Well retrieval tools & methods questions & answers set#2.

This article series describes methods & tools bought or home-made that can be used to fish materials out of a water well if you've dropped the pipe, well pump, or tools down into the well casing.

Well Pipe & Pump Grabbers FAQs-2

These questions & answers about how to pull out anything you've dropped down a well were posted originally at WELL RETRIEVAL TOOLS - topic home.

On 2019-01-31 by (mod) - grabbers for retrieving a pump dropped in the well

Andy,

What the other pro's do - and they've all dropped a pump at one time or another - is try a series of various grabber hooks such as those shown in the article above;

When that fails I'd try running a camera down into the well bottom to see the position of the pump and to help hook it back up.

I have seen that well pump retrieval jobs that have been videotaped for ad purposes conspicuously omit any photo of exactly what the company used to grab the fallen pump. It's perhaps protecting their turf, but not particularly generous.

It's the old "don't ask me, hire me instead" that is sometimes fair but not always justified.

When you lower a well cam you can see if there is a rope or pipe that's likely to be able to be grabbed by one of the retrieval tools we illustrate; you basically have to match the tool to the space available, to what's in the well, and to the position of the fallen materials.

An augur that you tried works just when you can send it into an opening like the end of a pipe. Some grappling hooks can snag a rope or wire or larger ones even the pump upper end itself.

Aside from the dropped well pump or pipe tools shown in our article above, I've read that some well pump retrieval projects had success by trying a piton or crevice clamp (mountaineering equipment) or even a simple small grappling hook that snagged a dropped well rope.

Keep in mind that your retrieval cable or pipes have to be strong enough to lift ALL of the weight involved: pump, pipes, wire + some strength to pull and wiggle through snags.

On 2019-01-30 by Andy

Hello. I have recently pulled the pump that is in our deep well system and bought a replacement. I attempted to install the new pump and all was goin well until I got to ab 200 ft down with pump and the pipe((its 440 ft to the bottom of the casing and top of the water is ab 200 ft)) and it happened so fast- I couldn't grab it or anything-

- IT FELL!!! Well- I spent days pondering on how in the world I could get it out and finally -

I got a 250 ft auger and joined it with another auger. I winched it up and got the pipe and tied icecycle knot and tied it off. The wire had fell with it so instead of pulling all of it back up and checking the pump- I just connected it to 220 v breaker to see if i could hear or feel the vibrations--

so I would know that it wasn't damaged or broken... longer story short.... it did vibrate the top of the pipe that I had knot tied to and so I connected 3 more (20 foot long ea) 1 in pipes. And got it where I thought it was in water ab 240 ft and when I connected it to the 220 breaker this time---

there was no vibration or any noise so --- I had to hoist it back up--- finally got to the bottom and the water pump wasn't at the end of the pipe....

the wires had somehow been severed and I'm not sure how or why it happened but I need advise on tools that I could use or make to use to grab onto the piece of pipe and pump that is still sitting at the bottom of our deep well.

I've tried auger and I get a hold on it but b4 I make it out of the water with it it's getting stuck or either falls off the end of the auger...

any suggestions r welcomed. I really need another opinion on this-

On 2018-08-24 by Lucas

Thanks mate

I liked the magnet idea, but I will make all my way down with pvc pipes then throw the magnet with a line into it. I think that just the covering slip hanging from a line would still stick on the rods and doesnt find its way down. I will let you know how it goes.

I tried to hook it, but at this depth it is just a very unlikely luck shot. The hook on the bottom doesnt respond to my movements on the line at the top, only if I give it a yank. I wasnt even close.

The hammer is the tool I used to drill the well(Image).

The gap between the hammer and the well is less than half inch the wrench cant pass through it and I can only pull the hammer out after I take the wrench out.

There is a chance that if I keep pulling the hammer up the wrench will dig its way into the well's wall and then I would be able to bring the hammer up leaving the wrench there.

But the rock down there is too hard, it would take ages.

On 2018-08-17 by (mod) -

Damn I hate when I do that!

What about a magnet covered by a plastic slip pipe connected to a pair of lines, one to the covering slip pipe (just long enough to cover the magnet) and one to the magnet. Drop the pair together to get down to the wrench, then at the wrench pull up the slip pipe enough to try grabbing the magnet.

IF that doesn't work you might still retrieve the wrench with a small grapple hook.

Last resort: try to push the dropped wrench past any obstruction (what exactly is your "hammer"?) to let it fall to the well bottom. As long as that's below the pump bottom it'll do little or no harm.

On 2018-08-17 by Lucas

I dropped a 24 inches wrench on the borehole, now it is sitting on the top of my hammer at 120 meters deep.

