When my neighbor built his house he had a local contractor install a concrete septic tank. The tank was delivered the day before by the contractor using his own trailer. Contractor showed up next am and started digging. My neighbor went to work, came home that night and the job was completed. Several years later, after a heavy spring rain he had a large sink hole in his yard and found a collapsed poly water tank. The kind used for above ground water storage. They went to court and the contractor admitted to doing this scam quite often. I heard this story after I purchased my acreage and my neighbor saw me digging in my front yard, looking for my tank. He said the same contractor had installed mine also. I found a 500 gallon rusty steel fuel tank set on end, that was ready to collapse
That is a small tank. What maybe 30G? The diaphragm ruptured? In the old days there were no diaphragms. You drained the tank to about 25%, put20-30 psi of air.
Put in "hold points/ witness points" into your subcontract/ service agreement. If you can't be there to witness the hold points, then do so with contractor provided photos. Payment not made for buried unverified work. PERIOD!
These type of scams happen in all types of jobs. I work for a mechanic shop that would use old parts and charge for a new one. Sometimes the boss would paint the used part to make it look new. Once I found out what he was doing I quit. In construction I've seen contractors buy more material than is needed and use the left over material for another job or for a project at home. So either they get free material for themselves or they double charge on the leftover material
@@curiousme113 I have a friend that I used to work with. He opened up a shop a few years back. He is always honest with the customers and gives reasonable prices. That is the only good shop I've ever seen
That pressure tank is going to go out again in the future. I like to bring them above ground and build a little house around them, insulate and heat tape everything. Or put a heat lamp in the winter. Therefore in the future when the tank goes out again, it’s much easier to replace
I had a water bladder and well box 10ft below grade, fully insulated plus heat tapes and 140w heat lamp. Our well was almost 1200ft deep cause we were on the highest ground of the lake. Original well was prolly 900ft but it ran dry around early 2000s when the lake went way down
@@Dirtmonkey No basement in either house? That would almost certainly alleviate the freeze concern if it's in a basement below frostline....a UPS backup for heat lamp would suffice for power outage if not. Just hate the idea of you having to dig again for the same thing.
@@logresmentotum7065 I would love to know what you mean by putting the tank below the Frostline in a basement. Wondering what the frost line has to do with the tank being in the basement
I’m a contractor for a totally different business but I always provide pictures of damaged areas and pictures after they are fixed. This protects me and gives the costumer proof the job was done correctly.
Thanks for sharing. The time I was scammed the dealership for my car, was having repetitive ignition problems, I recommend replacing the plug wires, they told me the plug wires were extremely expensive $80 each on a V6 and recommended replacing them one at a time. Due to bad wires I burned up two ignition modules and dumped enough raw gas into my exhaust to prematurely burn out the catalytic converter. Last time I had problem fixed they were adamant that I still didn’t need new plug wires and they were incredibly expensive. The parts guy was held over from the prior owner and was still honest, I quietly asked him how much a set of wires were, $120, why are the service guy’s saying $80 each. To which he replied, I can’t get individual wires so I have to break up a set and return the other 5 wires for a refund. We have to inflate the price to cover our losses on the other 5 wires. I quietly bought a set of wires from him walked out to my car ,and he put them on for me. Drove the car another 150k and never had any more ignition problems.
Picture are priceless years later when something simply wears out or fails from age. Great to refresh your memory of the job details. We even made sketches and hand drawings left with the farmers we worked with as a kid. Even 40 years later an old farmer told me how a sketch had saved him from trenching through a water line because he knew exactly where it was. Ironic, how much of my best work may never be seen by another person.
It's very telling when honest, competent contractors like you are the exception, while incompetent, scammers are the norm. I told one contractor, "Do you want me do the same quality of healthcare on your child as the quality of work you are doing to me?" His face got bright red, and ended-up correcting his substandard work. I never hired him again.
@@reubenberlin8610 They do by relocating every few years or they operate in a large metropolitan area where they can travel where their reputation isn't known.
Scamming is not the norm...sorry you had a bad experience.....but it's not normal....our best advertising campaign has always been our customers satisfaction...
