How to get the pump out of the well

Emergency

A pumping device stuck in a well is, to put it mildly, not a pleasant situation. It usually occurs when trying to lift the device to the surface for routine maintenance or repair. As a result, a stalemate arises: the pumping equipment does not work and it cannot be repaired either, because there is no access to it.

In some cases, you can independently get pumping equipment out of the well without damaging it, but sometimes you have to say goodbye to the pump. In the most emergency situation, the water well is completely disabled.

A stuck pump in a well is an emergency.

How to prevent a pump lifting problem

Pulling a deep well pump out of the well with your own hands, if it has come off, is not difficult at all if you follow all the recommendations of specialists.

The catchphrase says: "Forewarned is forearmed." To prevent the occurrence of unpleasant situations, you need to follow a number of simple rules that can save equipment, time and money.

1. Work only with strong cables. You can't skimp on this item. Choose quality products and fasteners.
2. The hose must be intact. Get it of sufficient length, even if the one that comes with the kit does not meet the required indicators. So you make the risk of breakage much less.
3. Choose the right size. The unit should be one third of the pipe diameter. Otherwise, congestion during lifting cannot be avoided.
4. Install headband. This will ensure the “protection” of the well from unwanted “guests”: garbage, bottles, stones, boxes.

Causes of the problem and solutions

There is one common reason why the pump becomes difficult or even impossible to get out of the well. This is a failure to comply with the technological requirements for the construction of the well itself and the attachment of equipment in it, as well as improper operation of the water source. If the instructions were strictly observed during these works, the dismantling of the device will be easy and simple.

What leads to such consequences?

Sand well silting

But it is even more important to equip it correctly, starting with the manufacture of the casing, which should be perfectly straight, with smooth inner walls.

• Install a nozzle in the well of such a diameter that the gap between its body and the walls of the pipe is sufficient. It will cost more than larger analogues, but its price cannot be compared with the cost of equipping a new well.
• For installation of submersible equipment, use only a strong, high-quality stainless steel cable, securely attaching it to the device.
• Neither the suspension nor the pressure hose must be spliced ​​from separate sections. They can disperse when lifting the pump, the pieces will fall down and jam it, preventing free movement.
• To prevent the electrical cable from sagging, attach it with clamps to the hose before you start lowering the device into the well.

What to do if the pump is stuck in the well

A stuck pump while lifting, as already mentioned, is not such a critical situation, and if non-professional well service specialists are involved in lifting, then the first thing to do is be patient and pull yourself together, panic in this situation can only exacerbate the problem.

A simple analysis of the situation will help you quickly determine the causes of an equipment failure and choose the best way to solve the problem. For this you need:

• find out the total installation depth of the pump;
• approximately determine the depth of jamming;
• analyze how tight the cable is, determine whether the pipeline and pump have been disconnected and the integrity of the power cable.

• inspect the head of the casing pipe;
• prepare the necessary tools for work;
• clear the site of foreign objects.

Such an algorithm of work makes it possible to significantly reduce the time to prepare for the lifting of equipment and prevent larger errors in the future.

How to get the pump out of the well with a working cable

This situation can only occur in shallow wells "on sand". If the inside is overgrown with silt, which, when dried, turned into a solid substance, then it must first be soaked. To do this, water is poured into the pipe in small portions (1-2 buckets) through the head, and the pump is swayed to the sides with a cable. After a while, the softened sludge will drain from the side walls of the device to the bottom and the device can be pulled out. It can take from several hours to a day to soak the silt, depending on the degree of overgrowth of the well.

Overgrown with limestone

This situation occurs in limestone wells, which are very deep in themselves, plus limestone dissolves much worse than silt. You can get the pump out of the well yourself by acting on deposits with special household products to remove scale from kettles, dishwashers or washing machines. Dry powder must be dissolved in the amount of hot water indicated on the package and pour the solution into the head of the well. Simultaneously with pouring the solution, turn on the pump so that the water around it begins to boil. If you pour a lot of solution, and this will require 10-20 packs of descaler, then the limestone will begin to dissolve, and the device can be pulled to the surface without any problems. If the experiment is not successful the first time, it should be repeated several times every 5-6 hours.

Descaler

In case of foreign objects

How to get the pump out of the well in this case? Only by swinging the pump in the hope that a stone or other obstacle will slide down and stop preventing the pump from being pulled out. You can try to lower a separate long rigid cable into the well with a metal rod attached to the end. With this rod, you need to try to push the barrier down. To avoid foreign objects getting into the mouth of the well, it must be securely closed.

When the electrical cable sags

When the cable sags, it is necessary to act according to the following algorithm:

1. With the help of a safety cable, lower the device to the very bottom and very carefully try to align the loop. To do this, the cable must be swung in different directions, while pulling it up.
2. Align the tension of the cable, cable and water hose. It is better to do this with an assistant who will pull all three elements away from the mouth.
3. In the place farthest from the neck, fix three long components together. Fixation should also be made in other places of their parallel arrangement. Fasten the cable, cable and hose with clamps every 1-1.5 m.
4. Pull out the pump and connect together those parts of the cable, cable and hose that were in the depth.

