Replacing another well pump

[Matthew Paul]

Earlier this week monday, my tenant called , there was no water . I get there and check the breaker , then the pressure switch on the well , and determine , yes the pump has bit the dust .  Now its late , but the tenant needs water . I also own the house next door . I grab 4 garden hoses and hook them together. I go from 1 hose bib to another , problem is you cant attach 2 male ends , so I grab a washing machine hose , It has 2 female ends . I hook it all up and back feed 1 house from the house next door .   This buys me TIME . 

Thursday the rain stops , so I dig down and find the well ( its old style with a sanitary cap seal and its buried 2 feet down). Took an hour to find the well head .   It takes about 1/2 hour to loosen the cap .  I cut the wire and the pipe before a 90 , and start pulling .  100 feet of pipe filled with water with a 20 lb pump at the bottom isnt light .  I get it out and I am sore . Now to get a pump , HD sells a chinese pump , but I want a goulds pump so I run to the well supply house .  fortunatly being a contractor , i make a call to a buddy who drills wells and get his price . Pump , fittings , shrink wrap , and check valve  $ 375.00.  List price for walk in $ 825 .   I get back, change pump , lower into the well . I do a temp wire hook up and flush the iron down the drive for 15 minutes then put it back together .  Tenants have water  , done by noon .  Total cost was $ 375.00  4 hours labor .  Well pump replacements start at $ 1500. around here .    total savings $ 1125.00       

Not bad for 4 hours work .      A grand saved is a grand earned 

[Jeremy Dolan]

@Christian Bors From my personal experience it seems that the problem your tenant is experiencing has to with pressure drop more than the well. You should have a few more options available then just purchasing a well pump and calling it even. The problem may be resolved with a booster pump like these http://www.canarsee.com/plumbing/pumps/booster-pumps. I'm pretty positive that you won't need to change the well pump, just add a booster pump to fix your pressure problem. I actually learned a lot plumbing by dealing with problem like these regularly. This isn't something you'd like to do for your first time around. I don't do things myself the first time, I usually get a plumber to help out. In any case try to watch some videos online before your try to install it yourself if you choose too.