@@stevenstorer2632 I've heard bad stories in every state I've lived in over the past several decades and everyone I've talked with agrees that, while it might not be over 50%, bad contractors, repair people, mechanics, etc. are close to 50%. I found it's best is to ask for recommendations from people you trust. It's like hiring off a resume versus hiring off a recommendation from someone you trust.
Great video. Thank you. A scam that I heard about many years ago (maybe 15), the owner had a lot that he wanted to build on. The lot was miles and miles from his house. So, he asked the contractor for daily pictures. Contractor agreed. Work started and at the end of each day, pictures showed some grading activity. Contractor asked for money for the next step. Money was sent. Pictures of foundation work were sent. This went on for weeks. Money sent (many thousands of dollars) and pictures sent. Having spent about $70,000, the owner decided to drive by the lot. Guess what, the lot was vacant. No signs of any activity. Turns out, the contractor was taking pictures of construction of a nearby lot. Of course, they never got their money back.
@@JimCruff lol if you ever pay someone thousands in cash you're a fool. If you don't have a license of a contractor you're a fool. It's so simple to pull a contractor license, vehicle license plate, insurance information... Company name and estimate. Where is the office located... Ect
THATS WHY ME AS A ROOFER TAKE STEP BY STEP PHOTOS OF THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKES 2 SECONDS GIVES HOME OWNERS COMFORT AND HELPS US WITH INSURANCE AND SHOWS YOUR WORK IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE
Great video and very good advice. Thanks for taking the time to create, edit and post it Stan. I work for a large aerospace defense contractor and submit bids and execute contracts for depot repair facilities. Like you, over the years I've learned transparency and customer education are the name of the game - good products and service sells itself.
In the '60s,I lived in a neighborhood that was built for Servicemen after WW2. Our Neighbor,an older Man told me that when our houses were built,he had seen the Workers on another house set the rebar,get the grade beams inspected,then move the steel to another homesite before pouring the concrete. He had bought his house on the G.I. bill and when his and ours were being built,he was onsite to make sure that the scam wasn't pulled. The two houses were the only ones on the street without cracked foundations,.
I always take pictures of repairs I do along the way through the job. Wether it's an audio install or repair or small engine or whatever it is. Like you said it gives piece of mine to everyone involved that they get what they asked for. It's also a great way to show off your quality of work 😉
Now that was one great video!! You cleaned up a lot of questions 🤔 about how far a person should go watching a contractor working. The good ones never mind if you don't sit right on them. Thanks 😊.
Use ground heat to keep your tank from freezing. Where I live frost line is 48 inches. So I constructed a vault made from cement blocks. The bottom was dirt undisturbed as possible. I made it 60 inches deep. I used 2 inch foam to insulate sides and two pieces to make a lid. The ground below the frost line stays at the average temp which is 55 degrees in my area. I also have live stock waterers that work the same way. Top is a standard well house with metal. If I need to work on it in two minutes I'm in and out.
We just had a new 6” well put in and one option was putting the pressure tank directly in the well casing, it’s a new design system. I got rid of our pump house design and chose to have the pressure tank put in the house above the water heater and manifold. No worries now but the tank in the casing was a option for sure. Not in the ground but in the actual casing below frost line.
This is good advice even for other industries. I used to take pictures of the warehouse every so often. So much moved around between cycling seasonal stock and repairs for damaged items it kept things honest. CYA for all the "Oh, you must be remembering it wrong." Both from customers trying to get a deal and (unfortunately) people we hired who proved to have no morals whatsoever. If I could have gotten the boss to spring for proper security cameras... but we just had the fake ones with the blinking red LED.
If this is your own property it’s nice when you do repairs like this to map them out with measurements i case future repairs are necessary. Map it out on a piece of pape and store it somewhere safe like where you keep the deed to your home. Did some work for a guy and he had a map from the original homeowner and it was INCREDIBLY helpful.
@@Dirtmonkey he had EVERYTHING mapped out. Sprinkler lines electrical, septic, drainage. And it really saved us so much hassle doing repairs and some concrete work on his property.
