Where to get a fair price on well pump, pipe, wire, controls

[Rockwind1]

i have 2 new wells i just drilled and have been really looking into dropping the pump in my self to save a few bucks. i'm very handy. what i have been running into is the local supply places seem to really screw over the average joe as far as charging them for the parts, there are 3 or 4 local well companies that get the pipe, and pump, and wire and assorted items necessary at a discounted price, then, of course, they inflate that price when they do the work and of course, they charge labor. which is fine for most people cause they can't do it themselves. i've got pretty much everything i need to do it myself, tractors, a boom, trucks, knowledge,

has anyone found any place online that will treat everyone the same for parts? pricewise? someplaces will sell the pump,,, sometimes they don't ship the wire and sometimes they won't ship the pipe,, obviously due to logistical reason.

i am blessed enough to have 11 nice vacant horse property lots in my area and i am going to drill 11 more wells (using a drilling company) and wanted to save the money by doing the pumps myself. i like doing new things. was going to put some double wides on them with a barn and rent them out.

 

[LakeDwellerMN]

I have had good luck with pumps (and technical support) from RC Worst.

That said, they are not "cheap", but, they are also easy to talk to over the phone and via email. You get good insight and service from them.

As far as wire and such, you really should not go "no-name" cheap on those.

I helped an in-law install a deep well pump (120ft) and it was a 2 day job with 2 people.
He got the pitless adapter installed correctly after the well digger bugged out and he had already dug the trench for the piping and electronics going to the house. Luckily, that was only 30ft away.

I convinced him to run a 2nd set of wires at the same time in case something went wrong with the first set. We ran the pair of "flat wires" through 1" electrical PVC pipe to avoid it getting ruined by critters.

The installation of the pump and piping was not too hard, but, we setup a "box" of sorts around the top of the well so we had a way to hold stuff in place as it went down. He has his foot valve 15ft off the bottom (this is residential, not a farm or commercial well). Water table is ~40 ft down.

We ordered all the fittings from the local plumbing supply place but they were the same price as SupplyHouse.com. The wiring we ordered drop shipment from the Nassau dealer, which saved my in-law $100. We went with 12/3 and ran an extra line just inside the conduit (not a second line into the pipe).

 

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[Valveman]

If the wells are not too deep it is easy to do it yourself. I would use 160# or 250# poly pipe, so no hoist is needed. Doing it yourself I would use some of the really cheap pumps. Sometimes you can purchase 4-5 of these pumps for the same price as a name brand, and I don't think there is much difference in them these days. Even a cheap pump will last a long time if you don't cycle it on/off to death, which is what destroys the vast majority of pumps. Not letting it cycle is easy to do as all you need is one of our PK1A pump control kits with delivers strong constant pressure and comes with everything you need to install above ground to control the pump.

 

[Rockwind1]

If the wells are not too deep it is easy to do it yourself. I would use 160# or 250# poly pipe, so no hoist is needed. Doing it yourself I would use some of the really cheap pumps. Sometimes you can purchase 4-5 of these pumps for the same price as a name brand, and I don't think there is much difference in them these days. Even a cheap pump will last a long time if you don't cycle it on/off to death, which is what destroys the vast majority of pumps. Not letting it cycle is easy to do as all you need is one of our PK1A pump control kits with delivers strong constant pressure and comes with everything you need to install above ground to control the pump.

this pump would be set at between 570'-560',, the casing goes to 580'. i was thinking poly for the less friction loss not sure if it can go that deep. in this case, the pump is just filling up a 2500 gallon tank, however, the jet pump might work with your cycle stop valve. i was curious, though, since the cycling on and off is what kills most pumps, i wonder has anyone invented a soft start box for single phase 220 pumps? i put these things on my 2 rv ac's called microair soft start and there is another brand called soft start rv. they are like 220v 1-1.5 hp units so can't be too much different than a 1 hp pump. anyone ever heard of such things for submersibles,,,, other than the sub drive stuff?

 

[Valveman]

Well setting a pump 570' is a horse of a different color. Ply is not strong enough and hard to handle. You might be able to use Sch 120 PVC if you check the weight and pressure charts. But most likely you will need galvanized pipe at that depth. This is not an easy DIY job. You might consider letting a local pump man with experience on the area set the pump in the well. Then you can DIY to the storage tank and Jet pump, where you are correct in saying that is where the CSV would be installed.

