getting rid of the tank

I have a well room in my house. It is really just a concrete room under one section of the house. In the middle of the concrete floor is a approx 1 foot square hole which does to the dirt. Coming out of the hole is a well head, about two feet high. Coming out of this well head is an electrical wire (I guess to drive the pump) and a rubber hose, which goes to a blue tank which sits in the corner of the room.

In the rest of this room (which I have covered the walls with stone) I have a wine cellar with two racks. Over the well head I have put an old wine cask. I have placed a room divider in front of the tank. It is very tight in there. I would like to have the water tank moved into another room (the room that houses the oil burner and the hot water tank) so I can get a little more space in the wine cellar. Is this possible to do? Is there any spec that says that the water tank must be within 3 feet of the well head? Is this a big job? Who do I get to do it? A well company or a plumber?

A well company or a plumber who works on wells....

The tank can be anywhere you want it.

richb2 said:

I have a well room in my house. It is really just a concrete room under one section of the house. In the middle of the concrete floor is a approx 1 foot square hole which does to the dirt. Coming out of the hole is a well head, about two feet high. Coming out of this well head is an electrical wire (I guess to drive the pump) and a rubber hose, which goes to a blue tank which sits in the corner of the room.

In the rest of this room (which I have covered the walls with stone) I have a wine cellar with two racks. Over the well head I have put an old wine cask. I have placed a room divider in front of the tank. It is very tight in there. I would like to have the water tank moved into another room (the room that houses the oil burner and the hot water tank) so I can get a little more space in the wine cellar. Is this possible to do? Is there any spec that says that the water tank must be within 3 feet of the well head? Is this a big job? Who do I get to do it? A well company or a plumber?

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You have a submersible pump in the well, and some day it will have to come out of the well with all the "hose" (actually PE pipe from the description you use) plus all the power cable. It can be a few hundred feet long. So IMO I wouldn't have done what you did unless it is very easily removed.

The tank can go anywhere (along with the "hose" and the present water line plumbing) but... there's always a but, the pressure switch should be at the pressure tank, so you take the electrical Romex and the pump's power cable too, to the tank location.

Gary Slusser said:

So IMO I wouldn't have done what you did unless it is very easily removed.

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It was in the house this way when I bought the house 14 years ago. There is a window in the well room that leads to the outside. Is that tube fairly flexible? I noticed that there is a hole in the concrete ceiling directly above the well head. I suspect that when they drilled the well, they had a derrick through roof of the hall way above the well room.

My other question is there a well head that goes under the floor or in the shaft? I'd love to be able to use that entire well room by hiding that well head.

Yes I could tell the house was old, no one does wells like that anymore, but it doesn't matter, it is what it is.

And you putting a wine cask over the well and filling the space with wine racks is going to cause a problem in the future. And it will more'n likely be on a Friday night at 9 PM of a 3 day holiday weekend and you will be out of water until you clear the space and find someone that will work in the confined space with the difficulty of getting the drop pipe and cable etc. out through the hole in the ceiling, down the hall and out the back door through the garage to the driveway. Before they can do anything to fix the problem.

My wife and I did one just like that that was 2 lines 160' long for a 2 line jet pump a few yrs ago. The ceiling was only 4' above cement the floor where the well was and the casing had been cut off only 2-3" above the cement and there was a 35 yr old 2 line sanitary seal to remove before we could do anything in the well.

We had to cut up carpet up in the hallway to get the hole open. No windows. You need young guys for a job like that, I would never do another one, kneeling or laying on your belly fighting the seal took an hour, the bolt heads were all rusted off. And then trying to lift from your knees.... I rigged a tripod and a come along in the hall above. I should have charged a $1000 just for the difficulty.

And no, the line(s) aren't very flexible, but they are all wet and dirty from rust usually. You only have one line but there is a 2 foot or longer pump on the far end.

The window is probably simply to allow light and fresh air into the area if you open the window or don't block the light.

The well casing goes straight down, maybe 200'. The well was drilled before the floor over the well was done, usually outside the foundation, and then some dumbass builds an addition over it. And you bought it without knowing of future problems.

BTW, I know ya fell in love with the idea of a wine cellar but, beer is cheaper and you should never love nothing that can't or doesn't love ya back.

Are you saying that in order to fix that well (someday) that hole through the ceiling (the room has a 7' ceiling, and the wine cask is empty and has been cut to fit over the well head and hose) will need to be re-opened? I have put in a really nice oak floor with underfloor heating, in the rooms above over that section of the house. Of course the wine racks will be empty (they hold about 400 bottles, but I only have about 200) before any plumbers are allowed into that wine cellar. There are many bottles from the 1980's and 1990's down there.

"The well casing goes straight down, maybe 200'. The well was drilled before the floor over the well was done, usually outside the foundation, and then some dumbass builds an addition over it. And you bought it without knowing of future problems."

This well was built before I bought the house, 14 years ago. But, I don't think the well pre-dates the house. The house is about 100 years old, and this concrete well room isn't. The section above the well head has been there for a long, long time. Explain something to me? How long is each section of the well casing? Less than 7 ft long? And how do they connect with each other? Do they screw together? and why would there ever be a need to remove the casing? I could see having to pull the pump out, but wouldn't that hose go directly out the window (which is near the ceiling of the room, but is still about two feet below ground level)?

Hose is used to wash a car and it is very flexible.

Well water line is pipe, it is stiff, rigid and comes in sch 40 or 80 pvc, galvanized steel or rolls of PE pipe or various lengths and psi ratings. PVC comes in 10' or 20' lengths and galvanized 21'. Casing, that well head as you call it, is steel or PVC in 20-40' lengths. The pump is on the bootom of the drop pipe. You would never remove the casing.

So nothing but PE has any chance of going out the window whole, and it may not make it. The hole in the ceiling of the cement room is where it was meant to go.

Plumbers are not a good choice for well work unless they are willing and capable of pulling a submersible pump and reinstalling one. Pump guys and well drillers are.

So, one day you will need to pull the drop pipe, cable and pump out of the well casing. With you being there 14 yrs plus the time before that since the pump was installed, you are seriously on borrowed time now.

And that pressure tank, same thing, and if you don't have space to work in, it will cost you dearly to get someone to do the work and it will take much longer while you are out of water. They may have to cut the drop pipe into manageable pieces.

BTW, this wasn't a wine cellar, it was an over sized well pit that prevented the need for a pitless adapter and underground water line from the well into the house.

not only will I need to cut a hole in my nice antique oak floor, but from what you say, I will also need to have a hole cut through the roof of the house. If I had only considered this expense before I bought this home 14 years ago, I would have chosen a nice split level. I guess that the home inspector that I hired back then screwed up!

No you wouldn't ruin a floor and heating system. You'd cut the drop pipe into pieces as it comes out of the well and replace the drop pipe with PE pipe through the window somehow or, take a roll into the room and unroll it down the well.