It is funny how I have learned to stop wanting to post questions and comments to your videos as I watch them, that if I just sit, enjoy my beverage, hush up and listen, you will cover what I was about the post or comment on. Example here was, " Why are you not compacting the dirt Stanley?".... then you told me like you could hear me, too funny. Enjoy all your videos and the music selections. Keep em coming
Buried pressure tank? Don't think I've ever heard of that. I always thought pressure tanks were close by were the well leads and pipe comes into the house, barn, shop or well pit/shack
Sure, people can complain about exact requirements (moving the spoil pile back a bit further, making the steps a little wider... etc...) but you do far more than I have seen on any trench collapse. Not common, but often fatal - and it doesn't take much dirt to kill. 25 years as a paramedic, retired from a municipal fire department. We would get a couple of trench 'rescues' a year. More like 'body recovery' but there were some saves. Yeah, good to see someone mention the importance!
As a auto mechanic I deal with this. I started giving back the customers old parts. People are very untrusting of contractors and mechanics. They think we are rip off artists.
@Cuntycunterson Guess your screen name suggests your personality.🤦♂️ The same could be said about shady contractors, pick up truck roofers, and fly by night car salesman. Don't try and narrow it down to mechanics being shitty people. I never upsale my customers. And I always allow them to use my discount for my little shop for their parts. I actually do my job to help people who may get ripped off somewhere else.🤨
My only problem in the electronics business was people who demanded old parts but some parts have core charges and must be returned and when i told them if they wanted the old part they would have to pay the core charge. They got mad...... even batteries at wm have core charges....
I’ve been a plumbing contractor most of my life in Nc and we don’t have to worry as badly as you guys about freezing (18” frost line). What do you think about installing a concrete tank placing it like a bunker with a large culvert to get down inside so you can place your pressure tank inside the concrete. Then you could just get a larger pressure tank for both houses. Be sure to make your opening to get down into the concrete box to be able to remove old tank and place new one. Just a idea
Where in NC are you looking for work? 😂😂Seems like in our coastal town they give “licenses” away to anybody who wants one. Should see what we have to fix here as a result of any number of scams. It’s why we charge what we do....it costs to do the job right
That hole would make OSHA go crazy. You needed a hole 2-3x bigger than that benched for egress. Also, your overburden should be further away from hole so it doesn’t add to a possible collapse of the hole.
Thank you yes that hole was driving me crazy also. The edge of the spoil pile shoul be at min two to three feet from the side of the hole. U could also see that his benches where covered in fall in from his spoil pile defeating the whole purpose. Also there was no ladder for entry/exit. As deep as he went that was a very very dangerous hole he dug. If i had dug a hole like that on any of my jobs i would of been kicked off site at worse or at best had a work stopage issued till the hole was fixed.
Use to work at a lumberyard and an older gentleman came in ranting and raving on why we won't deliver his garage package. We asked him for the receipts, which he had, but we use to hand write every receipt and put our name on it. He had 4 Xerox copies of the bom and total amount. The name was correct on who wrote up the sale, but the number on each ticket was the same. We crossed referenced that receipt and showed the gentleman that the person paid with a check, that bounced and only bought 10-2x4x8 spf studs. This winner forged the entire garage package. The emptiness that filled his face was heartbreaking, but there wasn't anything we could do. He got scammed for over $3500.00. He asked us, if we happen to see the guy again, to have him come build his garage and then left.
Just in case, they do rent signal generator, like the utilities use. Just clip it to a wire or metal pipe, acts like an antenna, may not work well that deep, but found wires 4+' down. Thanx for educating folks, the more they know, it levels the playing field for guys that do it right. Had an excavator around 30 years ago, that was supposed to take off some clay & truck clean fill back in (needed to make sure we had drainage & lifted the commercial garage so it could be seen better, from the main road...). Thought he could pull this, didn't realize I owned a transit & had set bench marks, & came by every evening, lol. & had taken pictures too... Still ended up being a fight, had to hire a second contractor to keep the job on schedule. Glad I made him sign a contract, but still cost money & time... Thanx Stan!
@@Dirtmonkey unfortunately, his son has kinda taken over, not sure how much work they still get, def have burned a lot of bridges, which in a small town doesn't leave ya with much. But, there are quite a few new excavators that do excellent work & have been thriving. His business property may have jumped in value, being a Walmart opened nearby, but that's about all he really has going... Lol. Thanx again for helping all those younger business owners find pitfalls & good practices, hard lessons tend to be costly now, better for them to be able to remain open!
