Plumbing/well case query

Redikilowatt

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Oops, the water pipe in my well house froze then cracked during our recent cold spell. Plumber will not arrive until Monday. I used self fusing tape and a pipe clamp to reduce it to a slow leak so I can occasionally turn on the water. I could attempt to fix the problem but I'm uncertain about the fittings and don't want to make it worse.

The white plastic fitting (red circle) connecting iron pipe to 1 1/4" black water line leaks.
Is it merely a connector threaded into metal pipe or is part of check valve?
It can't be removed without breaking further as well casing is rusted.
And I fear removing it will result in submersed pump (200+ft) dropping to bottom of well!

Well casing is 8" diameter, water line 1 1/4" outside dia., plastic fittings are 1 1/8" dia.

well casing leak.jpg

Thanks in advance for knowledge!

Roger
 
whew, you need everything, and the well is inside the house? (not to be creepy but that lets in demons)

the plastic fitting (usually something metal and noble) is a barb for the black hose which is 'heat fit' using a heat gun to make pliable then clamped down. are you sure that THAT is not leaking?

undo the clamp, then unscrew the white fitting from the head plate and go get one in brass from lowesdepot.

it could be a check valve inside but Id doubt it, since you have an axial pump, it contains any and all drainback mechanisms it needs (if it needs them at all)
 
Thanks, Quad :thumbsup:
The well house is a block building with shingled roof separate from house, so no worries there.
Well was done in middle '70s when house was built.
We bought the house in 1991 and the original pump last until ~10 years ago.
However, well case, etc. is "original".

The black hose is not leaking, only a small crack in white plastic fitting.
I removed the clamps, wrapped the fitting with lots of self-fusing teflon tape, and clamped it down.
When I turn on pump everything works, but of course it leaks slowly through the tape.
At least it doesn't "spew" as before :)

I only turn on the pump for brief periods and monitor the leak.
The tape job will fail, but plumbers are coming Monday.

I figure the plastic connector will have to be "busted out", so I will probably await the pros.
It may be worthwhile to replace the top plates of well casing too.
The bolts appear totally rusted.

This maybe the brass version of the fitting, barbed on one end and threaded on the other.
6AFJ9_AS01
 
The thing you're calling the well casing appears to be a split clamp that's supporting the weight of the pump.

It looks like there's a galvanized coupler riding on top of this split clamp. Perhaps your 200' drop is galvanized pipe, installed one section at a time.

I think you'd be fine to just put one pipe wrench on the galvanized coupler, and another on the broken plastic fitting. Take the water line off first, then un-thread the barb.
 
You're calling the split clamp a "top plate".

You'll want to have a grip on that galvanized coupler when you take that off.

The pump weight is supported there.
 
I think I'd do like BigElCat said about using 2 pipe wrenches. If the plastic does break you can take it out in small pieces. It wouldn't hurt to clean the threads on the galvanized coupler and use a brass fitting with some thread sealer. It looks like it might be a good idea to redo the whole thing when better weather comes around.
 
The thing you're calling the well casing appears to be a split clamp that's supporting the weight of the pump.

It looks like there's a galvanized coupler riding on top of this split clamp. Perhaps your 200' drop is galvanized pipe, installed one section at a time.

I think you'd be fine to just put one pipe wrench on the galvanized coupler, and another on the broken plastic fitting. Take the water line off first, then un-thread the barb.

This is generally what I thought, although I'm not sure how to remove the water line. I can remove clamps but the black pipe (water line) is tightly adhered. Quad was probably right that it was heat shrunk onto the barbed end of the plastic fitting. So would you "heat unshrink" to remove?

The "split plate" is quite similar to this pix. It has four bolts, one plug (for venting or access?), one hole for water line, and one for wires that go to pump.
I very uncertain as to exactly how the plate supports the pump. However, I do know the line to the pump is plastic pipe . . . not galvanized sections.
  • s-l1600.jpg
 
That top piece is a sanitary seal - to keep "stuff" from falling in the well. There is usually a piece of rope or cable attached to the pump itself, then to the eye bolt. That's to prevent the pump from falling down the well in case of an "oops".

