Can anyone assist me w/ a submersible well pump question?

[ohiobuckeye]

.....The "spiders" referenced above sure sound like a good idea but no drillers around here install them and nobodys well is ripping the pump wires or pipe loose due to start up torque. Definately sounds like it should be more of a concern but I have seen many pump assemblies dropped down the liner with nothing done to address this possible issue and no problems noted later...maybe I am missing something, wouldn't be the first time!!!.......

That was exactly my thinking when I was short on time, dollars (and wisdom) and installing my very first submersible pump when we built our present home back in the early 80's. I didn't think the torque arrester and spiders would be necessary. I changed my mind, in the early 90's, after spending a Sunday afternoon single handedly hauling 110 feet of pump and pipe out of the well to repair wires worn through by rubbing against the steel well casing. The torque whip and constant vibration doesn't rip the connections apart....it's the constant abrasion against the not so smooth steel well casing slowly wearing through the insulation, even with the wire secured to the plastic pipe. My pump system, with the exception of replacing one pressure switch, has been trouble free ever since...with the torque arrester and spiders...

 

[Indiana George]

"...One thing about wells I am an expert on, you can throw all the brains at it you want but until you throw some money at it, you wont have water."

Same thing applies in aviation:
Throw Bernoulli's Equation out of the window.
What makes aircraft fly is
Money!

 

[30-30remchester]

INDIANA GEORGE speaks volumes. I myself am a waterwell contractor for 36 years now. Any reputable pump manufacturer has books designing pumps for specific depths and requirements. So many factors come into play when designing a pump system. About every manufacterer built a half dozen of each horsepower pump, each designed to pump different volumes even though they are the same horsepower. Actual well yeild in gpm's is a primary imformation in designing a pump system. Just because you have a 2 bathroom house, your well may only produce enough water for a one bathroom house. These are just a FEW of the questions that must be answered before a pump system can be designed. Did you know that a pump must be designed to pump from a fictional well of an additional depth of 125' just to overcome the captured air preasure tank. Points to ponder.

 

[msinc]

"it's the constant abrasion against the not so smooth steel well casing slowly wearing through the insulation, even with the wire secured to the plastic pipe."

There hasn't been a steel or iron cased well installed in my area for well over 30 years...maybe that's why they dont use the spiders or torque arresters. Folks in these parts dont realize just how lucky we are, well wise. Three aquifers full of excellent water, no rock at all and the rig will drill thru this sandy ground as fast as it will feed. Typically a well driller sets his machine around 3:00pm and leaves...returns the next day at 6:00am and the well is done, wired and plumbed to the house by 1:30 or 2:00pm. 4" schedule 40 PVC in 20 ft sections is all they use here for a liner, cheap and smooth on the inside. Still, seems like there should be something for torque, I will ask the driller I use about that. In the mountains they still use steel liners and bigger in diameter too. The one I had done in Va. has 6 inch epoxy coated steel for a liner. That stuff is expensive, something like $14.00 a foot. The driller there said it was due to the rock, he said plastic will just bust up if the rock shifts.

 

[WR Moore]

When we replaced the pump motor on our well last year I asked why the number of torque arrestors was severely reduced. The well service noted that if the arrestor jams in the pipe, you're looking at drilling a new well.

 

[tomf52]

3/4 HP 10 gpm pump with no smaller than 8 gauge wire. Wire is now probably around $4.00 a foot. A good store for well parts is in Pike County on Rt 6 in Shohola. Can't remember the name at the moment. My son bought most of his stuff there for his pump business.

 

[redlevel]

Call a well man. I have six or seven wells to keep up. If I can't fix it by resetting a breaker, I call the well man.

 

[Indiana George]

Call a well man. I have six or seven wells to keep up. If I can't fix it by resetting a breaker, I call the well man.

Thanks Redlevel!

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