How Deep Is A Pivot Irrigation Well? 

I am a retired microwave technician from AT&T and have gone through pole, ladder and tower climbing classes. Just a hint and you might want to try this when you climb a ladder. When climbing a ladder, for safety reasons, you should always maintain three points on the ladder. When climbing hand over hand, a lot of people will wind up having only one hand and one foot contacting the ladder at a time. If you only have two points on the ladder at a time, if your foot slips you will most likely fall, because your one hand will not be able to hold your weight. We are taught to have our hands on the outside of the vertical rails, with our grip holding onto the backside of the rails. This way we slide our hands up the rails, always maintaining contact with the ladder with both our hands. As we come to where the rails are attached to the tower or in your case the silo, we maintain our feet on the rungs they are on, as we move each hand around the attachment. Personally after finishing climbing school, I found I could climb the ladders much faster, by using the hand sliding on the back of the rail than using the hand over hand on the rungs as I use to.

When we have our pivot wells drilled here in South Georgia, we always find seashells and fossils that are blown out when they reach the desired depth and force air into it to clear the line. Crazy part is the nearest ocean to our farm is at least 150 miles away.

All I can say is WOW. I could never climb up there to check the corn. You 2 blew me away. Great video.

1st time I ever saw top of a grain silo let alone it being full. Totally different perspective - that's an amazing amount of corn.

Hey Laura, love the content as always. Fun fact, I probably built that pump for you! I work at FLOWSERVE/Western land roller here in Hastings and that’s what I build!

When I built my house in Michigan in 1991, we didn't have city water, so we had to drill a well. We went 96 feet deep. Around 2000, they brought city water out, so I tapped into that. With the well, I put on an irrigation system to water about 1 acre around the house. As time went on, the water system was expanded to most of the township, and there weren't a lot of wells remaining. So, farmers were allowed to start drilling to irrigate their fields. They drilled far deeper than my well, so, if we get into drought conditions, after a while, the water table is lower than my well, so my sprinklers don't work!!! Could spend the money to go deeper, but not really worth it.

What a cool process thanks for talking us through the process

My well was done in the 78 and the pump has been replaced twice last time in 2000, great video keep up the good work God bless from GA and stay safe

I knew the pivot well goes down a long way, it is good that you don't have to replace it all that often. Good to see you keeping grain back for when the price is right. Love to you both from Mike. ❤

What an absolutely stunning landscape you are surrounded by right now.

Laura and Grant please please please always take your time on that bin ladder. Always make sure when going up or down that first step on to the ladder is slow and steady.....sure footed!!!!!

Geez Laura! You just scooted up and down that very high ladder like it’s no big deal! I was afraid just imagining how high it was! Thanks for the education on replacing the pipe workings on that pivot well. Very cool!

Just FYI- In any type of well, the "Casing" is the outermost pipe inside of the well bore and can even be cemented into place (which probably is a procedure mostly relegated to the oilfield) . The "TUBING" is the pipe attached to the pump housing through which water/oil is lifted to the surface. Tubing is easily replaced. Casing can be replaced but is difficult, and, if your water well has PVC casing, It should never even need be replaced. Unlike the tubing, the casing is never under pressure. It is only there to prevent the well bore from caving in. That said- I don't think that they replaced any casing. Only the pump and the tubing. I wish that we were replacing our turbine pumps like this. We have 2 great wells, but dad prefers submersibles. They probably make like amounts of water as your turbine pump, but we are reliant on electricity. With drought conditions so bad this year, some of our cows ate the electric power supply wire going to the submersible :'D COPPER AND ALL! My girls wouldn't do that. I think dad is raising Giant goats.

Another trick in the box of Laura knowledge with pivot well replacement. So next will be pivot installation, looking forward to that video 👍👍👍

Very interesting video. Always hold onto ladder rungs and aim for three points of contact when using a ladder. Ideally ladders should have landings to break really high climbs together with appropriate safety cages. Remember most people only fall once from a ladder and the result is either serious injury or something worse. Love your videos and want to see more of you and Grant. Take care. ❤❤

Very interesting video on how a well is drilled for your irrigation pivots. Hard work is why that corn silo is filled to the brim. Americas backbone is the way it is because of hardworking farmers like Laura and Grant and your families. The snow on the ground looks great. Stay warm and best wishes. 👍😊

Wow. love all the stripped clouds in the sky, wonder what that means..

