I have been a truck mechanic since I was 17, I'm going to be 63 in June. One thing that the years have taught me is appreciation for quality of workmanship and real professionals that do that kind of work. This is what I see in your videos, and I'm very pleased that this level of customer service is still out there. Keep up the good work! Watching this episode was like watching a short movie that kept me hoping the good guys would win, and they did. I was actually very happy for the homeowner, and you both.
Just in case anyone was wondering why he changed the plastic bushing…some would think that only the weight of the pump is on it but in reality the weight of the pump AND 212 ft of water weight…that’s why no plastic is allowed …same at the top..the elbow has to be capable of holding up the weight…
I had my submersible pump fall into my 400' well. The top of the pipe was at 260 ft from the surface opening. Long story short, I was finally successful in fishing it out by fabricating a harpoon looking hook using a stepper drill bit welded on a 10 ft steel pipe that I was able to guide on top of the 1 1/4 black pipe. I then used another heavy pipe with a stranded guy wire also guided into the first hooked pipe. I would raise the steel pipe about 10 ft and pound the hooked one about 10 times. I then used my boom bucket that I converted to a hoist boom with an electric winch to raise the pipe, wire, and pump out. The harpoon steel end was so tight on the black pipe that I could not take it off, so I just cut it off and still have it as a reminder of my 3-month struggle to get the pump out. It saved me from having to drill another expensive well. All this would have never been possible without my purchase of an underwater camera that was instrumental in finding the end of top of the well pipe and using it to guide my jury-rigged harpoon in place. Never again, just too stressful, but good thing I was retired, and my neighbor kindly shared his water while I worked on my project(or nightmare).😡
You're the only one who knows how much to charge, to keep the doors open, to pay the overhead, to feed your family. Don't depend on anyone but yourself to satisfy your obligations and you will do fine. Thanks for the vid!
Great workmanship is priceless. With the skills you displayed, fixing up the poor workmanship of all those that put their hands on to that job, plus machine use time and labor ...No less than $3500....
Thanks Bro, you gave me the idea about how to fish out my fallen pump. People were charging more than $1000 for the job and that too not giving any guarantee.. I made the same hook myself and attached a steel cable with it, it got stuck in same way like in your video.. and pulled it out with help of Hydra ... Took me one hour to retrieve it, as it was 300 foot deep down.... Thanks once again for your information.
E cellent video! I used to create up front price books for plumbers. (Now retired, occaisionally tinkering with solar wells). For scenarios like this, I used a 3 Step price where the customer agreed to the highest price which would include your crane, camera if needed and X number of capture attempts. Explain all the things you'll try before recommending a new well. Then, explain that you'll start simple, then escalate as indicated. Give a discount for each tier of escalation you DON'T use. This way, you can afford to show up fully loaded for bear, saving trips, and your customer already knows the worst case. By knocking items off the worst price, you get to be the hero because you're clearly demonstrating to the customer that you're trying to save them money. You also have an agreed upon price, even if the pump is stuck. You should also have a flat rate for different components (wire termination, x$ per foot for wire, pipe etc). In this scenario, fishing the pump and replacing the wires should easily command $2k without the crane or hoe. You're not sitting around watching RU-vid all day. Make every job pay off. You might make enough to invest in an apprentice. 😊
This is my new favorite channel! My cousin knocked my uncle's favorite multi-tool down their well. I brought over a strong magnet and my grouper rig with a Penn 6/0 that's spooled with 130lb test Dacron. He's fortunate that their well casing is plastic and the magnetic didn't get stuck. We sleeved the round magnet with a thick wall PVC pipe connector. To hopefully keep it from sticking to any clamps or connectors. I was worried it was going to get stuck and then we would have to pull everything up. It took a bit of fishing around before we felt a slight click on the line. Then up it came... nope! It was an old pair of pliers my uncle dropped down there who knows how long ago. 😆 We never did get the multi-tool. Maybe next time he drops something down there we will get it instead. 😄
Liked your story. Old pliers steel; multi-tool probably stainless steel which will not stick to a magnet. One good thing is you might have removed some rusty taste from the water. Be Safe.
I just had mt well serviced. The pipe down to the pump had a hole in it so the pump wouldn't shut off. This is the third time in 40m years. This time I had a new pump, wire, and 100 feet of schedule 80 1" PVC pipe, and Stainless Steel couplers. The total cost was $2100.00 Took about an hour. Travel distance about 10 miles round trip. Took place in April 2024.
Congrats you are the right person for the right job. Like the way you handle things. Charge for the equipment used, labor hrs, well pump wiring installation, re-installation of the pump and final check bladder system and equipment Mobilization. This of course to your local charges and fees. Great job!!
