Yesterday I had my well pump replaced.
It's a pretty simple procedure. I was surprised. They just pull up the pipe the pump is hanging on and replace it. In my case that was about 135 feet of pipe. I'm told well pumps last an average of 10 to 15 years. I'm not complaining my pump was 24 years old.
There really wasn't anything wrong with the old well pump. I just started to get a little edgy about it's age. If the darned thing went out in the winter it would be a really nasty job to try and replace it. I'm not even sure it could be done. Imagine being stuck out in the middle of nowhere in winter with no water. Not a particularly pleasant thought. I did the replacement as a preventative measure.
The pipe we pulled up was steel. That was replaced with poly pipe, a thick wall, plastic pipe. The electrical wire going down to the pump was replaced as well. The net effect of the new pipe was a drastic reduction in vibration. Before when the pump came on you could here it all over the house. Now it's just a quiet hum. That's a nice bonus.
The worst part of the process was all of the clay sediment that got stirred up. It was so thick, 24 years of undisturbed build up, my under house filter was completely plugged instantly. I ran the water for about four hours yesterday and it's not totally clear yet. I reckon I'll hafta run her some more today to get all the gunk out.
Next up will be the pressure tank. Pressure tanks can have an even shorter lifespan than the pump. I'm not as worried about that as it's an inside job.
My mama told me, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And, I believe it.
©Kinsey Barnard
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