You two are so funny and Goofy in your own way that's pretty cool a silo full of corn never seen that either in my lifetime we love you guys thank you for also continuing to put your lives out here on RU-vid we love you so much blessings from Martinsville Indiana

I stayed at a residence in high elevations east of Phoenix. They get well water and told me they had to drill very deeply because of the high elevation, to get to the water. They also have generators for the well that they enable when water is needed, which isn't always. Further, they have solar power. Very nice fairly self sufficient residence in an area with usually low rainfall.

Our Laura, looking and sounding cute opening the lid to the grain bin with her angels singing voice! So adorable!!! :-)

Interesting, I don't know what the cost for digging a well in Nebraska is but here in Alabama it is not cheap. And I once worked for a popcorn company & Occasionally I had to climb the grain bin ladders to change the belts on the augur motors , and I am not cut out for high places. I remember the first time I climbed the tallest one we had, about halfway up I made the mistake of looking down. I swear I felt my strength leaving my body. And we didn't have the guards around the ladders, but I closed my eyes and bear hugged the ladder until I got myself composed ,sorta but I kept my eyes closed tightly and slowly started back downward until I felt the ground. And said Thank you lord. Love you guys

Thanks Laura & Grant , our well was 1500 ft growing up on our ranch in South Dakota ,Black Hills . My Dads best friend from North Platte we would visit

Great video Grant and Laura enjoyed seeing you climb up and down the ladder and making sure the lid was locked ❤

I like the shot of the both of you looking into the bin!

Laura, I watched your video again where you were talking about how you spent $1 million on your operation. You said some really wonderful things by the way I live in southeastern Minnesota. FYI and I want you to know how proud I am of you we do not know each other, but I do watch your videos you are loved and cherished by your viewers.

Thanks, a very interesting story!! You 2 are a great team for many of " Life's Olympics "...challenges!! Good to see a reserve,in your back pocket!! (Corn in the bin)... all in all a good time on our visit!! Many thanks!! 👍🐺🧙‍♂️🦊👍

Thanks for sharing Laura!!! I learned how a pivot works watching your video

So timely. I had to replace the submersible pump in the well my house runs on last week but the casing was fine. It's a 6" casing 400 feet deep. We borescoped the well while we had the pump out and the water table is at 300' with the pump submerged at 360". It's only a 1.5 HP pump and it just cools and lubes itself with water. I didn't think about the fact that a big pivot pump might need an oil line so, once again, I learned something at Laura Farms!

I used to take care of our depressurization wells in the mine I worked at. They ran from 200' - 320' deep. We used 20' lengths of 4" threaded stainless steel riser pipes with a threaded coupler on the top of each joint. There was no smaller pipe on the inside like yours as our pumps were self contained with only an electrical cable running down to it on the outside of the riser pipes. We used stainless due to corrosion from H2S in the water. The pumps were Grundfos 50-75 HP submersible pumps. They ran 24 hours a day, 365 days a year until the pump wore out or the area it was installed was mined out.

Hi Laura and Grant, it doesn't matter how old we are we never quit learning, love all your programs

Good luck with your new pivot Laura and Grant and we love you guys God bless TerryD.

Back in the late 70s I worked for a company that is what we did is pulled well pumps and changed them or repaired... a few where pivots

freaking me out watching you up so high!!!

Each stage of the pump has an impeller. First stage sets the rate in gallons or barrels per minute and produces X amount of pressure. Subsequent stages boost the pressure. The depth of the well determines the number of stages required to lift the water to the surface and have a given pressure to operate the system. Impeller diamater, RPM and HP also come into play. It is graphed on a curve in feet of head pressure.

Great explanation of water source. Thank you.

Thanks for a pivotal video.

We put in a well in '90. 285 ft. deep with the pump at 190 ft. Had to pull it 3 yrs ago for a burned out pump. The only corrosion wad at the rise and fall of the water table. 30 ft. The rest of the pipe was pristine galvanized. I don't understand why it doesn't clog the pump with sand over that time. But I'm glad it didn't.

Laura, I'm with you give me summer all day and everyday.

thats really cooll thanks for sharing the well pump that you showed with the impeler is the same type pump blades used in fire engine , fire tankers or tendors. Have a great week keep warm see you in the next vido

Great video Laura and Grant

When we did the well test, when we were purchasing, the pump was not pumping enough, the owner pulled it and the well lining collapsed. So the owner was not stuck with property with no water. So they had to drill the well out. It was 875' deep. Our neighbor had a well was about 500 feet away and it was only 150' deep. The geology in our area is really messy being young and highly volcanic. Some wells are shallow, some are deeper than deep.

