Could not have picked a worse time to break!

[rmaynard 15,436]

So, what broke? The underground 1" plastic pipe from my well to the house.

Here's my story. I ordered heating oil on Friday. The driver called and said he would be here on Monday (tomorrow). The oil filler pipe is on the far side of my house, an area that I rarely see in the winter. 

But let's back up a minute. We had about 3" of snow a couple of weeks ago. It melted quickly and rolled off the roof and down the spout and across the yard on the side of the house where the oil filler pipe is. I noticed that there was a lot of slush and ice over there when I glanced out the window, but I thought it was as a result of melting snow.

Okay, let's now jump ahead to today. I walked to the far side of the house to make sure that nothing was blocking the way to the oil filler, and lo and behold, I have water bubbling up out of the ground. Turns out that I have been pumping water out of my well and onto the yard for about two or three weeks. The pump has apparently been running non-stop.  

My plumber, who some of you know, as he is a big Wheel Horse collector and shows his stuff at the WHCC show each year, John Frock, is loading up his backhoe and will be here in a couple of days.

The ground is frozen so this is not going to be a simple job.

 

Three things that I have learned so far:

1. My well is a good producer;

2. The pump is strong:

3. I'm going to be a bit poorer for the experience.

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

Like Wheel Horses, maybe it’s a good idea to get a spare well for times of serious need?  Sorry, I had to Bob.

[953 nut 55,198]

8 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

I'm going to be a bit poorer for the experience.

A few weeks back the well went dry at our rental house ( about two hundred feet from our new house). We have a great well at the new house so had the well guy trench in a feed from our well to the old house,   $ 1,400 but a lot less than a new well.

[Sodaking27 777]

Well that sure stinks. At least it’s supposed to warm up. Hopefully  it’s a quick repair.

[pfrederi 17,734]

Would be willing to bet it was your pitless adapter that failed.  Mine did a year or so ago.  Turns out the original was not brass it was aluminum. ( apparently it was cheaper back then ...sort of like aluminum wiring...) Cracked and damn lucky the pump and piping didn't drop to the bottom of the well.  Make sure you get a brass replacement. Nice to live in a small community.  Well guy came out the same day I  noticed the pressure was not recovering .  Found a huge lake around the well.  Another neighbor came the next morning with a backhoe and dug it out.  Whole thing was done in 2 days...

 

 

[rmaynard 15,436]

 

10 minutes ago, pfrederi said:

Would be willing to bet it was your pitless adapter that failed.

They would be the best possible scenario, but the water is coming up about 30 feet from the well.

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

Sorry Bob, especially bad time to have heat , water, or sewer problems.     I'm lucky to have my well located inside the house and a son that has a HVAC/ Plumbing business.

[rmaynard 15,436]

The rest of the story. Unfortunately, my plumber was over booked (I should have been a plumber) and could not fit me into his schedule in a reasonable time, so I contacted another. He was here at 11:45 a.m. and finished by 12:50 p.m. He dug down at the spot that I had pinpointed...

and found this.

 

Cut it out, and spliced in a new piece 

 

Job is done, no leaks, water pressure is holding, and now I can take a shower longer than 1 minute. Woohoo 

Edited February 8, 2022 by rmaynard

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,315]

So all in all it wasn’t a huge catastrophe…that’s good 👍 

[wallfish 16,994]

Glad you got it sorted Bob.

Had a customer tell me he was originally all excited about having a private well. Free Water!

Not so excited after a new pump and tank, sediment filter, iron filter, water softener system and a $5000 radon water system. Probably cost him 15K for the free water

[rmaynard 15,436]

Biggest problem was babysitting the pump from Sunday, 1/30 until this morning. Had to turn it off until the pressure in the holding tank dropped, then turn it back on so we could wash clothes, take showers, flush toilets etc., then turn it back off again. Considering that my pump produces about 10 gallons per minute, and was running constantly for about a month without me knowing it, if it had been running out of the 1" pipe with no restrictions I guess that I would have wasted about 450,000 gallons. However, since the break in the pipe did not allow full flow, I figure that I probably ran out about 50-100,000 gallons. Only redeeming factor is that the water soaked back into the ground and will be used again in the future. 

 

By the way, I discovered that homeowners insurance does not cover the cost of repairing or replacing your water line coming into the house from the well. However, you can buy a rider for about $30.00 per year that does.

 

[pfrederi 17,734]

Glad it worked out OK for you .  My leak created a big lake.. but since the well is 200 ft from the house didn't notice.  Since pump was over 20 years old  elected to replace the whole system. Pump, down pipe/  pressure tank... told the well guy I like you but i never want to see you again!

[formariz 11,987]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:26 PM, rmaynard said:

By the way, I discovered that homeowners insurance does not cover the cost of repairing or replacing your water line coming into the house from the well. However, you can buy a rider for about $30.00 per year that does.

Yes same if you have city water. Water supply line into house from street not covered. For me if that was to break due to where it runs ,all above being either structures or paving blocks and considering where I live it will probably go close into six figures if not over it. It would not just be replacing lawn . Everything but lawn. Many folks are not aware of that little fact.

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:26 PM, rmaynard said:

and was running constantly for about a month without me knowing it,

I bet you can’t wait to get the next electric bill.  Ugh.

But at least you have water!