Soft starters for HVAC maybe a good idea, but not for submersible pumps. A submersible motor has to be at least up to 50% speed before there is any lubrication for the thrust bearing. The longer it takes to get to speed, the more damage is done to the bearing. A reduced voltage soft start will not effect the speed, only the amount of torque. You can make a reduced voltage starter by simply using the longest length of the smaller wire possible for a 1.5 HP pump. Using 190' of #14 wire will cause a 5% voltage drop at load. This will cause there to be 20% less starting current and 36% less torque on start up, and is all the soft start you need.

Also, soft start is not important if you are not starting the pump over and over. Using a Cycle Stop Valve limits the number of starts so much that how you start is no longer important. Soft start is only important if the pump is starting 100-300 times per day. But then eliminating the cycling on off would be the solution, not a soft starter.

 

[wwhitney]

Well setting a pump 570' is a horse of a different color. Ply is not strong enough and hard to handle. You might be able to use Sch 120 PVC if you check the weight and pressure charts. But most likely you will need galvanized pipe at that depth.

Just curious, how is it done? I assume you'd add one stick and one coupling at a time, and then lower the string down by one stick length. So if you have a way of gripping the coupling (or the pipe just below the coupling), and want to lower the string in a controlled manner, as well as reset your grip, how is that done?

Thanks,
Wayne

 

[Reach4]

Just curious, how is it done? I assume you'd add one stick and one coupling at a time, and then lower the string down by one stick length. So if you have a way of gripping the coupling (or the pipe just below the coupling), and want to lower the string in a controlled manner, as well as reset your grip, how is that done?

Thanks,
Wayne

Pretty much. Normally 20 ft sticks that are threaded. Stainless steel couplers but PVC heavy duty threaded couplers can be good too. PVC takes more skill to not over-tighten.

The pro will use a hoist truck, and has a hook sorta that clears a pipe but not a coupler. https://www.deanbennettsupply.com/installation-tools.html has a some tools.

A well of that depth is not normally DIY. A pro can be in and out. An amateur could drop a string of pipe or worse.

I think schedule 120 PVC may be up to to that, but there is schedule 180 pvc also. The lightest pvc for wells normally is schedule 80. For schedule 40 you would need glue, but glue does not reach full strength quickly.

If one were to go deep with poly, the person could build ah big-diameter pulley, and use a vehicle for pulling. But I doubt 600 ft down for that.

 

[Rockwind1]

You can make a reduced voltage starter by simply using the longest length of the smaller wire possible for a 1.5 HP pump. Using 190' of #14 wire will cause a 5% voltage drop at load. This will cause there to be 20% less starting current and 36% less torque on start up, and is all the soft start you need.

i'm actually going to use a 1 hp 5gpm pump with sch 120 pvc. that is interesting about using small wire. the plan was to use 10 guage wire, so do an extra splice about 190 ft from the top. i had always heard that would burn up a motor faster but maybe if it is more scientificially done than it will work. as i get older, i find sometimes the things i learned have never been proven. like leaving a typical car battery on concrete,, will it lose it charge a lot faster than on a piece of wood? i was told so.

i am not to worried about doing it myself,,, like i said i am going to do about 10 more so might as well start with this one. where do you recommend getting the cheap pumps from?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Just curious, how is it done? I assume you'd add one stick and one coupling at a time, and then lower the string down by one stick length. So if you have a way of gripping the coupling (or the pipe just below the coupling), and want to lower the string in a controlled manner, as well as reset your grip, how is that done?

Thanks,
Wayne

I'm curious myself. Just the weight alone of pipe and wire over 550' in length can only require the right tools and machinery.

 

[Bannerman]

Just the weight alone of pipe and wire over 550' in length can only require the right tools and machinery.

Since the pump's check valve will prevent the pipe from draining, if the pump ever needs to be pulled, the weight of the water within the pipe will be added to the weight of the pump, pipe, couplings and wire.

Here is a link to 'Wellhose' flexible drop pipe that may satisfy your requirements. While some diameters are readily available up to 300', the website specifies deeper pump settings are possible by contacting their 'Boreline' (commercial applications) division.

https://wellhose.com/

 

[Rockwind1]

I'm curious myself. Just the weight alone of pipe and wire over 550' in length can only require the right tools and machinery.

i have a 30' boom on my backhoe with wire cable and good tools. installing is not the problem,, correct wiring will be a slight challenge but easily doable as i do have a friend or 2 with experience who can guide me if necessary but i don't want to call upon them until i really need them. they are in a different state from jobsite.