Good to know winter is your preparation time for the next season

It was a fun experience and a cool day 😎

Fascinating

You are fearless climbing up to the top of that silo!

Awesome video Laura Farms and have a good day Laura.

Hey, I've been enjoying watching you vlog. When you were climbing the ladder on the grain bin, I was thinking of something simple to keep you safer while climbing. If you put traction tape, lime is on the surface of skateboards, it will lessen the risk if slips.

I noticed that the sky about that field looks like an aircraft highway with all of the contrails.

I'm a city boy living in the big city. Your videos never fail to cheer me up!

Great video, Laura Farms! Question from a novice: IF you had found the corn in the bin was rotten, what would be the next steps??

Great video!

Thanks for the informative video

I love that smile😍😃

Too much cold, looking beautiful everything's in white snow.

Cute little pulling unit, missing working on a rig.

good work friends, the scenery is also very beautiful, thank you for sharing a good video, best wishes always

Love ❤️ your show!

Love watching you guys! Please be careful and keep up the good work and the great videos ! Oh and hey from Alabama !

Thanks!

thank you

Take care and good luck with your harvest God bless TerryD.

Great video.

I already learned a lot from you I really think your videos are very educational and I hope you’ll hit 1m subs very fast

Very cool information that’s for that

Bonjour Laura et Grant super video bon week ened bon courage pour la suite

I think you should put a slide on the side of your bins and you could slide down super fast. I think that would be fun !! Might not be practical , but fun none the less.

You are doing great kid !! 🙂

Wow!😱Looks very cool

Love the music during the 'speedy' parts of the vid!

Hi It’s Tim Rhoads from East Petersburg, Penna. Just wanted to say I love your videos. Wish I was close enough to spend a day with you guys. Love it 😊👍🏻♥️

I could almost smell that corn myself from my days on my grandparents farm in Iowa

Pulling a well in winter, fun work

Hey Laura I love watching you from Bryer

great video

Awesome Laura/grant 👌

Great teaching and learning moment. Thank you & Grant. Do you still have your sticker table?

Thanks! Laura, you are just so darn cute!!! You make my day!!! Big fan!!!

There are a lot of jets flying right over your head. Must be a hub city somewhere up there.

Look at that sky. Lots of aircraft overhead!

I pull water wells for a living here in Tx respect the hard work 💯

In Nebraska sometimes not very. It can be scary when the ground erupts water.

Great work 👍

10k views in one hour! Keep up your support, wwe are all enjoying their work!

I worked for a grain elevator In Illinois and we actually had a 1person elevator that went to the top of the bins.

Nice to have that shallow a well, your pumping costs are much less $$$$ wise and power wise to irrigate. Our well is 560 feet, static water level is 230 feet and the 150 hp electric motor “loves” electricity.

More mice when it's empty and you have clean it =), thanks you 2 for your informative videos reminds me of when I was younger and hung out on a Farm.

Real winter start now!

Nice video. I was wondering how much water does your well produce per minute and how many gallons does it take when using your pivot. Thanks

3:44 The Doozers are gonna be furious!!! IYKYK 😉

I recently watched an episode of Dirty Jobs, and he visited and worked at a company here in Colorado (where I live) called Biochar Now. I thought you guys would be interested in it. Looks like a really good idea for fertilizer.

There goes a couple bushels of corn out of that bin to pay for pivot work. lol Grant, your wife said it's winter time so it might be time for a winter cap. ha ha

You got snow there! LOL!!!!!

Magnifique vidéo et le puis et le cilo à mais

Wintertime in Nebraska ... It looks real freezing cold ! 🥶

With all that snow, how's your cross-country skiing going? We had 2 weeks of a bit of snow (5cms) and freezing temperatures (-10C) here in the SE of England before Christmas. We may get some more around Easter time if we are lucky.

Very interesting.

3:45, Ah, the simple pleasurers!

You really should pull a couple semi loads out and dump them back in just to rotate the bins. I've had them heat in January and February a few days after I checked and I noticed the snow melting off the roof. It's work but we'll worth it

Farming lessons with Laura :)

Those line shaft Wells can also be water cooled without the oil tube a lot of city Wells are oil cooled line shaft wells