old pump dated 2006 so replace it with a "Cadillac" of pumps costing $1500. Since then it's been working fine so obviously the old pump was the cause of the problem all along.
Here's my question... shouldn't the company bear the responsibility for the misdiagnosis that resulted in 5 visits and lots of $$$? I feel that they should have suspected that the old pump was failing by the second visit. I read that submersible pumps have an average lifespan of 8 to 15 years. Since the old pump was dated 2006... thus 20 years old... they should have replaced it before the 5th visit. The total bill for repairing the well head and replacing with pump with all the parts came to $3400. Am I right to think that they should have figured out the problem sooner? Comments please.

 

[SuperGreg]

That's pretty much the norm these days. That's why a DIY as much as possible. If it makes you feel better I paid more than that for a single visit to replace my well pump. If it goes bad again I'm going to tackle it myself.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Fitter30]

Is this a 3 wire submersible pump? If it is did anyone replace the pump starter control?

 

[Sylvan]

I find it ironic.
A lawyer and a doctor "practice" their professions, but a plumber must know, or risk losing their license.

Troubleshooting can be very complex, as certain aspects of the trades are not taught during the apprenticeship.

 

[Reach4]

I think the total price was reasonable... I feel they took into account that they did not diagnose things as quickly as they would have hoped. Prices are up. "CPI" inflation numbers don't fully reflect that.

 

[Martin Boring]

Two years ago March we weren't home but had guesses at our farm and I got a call one morning no water. The almost thirty year old pump died. I called the somewhat local to us well service and they replaced the pump and pressure tank and it was $4,500 dollars. Pump is hung at 80 Ft so not a bad pull. I wasn't home to DIY it and the folks staying there needed water. I didn't think the bill was bad. I called them at eight AM and by noon they had water again.

 

[Valveman]

I feel like I was taken advantage of by a well company and would like some opinions. In April an ice floe coming off the lake damaged the well head... bent it over several degrees, knocked the cap off and exposed the wiring. The crew from the well company brought equipment to dig around the well head, placed a section of the 4" pipe, put a new cap on and reconnected the wiring. The water was running when they left but the next morning there was no water pressure. They came back, checked everything again, replaced the check valve, checked the pressure tank, replaced the pressure switch, etc. and got the water running again. Overnight same thing happened... no water in the morning. After 4 visits it still wasn't fixed so the boss came out for a 5th visit on August 15th. He ended up checking everything and when he pulled the pump commented that it was an old pump dated 2006 so replace it with a "Cadillac" of pumps costing $1500. Since then it's been working fine so obviously the old pump was the cause of the problem all along.
Here's my question... shouldn't the company bear the responsibility for the misdiagnosis that resulted in 5 visits and lots of $$$? I feel that they should have suspected that the old pump was failing by the second visit. I read that submersible pumps have an average lifespan of 8 to 15 years. Since the old pump was dated 2006... thus 20 years old... they should have replaced it before the 5th visit. The total bill for repairing the well head and replacing with pump with all the parts came to $3400. Am I right to think that they should have figured out the problem sooner? Comments please.

Most well companies replace the pump even when it is not the problem. Rare for them to even try and make your old pump work. As was said, many people are going to DIY because even the boss at well companies doesn't understand pumps, they just know how to change them out. A rookie crew wouldn't have clue. But they learned some things at your expense.