 

[Fitter30]

Cheap pump for 570.' Weight of 1" sch 120 .464 per ft 1228.5 lbs not including 28 couplings , wire or the pump. Its whole lot easier to drop a pump in a hole than take it out. 10 amps@ 240v x 600' wire is to small heres a calculator. Any good electrical supply house can custom order the lenght & gauge u need. Voltage drop calculator . 3% is max

https://www.inchcalculator.com

 

[Valveman]

i'm actually going to use a 1 hp 5gpm pump with sch 120 pvc. that is interesting about using small wire. the plan was to use 10 guage wire, so do an extra splice about 190 ft from the top. i had always heard that would burn up a motor faster but maybe if it is more scientificially done than it will work. as i get older, i find sometimes the things i learned have never been proven. like leaving a typical car battery on concrete,, will it lose it charge a lot faster than on a piece of wood? i was told so.

i am not to worried about doing it myself,,, like i said i am going to do about 10 more so might as well start with this one. where do you recommend getting the cheap pumps from?

630' of #10 wire will give you the reduced voltage soft start for a 1HP I was talking about. No need for a piece of smaller wire. I would be reluctant to install a pump on plastic pipe at 570'. Poly would be very hard to manage and has lots of stretch. Sch 120 with metal couplings would work if you check the manufacturers specs.

That will take 28.5 joints at 20' a piece, which full of water will weigh 632#. 630' of #10 wire can weigh another 300#. The pump is only about 40#, but that totals to about a half a ton. It is almost impossible to do with a back hoe as it is hard to keep the pipe centered in the well. But I have seen a backhoe used as the boom, and an electric wench was attached to the bucket raised 25' in the air, and the wench is much more safe and forgiving. Using the correct size elevators, slips, and tools is important.

I also would not install a cheap pump at that depth. You want something that will last. Also, wire is a problem at that depth so I would use THHN double jacketed to make sure it doesn't chaff from cycling on and off or get skinned on the way down.

 

[Rockwind1]

630' of #10 wire will give you the reduced voltage soft start for a 1HP I was talking about. No need for a piece of smaller wire. I would be reluctant to install a pump on plastic pipe at 570'. Poly would be very hard to manage and has lots of stretch. Sch 120 with metal couplings would work if you check the manufacturers specs.

That will take 28.5 joints at 20' a piece, which full of water will weigh 632#. 630' of #10 wire can weigh another 300#. The pump is only about 40#, but that totals to about a half a ton. It is almost impossible to do with a back hoe as it is hard to keep the pipe centered in the well. But I have seen a backhoe used as the boom, and an electric wench was attached to the bucket raised 25' in the air, and the wench is much more safe and forgiving. Using the correct size elevators, slips, and tools is important.

I also would not install a cheap pump at that depth. You want something that will last. Also, wire is a problem at that depth so I would use THHN double jacketed to make sure it doesn't chaff of get skinned on the way down.

i was just using the backhoe as a solid base for my boom. was going to use a winch.

 

[Valveman]

i was just using the backhoe as a solid base for my boom. was going to use a winch.

You can do it. Stay away from the wire in case you drop the pipe. I've seen that wire grab wrenches, debris, and try to drag the people down the well when the pump falls. But mostly just don't drop anything. Glad to answer questions if you want to call.

 

[Diyspokane]

i have a 30' boom on my backhoe with wire cable and good tools. installing is not the problem,, correct wiring will be a slight challenge but easily doable as i do have a friend or 2 with experience who can guide me if necessary but i don't want to call upon them until i really need them. they are in a different state from jobsite.

i was just using the backhoe as a solid base for my boom. was going to use a winch.

You can do it. I successfully set my own submersible at 580’, alone, all by hand. I’m a custom home builder with a lot of wiring and plumbing experience, but had never set a pump that deep before. I built a wood tower ( I have a lot of wood lying around typically) in about three hours and used my rock climbing gear with a 3:1 hoist system, belay device, and auto-locker on the rope. It sounds like you have better equipment than I do.

I used RC worst for knowledge, advice, and some of the parts. I bought a lot of the equipment from a wholesaler (Preferred Pump) with some sweet talking.

I wound up using sch. 120 PVC and stainless couplers. I pump into a 2100 g in ground storage tank, and then out of that. All of the controls are in a concrete well house underground near the well head.

This took me a long time, but I saved thousands, learned a lot, and had some fun! Unfortunately I chose a constant pressure system coming out of the tank, So the day that fails I will be switching to a CSV after all the reading and learning I’ve done here. Oh well, there’s no substitute for experience but nothing wrong with trying things on your own. At least it will be easy to get to. I set a Grundfos three wire down the hole, Hopefully it goes a long time.