Dropped Pipe Well Inspection

Have you ever thought fishing in a well sounds like a good time? We experienced it firsthand on a recent customer’s well inspection!

Date: March 2022
Location: Oasis, CA
Project Type: Pump, Well Inspection

About this Project

After pulling the customer’s pump and using our camera for a well inspection, we observed an object lodged 430′ down. Our customer requested that we remove it in order to improve the water flow. However, there aren’t many tools available to remove a free-floating pipe 400′ deep in a well.

We pride ourselves on innovation and perseverance at Montgomery Creek Irrigation, so the only answer to not having the right tools available is to make a tool ourselves. We designed and built an internal grapple of several sizes to expand within the pipe, allowing us to lift the free-floating pipe. The tool was sent down the well on a sand line winch to make an initial attempt at lifting the pipe. Though our first attempt was a blind grab with no success, we dropped the tool an additional 20′ to to find a hold and lift.

The foreign pipe ended up being two 20’ pieces of 10” column pipe with a cone strainer on the end. This resulted from a previous poor installation of suction pipe to the pump that eventually fell off, and caused major disruptions to the intake efficiency of the pump.

Though this job required more engineering design than our typical projects, we are proud of the success! We are glad to spend a little extra time on your project if needed, and solve the problem the right way.

Make sure to check out the rest of our listed services, and give us a call if you need pump service. We know first-hand how important it is to get your water moving correctly and efficiently, and we will put in the extra effort to get it that way.