Hey stan thanks for the update!!! If I don't make it to all your videos its because Ethan was born. Weight 8lbs 10oz and 21 inches long. Him and momma are doing great. He is 4 days old today! So sleep is far between so videos take a back burner lol. Have a blessed day!!!
Had a friend of the family (handyman) in need of work. Plumbing was his "expertise" so I had him install a new garbage disposal along w a new faucet for the kitchen sink. He did a very good job... At that same time our main sewer line was backing up so we had it scanned to see if tree roots had gotten in (happens a lot in our area). We were told (and saw the camera footage) the whole line to the house needed to be replaced cuz a huge section had collapsed from age. We had "our friend" take on that job- good $$$ for him we thot... Well we oversaw him renting a backhoe for all the digging- we saw the new piping- and saw him digging out the old line BUT we didn't watch him actually install the new line. He buried it all up while we were out and things seemed good! He was paid and within months the house started backing up again (luckily we have an overflow system so it stays outside). We had a sinking feeling and had it re-scanned. What he had done is slightly open back up the old line then tossed the new line into the hole just resting on top of old, where if we had looked from above probably wudnt have really seen that it wasn't actually connected, and then he buried it all... Of course after many attempts to contact- my wife and family calling- he had just vanished... We took it as a lesson learned and, for the most part, we know the $$$ went to care for him and his special needs daughter which he lived alone with... We believe he moved outta state to colorado. Can't recall his last name but his first was Adam and his company name was "Go with the Flow plumbing" - I guess he ripped a few people off before leaving- this was many years ago (close to 20)
I've never seen a pressure tank full on buried before. Out here in NV, we have them under the surface level, but in a cinderblock room of some kind and there is a simple light bulb that is on during the winter to keep it warm. That way you have ready access to it if need it.
Pressure tanks are so the pump motor doesn’t have to turn on for a second or two every time you turn on the faucets. Doesn’t hurt the motor to turn on and run for a while but turning on and off really fast isn’t good for them.
As a water well contractor I see this all the time. I job I bid on yesterday the homeowners were scared of not having enough water I explained I will build them a system that they agreed on, they asked what's down payment I said when it's done I accept payment under 10k I'll finance with a contract no down payment required.
Personally I like when the customer is looking over my shoulder asking questions. It gives me somebody to talk to and I answer questions and show what I'm doing so they feel comfortable
Def, I started mowing the lawn of my (and just for fun charging for dimes) neighbors a good old man "hey kid, I need someone to take care of my ranch, go to summer and if you dont like it you can come back" 3 year later I'm selling cattle and starting my own beef food company.
I usually give two prices one higher price for watching me and one price for letting me work without having to narrate everything. I only make money doing an honest job at a fair price so if I give a regular bid and then have to stop every few minutes to explain what the professional is doing I’m letting the customer rip me off by getting free info. They paid for the job not for the lesson.
We cut our chains about 3 ft long attach it to a binder and make 2or3 and you don't have to handle all that chain plus frees up room in tool box or trailor tounge box anyways you know what I'm saying it's handy you should consider it
I've noticed if you have the homeowner watching and asking questions I've gotten more leads and closer to the new community and meeting new people and companies. Better relationships = better price range for materials
A better option would have been to install a whitewater pressure system. The steel pressure tank is built around the pitiless adapter. Also don’t let them talk you into a constant pressure system that uses a variable frequency drive as they cost around 5 to 6 grand. Just put in a pump rated for the depth of the well and set it for 30-50 pressure.
Install a VFD..variable frequency drive...no pressure tank.....I do underground works and irrigation....almost a safe excavation ..spill pile to close to the hole...should be 2-3 back from excavations...we had a spill pile come down on a guy...only 2 ft fell...took his knee out...was down and out for almost a year.
VFD are overpriced and don't work as well as a Cycle Stop Valve. You still need a small tank with VFD. When you have small demand the VFD does not pump enough flow to float the impellers and they wear out sooner.
@@Darenator1 cycle-stop valves also dead-head the pump with small demand.. and difficult to set up properly. I'd rather pull a broken pump out of a well without a melted off poly line.
