I
understand the basics of how water moves through that big pipe
from the well pump to the house now.
Ok,
yes, sure, that doesn’t sound like much of an admission. I am
most definitely not saying I am ready to work on one. I’m just
saying… well…
Have
you ever seen someone working on a well? Meaning pulling up the
hose and wiring and more?
Let’s
say you haven’t. There you are, watching a couple of people working
on your pump. They remove the cap from the top and break out this
long metal thing. (If you do the research, you’ll find most places
refer to it as a well pump pulling tee, a t-handle tool and even
a pitless adapter wrench. There actually are so many different
ways of referring to it that I get the feeling no one has a specific
name for it (and a few may be applying the name of one tool to
a totally different one). And yet, they all seem to have a universal
size for the threaded portion at the end. It’s basically a five-foot
long bar with a handle across the top, which forms the “t” being
referred to. Back to watching the pros work…)
For
all the world, it looks like the folks in your yard are doing
something to unlock certain things. Nope. All they’re doing is
attaching the t-bar to the top of the line coming from the pump.
There’s a connection point way down the casing pipe to stay below
the frost line. So, they take the bar, screw it into a threaded
portion on the top of that connection point which is actually
part of the piece where the hose from the pump joins to the pipe
leading into your house. Once you see it all up close, it’s kind
of “ooh and aah” moment of realization for how simple the basics
are.
Now,
I didn’t come here to talk to you about well pumps or the joys
of working on them in below-freezing temperatures. I came here
to talk to you about stuff around the house, and how many of the
things that seem so mysterious—even though, I cannot stress this
enough, the vast majority of which should be worked on by experienced
people and not novices—aren’t all that mysterious.
Before
we go much further, my warning. I’ve watched people work on pipes
inside a house. I’ve seen them break out a torch. I know they
use flux and solder. I have personally never soldered a pipe or
even held the torch while lit. So, yes, I’ve seen it done. But
at this point in time, I would not trust my house with my skills.
I consider myself to be in the “knows enough to understand what
is happening and needs to be done, but wise enough to know that
attempting fill-in-the-blank is likely to cause even more damage
and increase the repair bill” group. In other words, do not try
this on your own.
The
well pump thing? Yeah, sure, in ways it sketches out pretty easily
and makes sense. But there are pressure gauges and switches, dedicated
wiring (and dedicated wiring in a situation involving water),
and… honestly, electricity and water should be enough. Nice that
it looks easy and makes sense. Stop yourself right there and get
help if you don’t know anything more than that and think you need
to work on it.
Anyway…
point is learning about your house.
I
cannot help but recommend to people to call upon professionals
when you need to. But don’t be afraid to watch them work and ask
questions. The good ones will be happy you did (as long as you’re
smart enough to not get in their way).
Before
you know it, you’ll be changing headlight bulbs on your car, installing
a new faucet in your kitchen sink, and taking on all sorts of
home improvement projects.
But
here’s a funny piece of advice. If you don’t have the tools you
need to do the job, that’s probably a good point to be asking
yourself if you’re the right one to do the job. (But that I already
knew.)