Roughly $3200, but as you have mentioned it has a family connection $2400 to $2700. I’m in NJ so price may be a little higher. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a great well company for 18 years and not had any complaints! Plus the lead tech Scott is brilliant, knowledgeable and gust a well rounded person! (Pun intended) 😉 Nice save good job!
Great job on that well my friend. You'll never be out of work. Thanks for sharing. I have a much greater appreciation of water after watching your videos.
Not only did you have to fish it out but re-wire it and plumb new fittings. You had to bring in your hevy equipment, fabricate another tool and rework your previous schedules. I'd say, $1,500 - $2,000. You see, your shared knowledge of caution on the well seal has alread saved me $2,000 if ever I own a well. Just because I don't own a well doesn't mean I don't like learning. Thx 4 the great videos!
10 years ago I pulled 280 ft of pipe and pump by hand to help a retired couple I knew really well. I did it for around $150. Ofcourse I am not a professional. I also know I would rather pay a professional if I ever needed that type of service myself. Better you than me is all I can truly say..😂😂😂
in 2008 on our 680' well with the pump being at 220' our pump went bad and it cost us just over $2000 to pull out the pump and replace it. It was right after a very bad 2 -3 year drought in Texas and our water level had dropped 20 feet so their engineer had them drop our pump 20' lower than before. Almeda Water Well Service in Manvel Texas. Excellent folks just like you guys.
I know almost nothing about wells. But years ago a day care center in an old brick schoolhouse lost their water.The pump was tripping the breaker. I found a ground in the pump cable in the well. A friend that also had no well experience and I figured out that we needed to pull that well. It was old and had an iron casing. Sure enough, one of the electrical cables had rubbed the casing, wore thru the insulation and welded itself to it., then broke when we pulled it all out. I wish we had RU-vid back then. Thanks for the videos you do, I know it helps a lot of people now.
Great job! All the trips the equipment and trip charge 3500 then I would have added $500 for using a handyman first! that is not a job for a handyman.. professionals only like you!!
My well guy pulled my well added 10ft pipe 20,000 and in 3 months came back out and pulled it the pipe they put in had a small hole, another 10,000. I'm just praying it's good now suppose to be under warranty now, but we will see. I have been learning a lot from you. Maybe next, well, guy won't be able to con me. You are great👍
You sure lucked out grabbing that ground wire! Good job. I was surprised you originally agreed just to fish out the pump and leave the rest of the job to the 'handyman.' I would have expected you to either take the whole job or not at all. You do great work.
@@billmonroe8826I got a call once like that where a handyman dropped the two half moon pieces down onto the pump and left and never came back . People had been without water over a month when they called me. I took a ten foot piece of angel iron and drilled a half inch hole in one end and tied a rope and started slamming the pump loose and the owner was catching it when I got it loose. Until we got it up where I could reach in and pull what was left of the pieces and get them off of the pump.. one happy customer for sure. Owner said he would put the new pump in but his wife called me three days later and wanted me to go ahead and put it in, it’s a good thing that they did because the new pump had the capacitor built in where the old pump took the control box. He would have burned the new pump up without changing the wiring around
We do the same thing in Ontario Canada, your time is worth something. Insurance on vehicles and fuel. Don't forget the one thing is your knowledge, you got the job done. Good luck on the next one.
I had a two-hose venturi well pump. I converted the well to submersible and installed a pitless adapter. I was in my 60s and did all the work myself. I had a safety rope tied to the pump as well as a stainless steel cable, just in case. The riser pipe was installed with standoffs every ten feet to prevent the wires from rubbing the casing. A mistake many people make is putting in more than one check valve. The only check valve should be in the pump itself or just above it. Why? Because if a lower check valve fails in the open position the water could drain down below an upper valve leaving the pipe full of air. When the pump starts up there will be a huge water hammer that can damage the pump and pipes. I too thought that extra check valves were a good idea until I researched it.
I wish I would have read this before I installed multiple check valves in my well. The last time I pulled it I broke the valve down by the pump so now I only have one at the top of my 400 foot hose. Next time I will probably remove that one as well. The reason I installed them is because I read that there should be a valve every 100 or so feet.
Nice catch! Lucky the homeowner called you, otherwise he may have been paying to drill a new well. I wonder if "the handyman" who dropped the pump in the first place was actually him?
$3000. Good job on the fishing. Worst we ever had was a stuck pump with 400 feet of rope and wire somebody Jammed 25 ft from the top. Took 40 foot of auger extension and a 4 inch auger to even get enough wire and rope out to get it to move down the hole. Three men, five days with a truck and a SkidLoader with augers. We ended up cutting to pipe off the pump and ramming all the wire/rope to the bottom and hang a new pump. She wanted to pay us more because of all the work but her fishing bill was $10,000. Very rewarding to be able to get her back in water.