The Wrench is jamming the hammer when I try to pull it back, I tried fishing it with a hook but it is nearly impossible to find its way into the hole of the tool at this depth. I cant use a magnet or anything too thick because it wouldn't go down the hole with all the rods in the middle. Any suggestions?

On 2018-06-30 by (mod) - What is the best way to get old pipes out of a well

Try grabbers till you get one that works, use a tripod and winch or hoist, pull the pipes, cut off and remove sections as you lift the pipe until it's all out. Take care not to drop the remains back into the well.

On 2018-06-29 by Cindy Herron

What is the best way to get old pipes out of a well

On 2018-06-02 by (mod) -

this to me by vice grip uses a chain that can pinch around the pipe very tightly. For safety you probably need to use three of these.

On 2018-06-02 by (mod) -

Tara

Aside from the pipe grabbing tools in the article above, there are some conventional pipe grabbing tools including pipe wrenches and tools made by vice grip that might be suitable.

The problem is the weight that the tool has to be able to hold as well as the construction of the rig against which the tool is going to prop itself to hold the pipe from being dropped back down in the well.

It would be worth checking with local well drillers to see if someone's willing to help you out.

used to page top or bottom contact like to send us your email and I'll send you some photos of other tools I have in my toolbox. I'm traveling so I may not be able to get those online right away, I can send you images by email.

On 2018-06-02 5 by Tara

We purchased some mountain property just recently, with a ground water well that was drilled approx. 20 years ago.

We are looking to remove the old pump and replace it with one that is more suited for our needs, but we aren't sure, exactly, what tools might best be used to do this.

We are looking at approx 250 feet of steel pipe that we will be re moving, along with the pump. We will be replacing the steel pipe with poly piping, which is easy enough.

We are using a winch and pulley system to bring the steel piping out, 20 feet at a time, as that is the length of pipes used for each section. We need some kind of pipe clamp that will hold the remaining connected footage of pipe, from falling to the bottom of the 250 foot well, while we remove each 20 foot section from the top and place it on the ground just outside our well house. Any suggestions?

My husband is very capable of doing the job himself, but financially we are strapped, and therefore looking at the cheapest tools to do what we need to get it done our first go around. Any suggestions or help is very, very much appreciated!!

On 2018-01-31 by (mod) - amateur plumber replacing foot valve dropped stuff in the well

Re-posting

was curious if my cause for concern was accurate, recently we had a non professional plumber replace foot falve on our 2 line jet pump, not with my approval, and it ended up worse then i had feared. He ended up dropping the entire well piping (both lines) into the bottom of well knocking off a good bit of casing around top.

We ended up having to fish it out in pieces, and in pieces i mean he replaced a bunch of piping in two lines that didnt make sense, he claimed the foot valve was not damaged after hitting bottom of well and being toppled by piping, and apparently there was a few pieces left behind and gadgets used previously in attempt that also fell were all in bottom of well.

I looked down with a set of lights and couldnt believe all that had been dropped and left. Where the casing was knocked off, there is a wierd black moss like growing.

I am worried about the condition of inside of well if all those pieces could cause a problem to well trying to suck water or pull water? I am worried about the condition of water purity, with all that sitting in the bottom of our well in water, from black stuff growing from missing casing? - by private email from A.W. 2018-01-31

Reply:

I can't accurately assess your well by e-text, but from what you describe it sounds as if possibly the casing is damaged - permitting ground water or surface water (or dirt) to enter the well would be un-sanitary. There are well sleeves that can repair such damage (after you've fished out the scrap that has dropped into the well.

Search InspectApedia for WELL SLEEVE or WELL CASING REPAIR

On 2017-09-23 by (mod) -

Probably your best bet is to contact local well driller who has a tripod and winch and cable and a variety of grabbing tools to try.

Generally you'll be able to snag the rope and pump and Pullin up or occasionally have to push them down and loosen them and then pull them up using a cable strong enough that you're not going to break and drop stuff back into the well. when you've cleared the well you may need to inspect the casing for damage

On 2017-09-23 by georgina roebuck

l have a pump stuck down a wel. l thk it may be 30 metres or so down now. the rope had fallen down and is now stuck down the sides of the pomp stopping it from comng up any more. 60 metres has been pulled out but wont budge now.

On 2017-08-12 by (mod) -

Shoot, I hate when that happens, but you'll feel better to know it happens often enough that there's a whole industry of tools and people using them to pull out stuff dropped into a well. There are a bunch of grabbing tools described on this page.

If you're not experienced with grabbing and retrieving pipes and wires and pumps, I'd call around to some of the older well drillers in the area to see what they have that's close to you. Often washers, grappling hooks, etc. can grab a dropped wire. But take care pulling that you don't force a jam worse than before.

