Larry's Ingenious Well Pump Puller

Larry took a winch from a large boat trailer, did a little welding, and now can easily pull a pump out of a well with the turn of a handle! Also starring in the video are Bob & Dena Scofield!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• how
• to
• pulling
• deep
• well
• pump
• innovative
• gadget
• do
• it
• yourself

[zolumpus]

Great video.You go girl!Only alarmed at 49./50/51.I'm a woman too,Your age too.And I too do my own diy.I have too.No choice.If I don't know how to do something,well,that's why I'm here.My pump needs a foot valve I guess.No body looked at it yet,but a plumber over the phone said he just bet that's what it was.25 feet down the well he said.So,thank's for the video.I don't have a boat wench,but a come a long and a big tree.Wish me luck.

[azglassblaster]

@zolumpus Try putting a check valve in the water line between the pressure switch and the the pump - above ground. It's always best to have one on the water line above ground anyway, easy to get to and replace, easy to know when it's gone out. It just keeps the water from flowing back into the well from the water tank.

[griffman08]

If you're a using a nylon rope to pull your pump out you have no clue what you're doing. And for the record, PVC pipe can be incredibly heavy, especially if the static water level in the well is low. I've been raised around the water well business since i was 6 and I know that there are crooks out there, but i also know that installing and servicing a well pump is not for the DIYer. Call someone who has the equipment and a clue

[azglassblaster]

@griffman08 Actually we've all been doing our own wells for the last 50 years in our area and we actually do have a clue about what we're doing. It's not rocket science, no need to call in over-priced companies unless we're lazy and have money to throw around. I'm a 54 yr old woman and have been taking care of my well myself for decades. I replaced the original straight PVC pipe with flexible and pull it with my truck. Larry's parents are my neighbors, the well in the video is their well.

[joefromromeo]

Really Ingenious, Larry! And definitely a money saver for the DIY'er. Question for you - are you pulling the pump up by a safety chain that was previously installed on the pump (when it was installed)... or do you have a trick to snare the pump and pull it?

Thanks for any help,

Joe

[azglassblaster]

@joefromromeo Larry pretty much answered that question in the bottom post here:

It will work on anything up to the rating of the winch and pull cable...The ski rope that you see is about 300 to 400 lbs. what I used to put the new one back in was "Bull Line" much stronger(over 1500 lbs. I think)Google it. Also it was at a depth of 135 ft approx.

[BrianLuper]

We have a well that is around 400 feet deep. This winter we are pulling the 240volt pump up and replacing it with a wind powered pumper. This is how I was going to pull it, with a winch over the casing. Nice to see it can be done fairly easy.

[vegeta61935]

1:59 did you just get a floppy from a well pump puller?

[Drillinvillin4720w]

People think this is always a simple task when in reality it's not most DIYers I see usually get in over there heads the 1st most make is take all 4 bolts out of the 2 piece seal and drop the bottom of it on top of your 3 7/8s pump in a 4in hole then it's stuck then they have stopes and even broke the pump off of the pipe often so please let the pros with the correct tool and experiance take care of our water source....

[roweaz]

@KC8HI pro=multiple time DIYer

[roweaz]

@griffman08 I think you make yourself clear. If an idea is a good one, simple, works, is reliable, then it allows a DIYer to cut in on your business and therefor is a bad idea, makes the DIYer clueless, and time to do what every savory "professional" does: break out the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) to scare any other potential DIYers into paying up.

[TheOldkid888]

Good job Larry.Anyway you see it; it works for him.I have pulled a few wells myself and have come across a few 4 inch wells that were mighty stubborn.Alot depends on the minerals in the water and a small loose rock can cause some serious trouble.Sometimes you just have to face the facts and get in the pros.You have to determine if you really want to get involved with such a project.I ran into a well once that I called the well from the h..l Everything went bad.Good luck and have a great day.

[ccoraxfan]

@griffman08 You speak like someone in the well business who sees DIYers as a threat. Though for the life of me I can't figure out why... most people call the professionals to do the work, but a few people enjoy the challenge of doing it themselves, and they have that right. The fact that they do it proves you wrong - it IS for the DIYer. If it weren't, they wouldn't sell submersible pumps and related parts in hardware and farm supply stores.

[griffman08]

Id love to know what you consider overpriced. And judging from the tape job and the fact that you set such a small pump on 1 1/4" pipe and the fact you have no torque arrestor at the pump and the garing fact that u replaced Schedule 80 PVC with poly pipe means you dont have a clue. There is a reason that no pump pulling device in mass production used by professionals relies on a rope to pull the pump. Im not knocking Larry for his inventivness, but dont mke it sound like all pump guys are crooks