Dude spot on Dirt Monkey! I was a builder and landscaper in Montana and saw those scams all the time! I now live just south of you and see it here with many of the new housing developments. Greedy dudes trying to take advantage of innocent folks it sucks! Keep it up amigo!
Can't believe you wouldn't know what a pressure tank was for. Also can't believe that some one who does excavation for a living doesn't know how to locate his own private utilities.
You're telling me. The mechanic I used for my truck told me the coils were fine, so he went after a fuel pump/pressure issue in the tank/sending unit to diagnose my misfire, then just threw his hands up and gave up when he couldn't figure it out. I changed the coils this past weekend and it has never run better. Misfire completely gone, I am upset lol. Spent like 2 grand on the fuel system that didn't need to be spent
@@az678910 I took my 05 Neon to the Dodge dealership for some ignition issues. $600 later and I researched mileage and found I was around 30,000 past due for a timing belt replacement. Granted, I had recently inherited the car from my dad. Took it to a recommended mech. and had that replaced. Good thing too, because the water pump was just starting to leak, they showed me the evidence. Lesson relearned, never, and I mean NEVER, take your car to the dealership for repairs. My friends mini van went in for a break job. They did the front all right. But, just for sh¡ts and giggles, I had him let me pull the rears. Those rear wheels were never even checked and the pads were so close to eating up the drums it was scary. Needless to say, both of us got shystered.
@@az678910 $21k ?!?!?! 😱 That's no longer a truck. That's a "White Elephant". And when the feed bills outweigh the performance, it's time to ship that critter to the glue factory. Luck to ya in the search for a new rig.
Couple things about photos. 1. Date and Time stamp. . . 2. Eliminates the question of where is it. 3. I use a tape measure to give a better idea as to how deep one needs to go. I save all photos for the customer as well because they will get several new phones before they need my help again. Underground wiring, especially constant hot wires should always be photographed. Otherwise the job is slowed down by 90%. Kid gloves when going into the unknown. Along the same line of thought. ALL correspondence should be by either email or text. Protects everybody.
Why can you not have a tank in each house and have a under ground shut off that drains back when closed to them both and just drain them when not in use?
Interesting to know about the pressure tanks in the house needing to be heated. That explains why in Alaska ours would always break in the winter when we left to go on vacation, even for just 2 weeks. Nobody ever explained that to us before. That was 30 years ago and now I know.
I had my roof replaced, and as part of the quoting process, I had them include 6 nails per shingle instead of 4, ice & water barrier on every edge and around all penetrations, plus 4 sheets of decking that 'felt bad' on inspection. All of the proper materials showed up at my house, but they ended up not using ANY ice & water barrier, and they only did 4 nails per shingle instead of 6. I only found out because there was a ripple they had to come back and fix, and I happened to be outside when they lifted up some shingles on the edge. No barrier. Called the salesman, was supposed to be either refunding me for the rolls of ice & water and the upcharge for 6 nails per shingle, or getting the crew back out there to fix it. Set a date two weeks out, where they no-showed, and nobody was answering the phones any more. Turns out they had actually went out of business at or around the day my roof was done, and I just got screwed out of $1000 basically. (I was very lucky to get the ripple taken care of.) I hate thieves.
I'm a automotive repairman and do all I can to provide honest straight forward repairs to my customers but there are times when its the customers who are the scammers. I've had customers try and blame my shop for scratches or dents to there vehicles that were clearly there before they entered our place for work. So now it's my practice to over look vehicles and take pictures of noticeable damage before work ever begins. Lots of auto shops get bad reputations for shady work but there are just as many shady customers out there as well. We all need to cover ourselves however we can today. Even good quality businesses can be taken down by a single bad incident when left unprotected from a bad customer. Have your proper insurances too! Your a good one Dirt Monkey 😎👍
Where I live in Maryland we use pump houses. It holds the pressure tank above ground but yes you will have to keep it heated from freezing. From there you feed mobile houses from one Central Point and now I have to worry about digging up the tank below ground when it goes bad. And it will go bad.
In Florida, I have many homeowners out of state for many years, never met or seen them, talking on the phone and email only, but when they call me to do a job I take before and after pictures, so they can see I did the work, and it meets their satisfaction
Great information and tips!! I am learning quite a bit about your line of work and really enjoying it!! Keep up the great work and content!! Thanks again for sharing!! 🙂
The digging is very easy for sure. and you are correct- I pulled the original video to protect a local small company that was being mistaken for the person I was talking about in the video.