Pull slowly and on resistance try backing off, dropping down a bit, jiggling, and pulling again.

I'd also want to take a look at the well casing once the well has been cleared, since damage can not only foul the water but also contribute to snags again.

On 2017-08-12 17:59:15.138089 by stu

while replacing my 1.5 hp well pump, we added 17 ft of inch and an half water line. this brought it too close to the bottom, pumping mud. while pulling it back out , it got hung up .

we set up a scaffolding and began pulling with a come along . this caused the line to come apart where we coupled it together .

also breaking the rope and wires . this jarring broke the stuck pump free and it dropped to the bottom of the well . it is roughly 40 ft down. how can i get this 140 ft of line,wire, and my brand new $850 pump out?

On 2017-08-12 by (mod) - we dropped the pump, pipes, wires into the bottom of the well

Shoot, I hate when that happens, but you'll feel better to know it happens often enough that there's a whole industry of tools and people using them to pull out stuff dropped into a well. There are a bunch of grabbing tools described on this page.

If you're not experienced with grabbing and retrieving pipes and wires and pumps, I'd call around to some of the older well drillers in the area to see what they have that's close to you.

Often washers, grappling hooks, etc. can grab a dropped wire. But take care pulling that you don't force a jam worse than before. Pull slowly and on resistance try backing off, dropping down a bit, jiggling, and pulling again.

I'd also want to take a look at the well casing once the well has been cleared, since damage can not only foul the water but also contribute to snags again.

On 2017-08-12 by stu

While replacing my 1.5 hp well pump, we added 17 ft of inch and an half water line. this brought it too close to the bottom, pumping mud. while pulling it back out , it got hung up . we set up a scaffolding and began pulling with a come along . this caused the line to come apart where we coupled it together . also breaking the rope and wires .

this jarring broke the stuck pump free and it dropped to the bottom of the well . it is roughly 40 ft down. how can i get this 140 ft of line,wire, and my brand new $850 pump out?

On 2017-07-01 by (mod) - long plastic pipe has been dropped into my bore well

Aswini

Some of the retrieval tools described in WELL RETRIEVAL TOOLS are specifically useful for grabbing a pipe that has fallen into the well.

Your choices are to rent, buy, or make one of those tools that fits into or over the end of the fallen pipe to retrieve it, or to hire a local well drilling company who can do that for you.

On 2017-07-01 by Aswini Kumar Swain

A 40 feet long plastic pipe has been dropped into my bore well... How to get it out.. plz help... My Mob No. 9124364678.. If someone is pulling things from bore well professionally, then I will pay for this. Someone please respond.

On 2017-06-05 by (mod) -

DB

Sure, there are well retrieval tools descrbed in the article WELL RETRIEVAL TOOLS.

My best results in getting troublesome stuff out of a well when I called a local well driller who was familiar with well retrieval tools and had some of their own. There are also rental tools - depending on where you live - that can grind up or pull out of wells stuff dropped into or stuck in the well.

On 2017-06-05 by Dbeaty

Hi thanks for this info. I think I found the source of a problem I was having with my irrigation well. I stumbled on the fact that there is a pipe down in there. Not sure what it is attached to. Until this week everyone told me my well was about 22 feet deep. But then I stuck a 2" PCV down 30 feet into my 22 foot well

. Here is a video that explains it. [QUOTE=Valveman;91792] Yeah looks like steel pipe.

Probably a sub or a packer stuck down there. Most likely just need to move over and drill a new well. [/QUOTE]

I was afraid of that. It's pretty expensive down here. One quote was $4000. If I could just get my intake down 10 feet more if might solve my issue. Are there ways a well contractor can pull this thing out?

I spoke with one here and they said that in my area it has to be a 2 inch well. Pretty much said there's no record in the local government for any permit for a bigger well casing and the fact that now there's a surface pump.

But the casing looks bigger than the 2 inch pipe I stuck down there 3-4 inches maybe... here's another vid I made that explains it better and shows the casing and my pipe.

https://youtu.be/7Loxyr6BkAg

On 2017-06-01 by (mod) -

Erica if you can use the page bottom CONTACT link to find our email and send me some photos of the material and snu markings on ir, and I'll be glad to research it

On 2017-06-01 by Erica

Also, it really only snaps when its cold outside. It was made and used around 1968 to 1974

I have a question that Im not even sure will be understood. There is an old well pipe material that is no longer used. I despise working with it because it is so dangerous to remove. It looks and feels like plastic, comes out of the well (hopefully) in one piece, but it very easily snaps to bits.