Pulling the pump out of the depth and equalizing the tension of the cable, cable and hose using clamps

How to get a broken pump out of a well

A cable break is the most difficult case. If in the situations described above the device is pulled out precisely with the help of a cable, then if it breaks, you will have to pull on the water supply hose or on the electric cable. They are also attached to the instrument, but are not intended to be subjected to significant physical force. You can use this method if the pump in the well "walks" freely and has a small weight.If it is heavy, then it is better not to risk it, lower a strong rope with a metal hook tied to it into the pipe. With this hook it is necessary to hook the pump and pull it up. In this case, the hose and cable can be used as a safety net if the hook comes loose.

You can get a borehole pump yourself if you know exactly the cause of the jamming. Since the device is located at a depth, it is almost impossible to diagnose it yourself. Incorrect actions when lifting the device are also fraught with serious consequences. To prevent this from happening, you should turn to professionals - they have special video equipment for diagnostics. Having determined the cause of the pump stuck, specialists will remove it from the depths using professional tools.

The normal functioning of an individual water supply system of a private house with a borehole pump depends on many factors, including how correctly and timely the equipment is serviced. External inspection of pipelines and joints, control of pressure and accounting for the volume of pumped liquid, changing filters - all this significantly extends the life of the equipment, but among all these operations, the maintenance of the deep pump remains the most laborious, during which non-standard situations are also possible, for example, when the pump can just get stuck in the well.

What to do if the pump cannot be removed

If the electric pump after carrying out all the operations cannot be removed to the surface (it has come off the pressure pipeline, hose with a cable), proceed in the following ways:

Continue to use the well source. The housings of most centrifugal electric pumps are made of stainless steel, and the internal parts are made of polymers or corrosion-resistant metals. The materials are designed for the supply of drinking water, so the presence of fallen electric pumps at the bottom of the well for many years is unlikely to affect its quality.

The greatest danger to humans is oil, which is present in the mechanism of almost all pumping units; over time, it can leak out through a damaged housing. Also, stainless steel in budget models, usually of low quality, can become rusty over time, affecting the quality of drinking water.

The body of the vibrating pump is made of aluminum, which is not susceptible to corrosion, the internal parts are made of rubber and steel, and the mounting bolts are also steel - they are susceptible to corrosion over time.

The well is mothballed and a new one is being drilled. If the owner takes care of his health, the service life of the old borehole source is coming to an end, it is possible to drill a new well relatively inexpensively - in these cases, the old one is mothballed or liquidated.

Breaking the electric pump with a drill. The operation is permissible with a stuck pump in deep artesian wells with internal steel casing with a torn pressure pipe, if the unit interferes with filling the source with water. Pushing the electric pump deeper will not work - a standard artesian has a tapering channel at the bottom.

After the destruction of the electric pump with a drill, its small parts fall into the artesian water basin through the filter pipe, which does not have a lower cap. Over time, the oil will wash out, and small parts will sink to the lime bottom.

Rice. 14 Example of pump removal with casing

The most common causes of stuck pumps in wells

Based on the experience of the repair and restoration work carried out, the most common causes of pumping equipment stuck in wells can be identified.

The cable that powers the pump can have a different degree of tension with a cable that fixes the device in the pipe. Cable slack can create a loop that gets caught between the pump and the cable wall and jams it.

Secondly, the unsatisfactory condition of the internal volume of the well may be the reason.

During operation, a layer of silt or lime deposits may form in it, which, like a cork in a bottle, clog the pumping equipment in the mine.

Thirdly, this is the entry of foreign objects into the well shaft.

With insufficient protection of the wellhead, stones or branches can fall into it, which will not only jam the pump housing itself in the pipe, but also become entangled in a cable or power cable.

Well device with a deep pump

Deep pump jamming main causes

Most often, a pump stuck in a well casing is associated with several factors, each of which is unique in its own way and the ability to solve the problem of stuck equipment with a universal technique is not always justified. On the other hand, the situation when the pump cannot be lifted to the surface is not so unique, cases when the equipment is difficult to remove from the ground happen quite often and therefore this is not a particular problem for professionals.

Schematically, the situation when the pump somehow gets stuck in the well cavity is quite simple, and can be considered in the most common situations:

• Jamming with a weakened electrical wire;
• Breakage of the cable on which the equipment is suspended during lifting;
• Ingress of a foreign object into the cavity between the wall of the casing pipe and the pump casing;
• Deformation of the pump housing or pipe walls;

Most often, such situations, as practice shows, occur with equipment that has not been serviced for a long time, so when planning maintenance, you need to pay attention to this factor