This type of scam is why I am one of those annoying people who wants to come in a lot and watch, or ask questions as long as I'm not slowing people down. I like to know what was done because I saw it. And, I'm curious. But I usually make sure I put a bunch of bottles of water in the fridge to offer to the people doing work for me, too.
I am by far not a well expert, but don't think I've ever seen a completely buried pressure tank. I would think that would be completely against code due to its inaccessibility and inability to be reasonably serviced. Around here they use a large six foot diameter piece of corrugated pipe about 10 ft long placed on end in a gravelhbottomed excavated hole around the wellhead. Then another foot or so of gravel is placed inside it and the whole thing is then backfilled. A custom steel top covers the exposed end of the corrugated pipe with a 3x3 ft removable access on the top of it. All the necessary electrical, plumbing, and the pressure tank is now easily accessible AND free from freezing. The nice thing about this set up is that this below grade pump room of sorts can also be a great place for irrigation controls, or a junction point for electrical or what not for future projects.
Randall I was watching this and just thinking WOW that is terrible that the pressure tank is buried in the dirt. I live in Georgia and here we stick our pressure tanks right up on the ground. Some people put them on blocks and we recently did a small enclosed shed on a concrete slab. I was guessing the pressure tank in the video is buried due to being up north? Keeping it from freezing and bursting? I am no well expert either.
It's a good thing you were out in the country because our OSHA inspector would have a field day with that shoring, keep your piles at least 2 feet from the top lip of the trench, bench no more than 18 inches at a time.
Man I'm glad I live in the south, the top of my tank is just 18" down and most sit aboveground with minimal insulation and a 100w lightbulb never have freezing issues!! Our footers are only dug to 24" (18" below the 6" frost line)!!
I understand the one tank 2 home scenario. What I don't understand is why bury it? We put in 2 trailers on a property and did a similar thing but we built block walls and capped the whole thing with shut off valves for each structure so in the future when a tank would go bad we just had to remove the lid and there was everything already open ready to go.
Here on the farm we have a well and a well pit... bout every spring or summer I crawl in and add 15 to 20 psi to the system and check over the system too
The person I learned how to build fences and decks from would say, "dig with tweezers" if there were possibly underground utilities that weren't marked. Now after having my own fence and deck company for over 20 years, I find myself telling my crews..... BRING YOUR TWEEZERS!! if there's a risk of hitting something. That means no augers, no jackhammer, no breaker bars, and to go slowly with a set of clams ONLY.
I'm a retired plumber and I don't understand what is the difference between installing a bigger tank in the house and one at the well, they are on the same line. Pressure don't distinguish between where on the pipe that the pressure is applied. I have never seen or heard of putting a tank in the ground like that. That's just not good.
I have know idea personally if a job is done right or wrong but always get on friendly terms with the workers and I have never had any issues I think like you say mutual respect amongst people goes a long way when it comes to work and workers
Not sure how they do it in Minnesota but we certainly don’t bury pressure tanks in Pennsylvania. They go in the basement. If there’s 2 structures then they would run pipe from 1 building to the other or (not ideally, put the tank in a pit) BTW, I’m a licensed master plumber and have been doing this work for 36 years.
It's always a good idea to ask for the warranty papers as well as installation/service manuals that come with new parts, most have serial numbers that match what are on the part. A lot of parts have manufacturing codes that can easily be googled as well as the date a part was manufactured. Stan is 100% right ask for pictures of parts new and after installed.
Instead of a buried pressure tank, do a small pressure tank with a stop cycle valve in each building. Better for the pump, more consistent pressure and the small tanks can be emptied easily in the winter. I put a scv in my house with a 5 gallon tank. I'd never go back to a standard tank.
Who puts the pressure tank underground? Every pressure tank I have seen was in a well house or in the basement/crawlspace. If you need to leave for the winter and don't want to risk it freezing you kill power to the pump and open the drain valve at the lower point inside the house.