I've installed many a pump over the years and don't need how-to information. But I love your videos. It's nice to see a professional at work, especially an honest, get 'er done kind of guy like you. I'd hire you in a second if I needed my well serviced. By the way, I think you charge too little for what you do. I hope the customer appreciated that. Greetings all the way from central British Columbia, Canada!
I had a well drilled 200 feet and my wife and I set the pump using one of your videos for guidance. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't believe the well guy was seriously ripping me off. In any case, my irrigation well is working great thanks for that. Nice job on this mess too.
After seeing what you went through, I’d be looking at 3400 because of all the new wiring and all the trips you had to make and the extra equipment I think that’s a very fair price. I love to fix somebody else’s mistakes.
I appreciate the quality of your work and your work ethic! I'm not sure I would have agreed to just fish it out without getting to do the whole job, but in the end your hard work and dedication earns you the entire job. Anyway! Skilled tradesmen such as yourself are difficult to find who are honest and fair and do a good job! You should be proud of the work that you do! Looks like a couple of thousand dollars worth of work to me!
Our 500 foot well had a wire failure. THANKFULLY, ONLY ONE!!! It has been reinstalled with several torque arrestors and MANY taping points [I watched the ENTIRE process from start to finish].
Good job, hind sight says why didn’t I start with the rig 1st, but being optimist we always hope for the quick and easy. Minimum $ for this amount of headache on an unscheduled emergency no water should be around $2300-$2500. I would probably have charged a little more because this was not an existing customer, and from the beginning was not willing to pay to have the job done properly. Hopefully he has learned, and you now have a longtime customer. 😜
I live in the city here in Auckland, New Zealand and my water come from the water mains pipe ...but I like watching this as I've never knew about water wells before !!!
I spend a lot of time on RU-vid exploring ideas, researching problems, and basically trying to learn whatever I can. I am a locksmith by trade, but after turning on English subtitles/close captioning (the girlfriend is sleeping in the other room), and running two or three of your videos at 1.5x the normal speed (some people have so much fluff on their videos or just talk too darn slow) I feel I'm ready to hook up to the boss's well pump, get'er done, and finish in time for him to get his morning shower. Thank you much.
You are a true craftsman.......you look so young for all your knowledge. Its not always how much you worked to solve the issue but how much you know to fix the problem.
This video really explains the extent of the problems, which can cause the lack of tape to secure the cables. For me, this is one of the best video with concrete examples of troubles caused by the owners to save like 25.00$. THANKS ! for me, you are the best reference in this field. 🍺🍺
Same happened in my friend house , it's only about 60' down or I hope , the pump is connected to a 1" 1/4 galvanized pipe all the way up it's very hard to pull it up I'm trying right now , that's why I'm look at your channel 🤣
I seen in the comments you charged him $1900 and seen other people’s estimates. I think you were very fair and probably have a repeat customer for sure. So to me you win
Considering you brought out the truck, I would say 2000. To 2200 would make you decent money with no haggling with the owner. You didn't spend alot of cash. Mostly ability to handle the job. Call me what you may. Times are tough on alot of us. I believe we should be as fair and responsible as cost allows. I have this problem and by weekend over it will be fixed! Good job man! Thanks for sharing..🦅🇺🇸🇨🇱🦅🕊
Generally speaking, remember the customer is a SENIOR ADULT (generally on the CHEAP side). I have worked with Senior Adults and 9 times out of 10 they go cheap. They like the F*R*E*E stuff. If he can get someone else later that is cheaper, then he will.
I had a well where the plumber used a plastic joiner. It snapped and Turned the ground into quick sand. Always use a big pressure tank for less cycling, pump will last longer.
It is refreshing to see a young man taking on a career in this field of work. You know your stuff and its shows. I would say the handyman is not so handy, good job cleaning up his mess.
Im Australia here, im amazed you people dont have rain water tanks for collecting off the roof. Thats mainly what we use here in rural areas, in fact thats all we have on our farm.
It is amazing that the owner suggested his Handyman, who probably did the pump in the first place, was going to reinstall it. My price would have been higher if they would not have let me replace everything and make it right.
Well I work in the oil field, when equipment is stuck in the hole it is going to be expensive. So I would say with all the equipment you had to haul, and tools to manufacture a $1000 a day wont be far out, plus you were helping out at short notice . By the way once you get two items in the well it rapidly goes down hill from there as you will be aware :-(
I have been working on municipal and industrial well pumps for 27 years. Just recently had a 1000hp, 2300V submersible pump and motor set on 12" schedule 80 pipe, at 850' pump set, go to the bottom of the well @ 1900', with 180' of pipe still on the pump. We spent about one month fabricating a tool to go down to the equipment with 1800' of pipe to retrieve the pump. We got it all out. Then set a temporary pump in the well. About 6 weeks total work time. Over a quarter of a million to do the job.
