$400 part = $1350 job

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bluedogz

Minister of Fire
Oct 9, 2011
1,245
NE Maryland
Well, the well pump finally petered out, and I had NO idea how to replace it... so in comes the plumber.

To his credit, he let me shadow him all day and pepper him with questions like a four-year-old. I think I eventually paid for it, though... the final damage was $1327.
 
Is that for an in the well pump? We paid around that to get ours replaced.
 
Is that for an in the well pump? We paid around that to get ours replaced.

Yes. Had to run the threaded pipe down there to pull it up.
My friend the internet told me that 1200-1400 was about right.
Having actually done the job with the guy, I know the pump was around $400 or so, and 7-8 hours of honest labor, so that added up.
 
If he replaced the PVC pipe and the wire that is about right. POed me when they couldn't get mine out and I had to pull it and they still charged me the same. :mad:
 
Cost me $300 to have the piece that feeds the house (no idea what it's called, it's at the top of the well piping, motor, etc), the connecting tubing, and new wiring last year.

I dug it out so the could get to it :mad:
 
Cost me $300 to have the piece that feeds the house (no idea what it's called, it's at the top of the well piping, motor, etc), the connecting tubing, and new wiring last year.

I dug it out so the could get to it :mad:

pitless adaptor?



Was 1k to get a new well pump here about 6 years ago. Remember my parents, grandparents, etc, etc, having to change them out from time to time and it's always been around a grand.
 
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I did my own last summer. Only 150 feet deep, so it was some work, but not beyond pulling by hand. It was on a pitless adaptor, as well.

If you ever do one, do note that Lowes carries a brand of pump which has 1-1/4" NPT output in the 3/4 - 1 hp range, but all of their stainless HDP pipe pump fittings are 1" NPT! Since my pump failed late on Saturday, and I was making this repair on a Sunday (all the plumbing shops were closed), I ended up paying a plumber an emergency service call ($90 for the first 30 minutes) to bring me a spare he happened to have lying in his desk drawer. :rolleyes:

It worked out in the end, as the plumber stayed for 30 minutes (he was paid for, anyway), checked over everything I did, and even did the tricky heating of the HDP to slip it onto the pump fitting.

Total job with new pump, pump controller, and plumber was under $500.
 
I think I will stay with my jet pump. ~$140 and 15 minutes and I have a new pump and running water.

$1350 for a water pump install?;sick
 
Just remember....
Labor rates:
$30/hour
If you watch- $45/hour
If you help-$60/hour
;)

Actually, that's part of why I didn't quibble on price. He also fixed a couple of my earlier "repairs" inside the house, and also had a nightmare pulling the pump out because the last person had threaded a 1/2" adapter into the 1" hole and not removed it AND stripped the inside threads out of the 1/2".

Also, had he billed at $90/hr. it would have been the same as taking the car to a dealer.
 
I think I will stay with my jet pump. ~$140 and 15 minutes and I have a new pump and running water.

$1350 for a water pump install?;sick


Yeah, but try a jet pump on the 400 foot wells many have around here. Jet pumps have their place, but their primary advantage is wells under 25 feet deep. Submersibles provide higher pressure, higher flow rates, don't require priming, and are always more efficient on deep wells, than any jet pump of similar HP and price.
 
I pull from about 60 feet...but I digress. I don't generally think of wells being 400 ft deep. I live in the land of easy water.
 
Yeah... haven't seen a 60 foot well around here, in my lifetime. Most new wells around my last house were being drilled right around 400 feet, although mine was an older one at only 240 feet. At my new place, the well is 150 feet, but we're sitting much lower in elevation, to the surroundings, and near the convergence of several major tributaries.
 
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