I just had my 5 year old well pump diagnosed bad and replaced. They also replaced the 240 ft if wire and Controller. All 5 years old. Afterwards I requested my "old" pump & parts back and tested it myself per manufacturer recommended specs. Everything tests good. Bench test under pressure also good. Next step is to meet with company owner so he can test it. He says he stands behind his guy who "diagnosed" it bad...Looks like it was likely a bad connection at well head. Controller, wire, and lower splice connectors all test good. They made sure to remove & throw away butt connectors at the head. 🤔 Such a headache
I must say my advice on this is a dollar short and a day late. I am a water well contractor in Colorado. I would have put a constant pressure drive in at your well head and installed the tank in the well. That way all you have to do is pull it up to maintain or replace the tank. No more digging.
Never seen it done like that. Precharge tanks are usually installed inside the building with a T-bar directly attached. On the t is a pressure switch and gauge. Only thing in the well is the pump, it's the same when installing a jet pump. Most precharge tanks come with a mount for the jet pump on top. I'm in northern NY so the frost goes deep and it's mainly exposed bedrock.
@@houseburner1188this works great it is a 3 1/2 inch dia tank the goes in under the pitiless a ways then you run a 1/4 tube off a tee so you can pull up the pressure transducer and han it off a small rope. Flexcon makes the tank. Check it out
I live in the Cascade Mountains in Washington. Here many of the wells are variable speed and use a small (maybe 3 to 5 gal. ) bladder tank. It's mounted about 4 feet below grade but inside about a 3 foot culvert stood up vertically... kinda like a jumbo irrigation valve box.
I should mention other install a concrete vault similar to a small septic tank and then if it's 2 feet underground they may have a culvert on top to grade level for an entry.
Some states require that the old parts be shown an d owner has option to keep or let you/mechanic dispose of provided that old parts not need for core charge
I would put it in a well house. Insulated for easy replacement. If your worried about power failure put in a battery backup and a power failure alarm. That way you know you need to keep an eye on it. There are other backup options. I have blown too many tanks now to think about buying one. Interesting though. Lucky it happened during summer.
That's proper. I dug for a footing once and was told where the water line was. No spotters. (Big mistake) Ended up finding the old water line but had no idea where the new one was. Short story....had to have the city come turn off the fountain
If you take the cap off you can measure down to where that electric pipe enters the larger casing, at my home it's down about 9' deep because we have a frost line of 4'. I've never seen a pressure tank buried in the ground near the casing. They don't fail that often, but I'd rather keep it in the house's crawl space, partial basement etc than in the ground. Just think what that would cost a guy without equipment...
I worked for a mechanic that did that. He would say he done work that he didn’t do. I would inform the customer when I knew it. He would also use used parts. One customer he said he put in a motor when all we did was helicoil a rocker stud. He is out of business now. I also quit working for him. I couldn’t with a clear conscience. By the way the motor guy I informed him also.
Seems like you could just use one pressure tank in the cabin that is always heated. It's only a reservoir to keep the pump from constantly starting and stopping with low flow.
if you want a manual backup pump WITHOUT breaking the bank with a Bison, go with an IDAHO HAND PUMP. Low tech, very easy to install and CUSTOMER SERVICE was the best. Told them I wanted to have my pickup deep in the well in case my water table dropped, how deep my well was, and she did the rest. It showed up well packaged and easy to install. MOST other hand pump were showing 150' deep max. She told me they have 300' installations there in Idaho and even knew how much extra force it would take to pull water up from my 226' installation. It was not deal breaker for me. AND I have around $4,400 in my pocket not buying a Bison or any other brand that popped up when I was researching my needs. Strange thing, IDAHO HAND PUMP DID NOT POP UP ON ANY OF MY SEARCHES. I found them while reading some comments on a homesteaders blog!
Its like contractors at place I work. First ones, were supposed to deliver and install a tall box which had incorporated gloves dispencer, paper towels and garbage shute with bin inside. They delivered it and ducked off noting it was both delivered and installed. Second one was to fix a flushing/refill system for the toilet for clients, they bought like 10 bucks piece, supposedly installed it along with fixing the system. Bill was 68 bucks for work alone, which it still did not work.
Did I miss the explaination of why there was/is a pressure tank buried so deep? Why not leave it at ground level? I had a pipe down to 140 ft and never had any problems with my pressure tank beside the 1 1/2 hp pump, injection footvalve.