I would have put my numbers at $4800.00> FYI love the way you present. You're informative, direct and straightforward. Honesty and stick-to-itiveness seem to be your hallmarks. Kudos. Job well done!!
Or along with the handyman's "help", the 2019 crew could have been prohibited from doing a first class job by the cheap a$$ed land owner wanting to pay for nothing more than a patch job at the time. You notice at the start of this the owner wanted the OP to only fish the mess out of the hole and then the owners inexpensive handyman would do the rest.
@@marybilbrey7013people seem to have this notion that increasing air pressure in the pressure tank will increase water pressure, they don’t seem to realize that the pump provides the pressure not the tank, all the tank is there to do is allow the pump to run on its proper cycle
Don't be too harsh a judge on the handyman. I'm a recently retired one myself. Handymen are capable of a great variety of skilled jobs, usually charging must less than the 'journeymen guys'. Not that there's anything wrong with them! No, this handyman's mistake was thinking he knew how to fix that well pump. While he has the skills to fix it, I doubt he had 'the knowledge'. I can't tell you how many jobs I've successfully completed NOT KNOWING A DAMN THING ABOUT THEM! Yet, I'd come in, explain the process to the customer in great detail and come off looking for all the world a 'professional'. How was I able to accomplish this? In the beginning of my career, I'd ask a lot of questions or go to the library for research. Since the advent of the internet, however? 2 words: RU-vid videos. Lots of 'em! The moral of this story? DO YOUR RESEARCH before you get 'handy'! 🤣
Kudos to you. I greatly enjoy your videos. Keep up the great videos. I've always been intrigued by the deep well technology and you are truly an expert. I will continue to follow your vids. Kudos to you!
Great content. Particularly I was interested in the detailed explanation at the end regarding the accumulator tank pressure settings. You did check it prior to turning the pump on. but I don’t think you emphasize that the diaphragm pressure is checked/set with the tank EMPTY. Maybe your next video that you encounter a accumulator tank issue, you could emphasize that the pressure is set with the tank empty. I could see many DIYers running out to their tank and checking the pressure with the tank full. Again, love the channel!
I just pulled 200 ft of sensor wire and a water level sensor out of the bottom of a 300 foot well using 305 feet of 3/4 " 160 psi polypipe and a spiral drain auger bit. Went to the bottom, drilled a hole through the top of the pipe, inserted a large phillips screwdriver, spun it clockwise about 6-10 times and pulled it back out. So nice seeing that wad of wire and the sensor on the end of the pipe as it came out.
I've done quite a bit of plumbing but little directly on a well. I have three wells on my property and I CANNOT tell you how much I've learned from your videos. I made a living for many years as a handyman. But I did journeyman work in everything I did. And if I couldn't, I'd call a sub. I would expect to be charged around 3G, maybe more these days, but I think that's about what I would have charged since I would have had to rent the equipment. Plumbing is pretty simple, but it ain't easy. It's quite labor intensive.
…and a hundred dollars in fittings , clamps,watertight wire connections, and tape.🙄 And let’s not even talk about all the fuel, insurance, and maintenance.🤐
My biggest fear. Our community well, that I manage is 1,150 feet. Pump (3 phase 480v) is at about 950. 2" galvanized pipe, with 3 check valves. We have has to pull pump 4 times in the last five years, ( because of other troubles unrelated to pump quality). Thats way down there. Lol
It's not just about using tape in the well. It's about using GOOD tape in the well. Some times those pumps spend a very long time in the well. That tape has to last.
I charge $180/hour plus materials(x2) plus tax. I do all plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical. As well as well pumps for about 30 yrs. Got me one of those pull-a pump machines a long time ago. I’ve never had to hire anyone, always do all jobs by myself. That pull-a-pump machine is great. Also built a portable gantry w/winch that comes in handy sometimes.
Long story - a well owner heard us talking about well fishing tools and early the next morning I caught him with his fishing rod and line down the well. Of course, the line got stuck and broke off down the well. The rest he cut off his rod and threw on the ground and walked away so we were left to clean it up. I could write a book about this one well's history of endless mismanagement.
SUBSCRIBED Invoice total is $2,165 plus tax. I'm tree service, not a state-licensed well tech, but it's $265 to put a man and a truck at the customer's curb and $350 to mobilize a piece of equipment to a customer site inside my service area, then add the hourly rate on top of that. $265 for showing up plus $700 for the excavator and crane, and figuring 6 man-hours @ $200/hr. (guessed at the man hours on-site) Also could have potentially tacked on a priority charge, but that's discretionary, depending on current workload and potential for solid repeat business. Either way, I would have listed that on the invoice and discounted it @ 100% if you chose not to bill for it; that way, the customer knows what you're doing for him. The tool you made is an owner's investment and not billed to the customer.