When this stuff breaks, it breaks violently. Shards fly with serious force because the pipe has no room for flexing. The guy I work with calls it "collastic" but I cannot find ANYTHING related to that word online. Does anyone know what it is actually called?

On 2017-04-11 by (mod) -

I'm not sure that I understand the question. But I'm assuming that you would pull the well pipe, try a couple of different retrieval tools based on the shape of what has fallen into the well.

On 2017-04-11 by Twinabo Vincent

I have a problem of a piece and pump cylinder slipped into a well which had 6 riser pipes. The client seeks retrieval and a new pump can be installed. How best can I approach this?

On 2017-03-31 by (mod) - use a coupling to connect and pull threaded-end well pipe

Marty, thank you for posting the comments below.

On 2017-03-31 by marty

@Reiner,
If the pipe section that was dropped still has threaded end or coupling on it use proper fitting being a coupling to screw on end of pipe in well attach coupling to 2" pvc pipe and lower pvc pipe and try an screw onto existing pipe.

If coupling is already on old pipe in well use a nipple on the end of pvc and sctew it into coupling only 40' down shiuld have a good chance.

Ive done this method at 100' down casing lost last 2 - 20' galvanized sections plus pump. I was able to attach on a coupling to pvc pipe and lower it down and turn it threading it onto the galvanized pipe and the gently pulling straight up as not to snap pvc pipe off.

On 2017-02-14

by (mod) -

I think there is still a fair chance that using the proper retrieval tool or Grabber one could snag the chain and the pipes that are still in the well.

You'll notice in WELL RETRIEVAL TOOLS that there is quite a variety of grabbing devices depending on what needs to be grabbed. I would try that before considering a new well.

On 2017-02-14 by Reiner

Hi, we have a 400' deep well. The plumber tried to retrieve the galvanized pipe with the pump attached which apparently quit running. He was able to retrieve 2 sections and then the rest did drop back into the well and the pipe is sitting approx. 40' down in the well.

They tried to lower some weights and another small pipe with which we were able to get past the old pipe.

But it would not budge to let the new pump and line go past it. They tried and tried with zero results.
When they originally came to extract the pipe they came with a bobcat, and then hooked a large chain to the bobcat boom and the other end around the galvanized 400' pipe and a pump attached.

I told him that it would not work that the chain would slip. They did get 2 sections of pipe. On the next try, guess what happened?

The f'n chain slipped on the pipe and all dropped down into the well and it is sitting now at approx. 40' down.

And now they are trying to talk us into a new well and to pay half the cost. Are you kidding? What a friggin' Valentine's Day and we have no idea where when and how this is getting fixed, and this has been going on since Feb. 08, 2017. Somebody having an idea to help?

On 2016-11-30 by (more)Horizontal 12" plastic drainage ditch pipe

to clarify - it is not a hard plastic (like PVC) but what most would call a typical drainage pipe....has an accordian look (ripples/black) and probably also something that with some trying could be ripped apart (not what I want to do)...

.trying to avoid digging up the pipe, for now, although that may very well be what I have to do once I get the water flowin. Thanks for your trouble and interest in what you are doing on this site.

On 2016-11-30 by Horizontal 12" plastic drainage ditch pipe

Would any of these solutions for vertical wells etc also work for a Horizontal 12" plastic drainage ditch pipe - that is totally clogged with branches at the exit end for a few feet into it?

total length is about 15 or so feet from the open end until some unknown clogging point. all of the branches can be seen at exit (lake) end - but whatever was close that could be pulled out by hand is done....then there are the occasional Copperheads, but I digress.....

On 2016-11-05 by Woldeyesus Assefa

It looks good but need more

On 2016-11-04 by Sempr Fi RI

Hello. I appreciate this website, thanks! I was trying to change out on old well cap for a new sanitary one and dropped a socket attachment into the well.

Deep well. I called a local well company and they said almost impossible to get it out of there but that its not terrible that its in there. My question is what is worst that can happen? Could it ever pose a health hazard to my family?
Thanks.

On 2016-10-15 by jonny

I want to the out rod inside the boreal how

...

Continue reading at WELL RETRIEVAL TOOLS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see WELL PIPE GRABBER FAQs-3 - more questions & answers about retrieving stuff dropped down a well.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WELL PIPE RETRIEVAL TOOLS - home
  • WELL RETRIEVAL TOOL TYPES
  • WELL RETRIEVAL TOOL LIST
  • WELL FISH TOOL & CAMERA SOURCES
• WELL FISH TOOL DESIGNS & PATENTS

Suggested citation for this web page

WELL PIPE GRABBER FAQs-2 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---