pitless thread...another one

[alexralston]

Question first, story after (just in case somebody can get to an answer without having to read my rambling).

Are there any pitless adapters that use a 9/16 hex nut as a sort of set screw to push the foot into the PVC and secure/seat the pitless?

As far as i can tell from above, my pitless adapter looks pretty identical to the one seen in this post https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/cant-remove-pitless-adapter.79496/

Home was built in 1996 and I'm assuming the well/pump are from about that time.

I have spent the better part of the last 2 days pouring over this and other forums and online resources, so my apologies if this one has already been answered. I apologize as well that pictures will be tough for me to take pictures of the specific unit but i have found forum posts that match my design closely.

Short story: well runs sprinklers and hoses at my house. We have a municipal source for indoor water needs. Sprinklers and hose were running last week and then there was an abrupt loss of pressure. The breaker for the well pump and tripped so i figured it was probably either a pump issue or a wiring issue. I AM getting juice out to the pump (confirmed with multimeter). I hoped it was just a bad breaker, but unfortunately it was not that easy.

I now have the well head off and I'm looking down into it. 5" diameter. There is a pitless adapter with a PVC pull pipe in place, held at the well head by an aluminum support bar (could be steel i guess, but I don't think that would make any difference for our purposes here). the pitless sits about 3' under ground, or about 4+ft from the top of the well head.

I understand that there is often some type of set-screw or thumb screw in place that i would access through the pull pipe. Shining a light down the pull pipe, it looks like there's a hex shape which i confirmed by taking an impression of the piece by putting a piece of chewed gum on the end of my puller tool and feeding it down the PVC pipe. I found that it was a 9/16" NUT (gum had a 9/16 impression in it and was convex in the center of that, telling me that it was pushing into a concave surface like a nut rather than a bolt/screw).

With this in mind, I'm thinking that if i TIGHTEN the nut (clockwise), it should pull some sort of bolt upwards, away from the foot on the back of the pitless, releasing the system and letting me pull things out. So far, this has not worked.

Thanks for any info.
Alex

 

[Reach4]

I have a pitless that looks like that up top(mine is a Merrill SMCK, but MCK is the brass version). The operation of the foot on mine is not from turning a nut, but rather from turning a screw that is down the middle hanger hole. There is a special tool for this, but I have read that you can smash a 1/2 inch steel pipe on one end, and use that as a wrench.

I can certainly believe that there is a pitless that uses a 9/16 hex head. But it would not be a Merrill MCK or SMCK.

If you post a picture showing your setup, maybe somebody will recognize your pitless adapter.
I am not saying that your pitless is like one in these threads, but I thought you might find them interesting. For my pitless, clockwise extends the leg, and CCW retracts the leg.

When you pull a pitless, it is good to replace the o-ring/seal.

Looking for a replacement part for this pitless adapter.

Looking for a replacement part for this pitless adapter. The lever / cog is cracked. Can anyone help me identify the brand/model ? And tell me if I can just replace the lever?

terrylove.com

What is this at the top of my well?

Hello, I've been reading up on how to get water out of a well in the event of no power. People make hand pumps out of PVC, you can buy a hand pump, or make a PVC "bucket" with check valve in bottom. They claim that the only thing in the well pipe is electrical lines going down to the...

terrylove.com

 

[Sponsor]

 

[alexralston]

I have a pitless that looks like that up top(mine is a Merrill SMCK, but MCK is the brass version). The operation of the foot on mine is not from turning a nut, but rather from turning a screw that is down the middle hanger hole. There is a special tool for this, but I have read that you can smash a 1/2 inch steel pipe on one end, and use that as a wrench.

I can certainly believe that there is a pitless that uses a 9/16 hex head. But it would not be a Merrill MCK or SMCK.

If you post a picture showing your setup, maybe somebody will recognize your pitless adapter.
I am not saying that your pitless is like one in these threads, but I thought you might find them interesting. For my pitless, clockwise extends the leg, and CCW retracts the leg.

When you pull a pitless, it is good to replace the o-ring/seal.

Looking for a replacement part for this pitless adapter.

Looking for a replacement part for this pitless adapter. The lever / cog is cracked. Can anyone help me identify the brand/model ? And tell me if I can just replace the lever?

terrylove.com

What is this at the top of my well?

Hello, I've been reading up on how to get water out of a well in the event of no power. People make hand pumps out of PVC, you can buy a hand pump, or make a PVC "bucket" with check valve in bottom. They claim that the only thing in the well pipe is electrical lines going down to the...

terrylove.com

Question first, story after (just in case somebody can get to an answer without having to read my rambling).

Are there any pitless adapters that use a 9/16 hex nut as a sort of set screw to push the foot into the PVC and secure/seat the pitless?

As far as i can tell from above, my pitless adapter looks pretty identical to the one seen in this post https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/cant-remove-pitless-adapter.79496/

Home was built in 1996 and I'm assuming the well/pump are from about that time.

I have spent the better part of the last 2 days pouring over this and other forums and online resources, so my apologies if this one has already been answered. I apologize as well that pictures will be tough for me to take pictures of the specific unit but i have found forum posts that match my design closely.

Short story: well runs sprinklers and hoses at my house. We have a municipal source for indoor water needs. Sprinklers and hose were running last week and then there was an abrupt loss of pressure. The breaker for the well pump and tripped so i figured it was probably either a pump issue or a wiring issue. I AM getting juice out to the pump (confirmed with multimeter). I hoped it was just a bad breaker, but unfortunately it was not that easy.

I now have the well head off and I'm looking down into it. 5" diameter. There is a pitless adapter with a PVC pull pipe in place, held at the well head by an aluminum support bar (could be steel i guess, but I don't think that would make any difference for our purposes here). the pitless sits about 3' under ground, or about 4+ft from the top of the well head.

I understand that there is often some type of set-screw or thumb screw in place that i would access through the pull pipe. Shining a light down the pull pipe, it looks like there's a hex shape which i confirmed by taking an impression of the piece by putting a piece of chewed gum on the end of my puller tool and feeding it down the PVC pipe. I found that it was a 9/16" NUT (gum had a 9/16 impression in it and was convex in the center of that, telling me that it was pushing into a concave surface like a nut rather than a bolt/screw).

With this in mind, I'm thinking that if i TIGHTEN the nut (clockwise), it should pull some sort of bolt upwards, away from the foot on the back of the pitless, releasing the system and letting me pull things out. So far, this has not worked.

Thanks for any info.
Alex

Happy update: i figured it out, all is working beautifully again.

Folks in southeast michigan with an Adams Well Drilling well—it’s probably just a standard Wells pitless but Adams takes it upon themselves to weld a 9/16” nut to the top of the key on the foot actuator. I could see this being helpful if you know it’s how they did it, but as a person who doesn’t work on these regularly (ok, or “ever”…first timer here) it can really throw you for a loop.

I ended up calling a local well drilling/repair company and we tackled the project together and I couldn’t be happier. New pump down the hole, pitless got a new o ring, and the sprinklers are back to running.

 

[Valveman]

Glad you got it working. Sorry wasn't able to help as I didn't understand the modification they made.