WS208.jpg
 
I'd be surprised if it was actually heat shrunk, but with the clamp it's probably just that the barbs have had plenty of time to get a good bite on the plastic tube.

Often it's not worth the time to try to salvage the small parts. Cut it apart at an easy point and replace or couple in a new hunk. Your time is worth a lot more than a few plastic fittings and couple feet of tubing.
 
Hmmm, thank folks.
So I probably could cut the black water line where it comes out of the 90 degree elbow.
Then I could unscrew or "bust out" the cracked white plastic fitting.
Next replace both the cracked fitting and 90 elbow with brass fittings and cut new black pipe as needed.
Or I could wait for the plumber on Monday ;)
 
I'd be surprised if it was actually heat shrunk, but with the clamp it's probably just that the barbs have had plenty of time to get a good bite on the plastic tube.

Often it's not worth the time to try to salvage the small parts. Cut it apart at an easy point and replace or couple in a new hunk. Your time is worth a lot more than a few plastic fittings and couple feet of tubing.

I was just typing similar thoughts when you posted :thumbsup:
 
Thanks, Quad :thumbsup:
The well house is a block building with shingled roof separate from house, so no worries there.
Well was done in middle '70s when house was built.
We bought the house in 1991 and the original pump last until ~10 years ago.
However, well case, etc. is "original".

The black hose is not leaking, only a small crack in white plastic fitting.
I removed the clamps, wrapped the fitting with lots of self-fusing teflon tape, and clamped it down.
When I turn on pump everything works, but of course it leaks slowly through the tape.
At least it doesn't "spew" as before :)

I only turn on the pump for brief periods and monitor the leak.
The tape job will fail, but plumbers are coming Monday.

I figure the plastic connector will have to be "busted out", so I will probably await the pros.
It may be worthwhile to replace the top plates of well casing too.
The bolts appear totally rusted.

This maybe the brass version of the fitting, barbed on one end and threaded on the other.

Betcha $5 the plastic comes out and if any gets left in there, betcha you can get plastic threads out of metal pretty easy...
 
That top piece is a sanitary seal - to keep "stuff" from falling in the well. There is usually a piece of rope or cable attached to the pump itself, then to the eye bolt. That's to prevent the pump from falling down the well in case of an "oops".

WS208.jpg
exactly, Im betting on a few feet of poly rope holding the pump. wires and piping aint good enuf. the second hole is for, in your case, the wiring, if you had an external pump like a shallow well pump, it would be for water injection to the foot. we do it a bit different up here in the deep tundra permafrost belt but I hate paying plumber charges unless Im really screwed.
 
My experience with those fittings is that a little heat applied will get the black pipe off the barb fitting easily enough.

After that, two pipe wrenches (should) remove the offending fitting fairly easily. This is the tricky part though, because that fitting has a crack in it. If the crack is high, and close to the black plastic line, you should have no issue. If it is cracked by the threads, that is cause for concern. Replace with brass if possible, and make sure this does not freeze in the future. If the fitting does not come out easily and breaks off in the metal thread, you will need something like a nipple extractor, or carefully cut the plastic and break it out of the metal threads.

hdx-other-accessories-hdx167-64_1000.jpg
 
When replacing threaded fittings what should one use to ensure good seal?
All my prior experience with plumbing was with PVC using two part cement and Teflon tape on small stuff.
 
I'd cut the black plastic pipe above the white plastic coupler and then apply heat to where the metal pipe and white plastic coupler screw together. Kind of like heating up a rusted bolt in a car frame or manifold to assist in extraction without breakage. There should be no valve in that area--the valve should be down at the submersible pump, not northwards of that.
 
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