I was catching up with the message board last night and time got away from me. Before I knew it, it was 4:00 am. I don't like doing that, but there's no harm done for a retired guy with nothing on his calendar today. Then I discover there is no water. Crap.
There are five homes on the well. Generally two of us take care of any problems. And the other guy is on vacation. I had a good idea of where to start because we've had this problem before. There is a sump pump in the well equipment hole and it sometimes trips the breaker, the equipment gets submersed in water and the pump stops. So I confirm the breaker was indeed blown and would not reset. I felt like I was taking my life in my own hands sneaking around in the middle of the night. The well is located on the Clampett's property. I figure they have an arsenal in there. ADT signs everywhere. There new fence protecting their property. And last month the cops showed up and arrested someone for various crimes, including drugs and running from the law. But I had to try to fix it and hope I didn't get shot in the process.
I load up my tailgate generator, a utility pump, extension cord and a crowbar to move the heavy lid. The end broke off of my crowbar so it is shorter than normal and really too short to get much leverage to move the heavy cover. I do get it moved just enough to lower the utility pump in and after some difficulty and about 2 hours, get the water level down. My utility pump quit a couple of times, but after some rest it resumed operation. I did get the sump pump in the pit to work for a while, but it eventually blew the breaker and I couldn't get it going again. I got the water down about as much as my utility pump could and was pleased to find out I had water at home. I struggled to get the cover back on the pit and called it good. I'll go back a little later and try to reset the breaker on the pump. it should work now that there is not much water left to pump out.
What an adventure. I wonder how many of the neighbors even knew they didn't have water. I suppose I should call the well repair company and see if they can get a more robust pump in there that won't blow the breaker when it has to run a lot. We haven't had this problem for a few years, but with 4.62" or rain yesterday, to go with the 0.87 and 1.05 from Saturday and Sunday, it was just too much.
There are five homes on the well. Generally two of us take care of any problems. And the other guy is on vacation. I had a good idea of where to start because we've had this problem before. There is a sump pump in the well equipment hole and it sometimes trips the breaker, the equipment gets submersed in water and the pump stops. So I confirm the breaker was indeed blown and would not reset. I felt like I was taking my life in my own hands sneaking around in the middle of the night. The well is located on the Clampett's property. I figure they have an arsenal in there. ADT signs everywhere. There new fence protecting their property. And last month the cops showed up and arrested someone for various crimes, including drugs and running from the law. But I had to try to fix it and hope I didn't get shot in the process.
I load up my tailgate generator, a utility pump, extension cord and a crowbar to move the heavy lid. The end broke off of my crowbar so it is shorter than normal and really too short to get much leverage to move the heavy cover. I do get it moved just enough to lower the utility pump in and after some difficulty and about 2 hours, get the water level down. My utility pump quit a couple of times, but after some rest it resumed operation. I did get the sump pump in the pit to work for a while, but it eventually blew the breaker and I couldn't get it going again. I got the water down about as much as my utility pump could and was pleased to find out I had water at home. I struggled to get the cover back on the pit and called it good. I'll go back a little later and try to reset the breaker on the pump. it should work now that there is not much water left to pump out.
What an adventure. I wonder how many of the neighbors even knew they didn't have water. I suppose I should call the well repair company and see if they can get a more robust pump in there that won't blow the breaker when it has to run a lot. We haven't had this problem for a few years, but with 4.62" or rain yesterday, to go with the 0.87 and 1.05 from Saturday and Sunday, it was just too much.
