The Most Unique Water Well System Ever Seen! 80 Year Old Electric Well Pump! Trying to Update it.

[@ford2n2003]

It's a rod pump. A wooden rod runs down the center of the pipe and operates a piston pump at the bottom of the pipe. The small broken plunger was an air pump to charge the water tank. An air release on the tank would keep it from becoming air bound. These pumps were very common as deep well pumps from the early 1900's until the 1960's, The part cut out was the check valve to prevent water backflow to the well.

[@dnitchke]

you are absolutely correct11

[@ThatGuyFromArizona]

This right here is what I love about this channel. There is so much knowledge and people happy to share.

[@dennislee444]

nope

[@jasonschannel9017]

​@@dennislee444That's not much of an argument.

[@northface484]

LOL...!!@@dennislee444

[@stanleyedwards3023]

Early Gould pump jacks used leather seals, these pumps dated back to the 30’s. Gould still makes quality pumps, my Dad was on board of directors many years ago.

[@lancereagan3046]

I used to install and service Goulds Pumps back in the early/mid 1980's.

[@BCHonea]

I love how comments on KZbin bring historical connections like this. Cheers to your pops

[@kd5crw]

They make most of them cheap in China now. Motors too. Sad to see another once good company selling junk and coasting on their name.

[@Look_What_You_Did]

It's just a name today. Another brand purchased by investment firms and gutted.

[@markarca6360]

It was acquired by another company called Xylem.

[@rex8255]

Let's give props to current and previous owners, who kept up the oil level AND passed on the information of how to do it.

[@marvlb]

We had a sucker rod pump exactly like that growing up on our farm in the 50’s. The leather seals would wear out and we would have to pull the rods. Each rod was about 12 feet long made of cypress cut into a one inch triangle with metal connectors screwed to each end that were screwed together to connect the rods. On one pull my dad lost grip on the rod and it fell into the well. He made hook out of a steel rod and ground a barb on the tip. We fished for the lost pump rod for hours and finally got and the lost rods out. I was so happy to see that rod come up out of the well, I must have been seven or eight years old at the time.

[@davidmark805]

That pump needs to be restored and put on display.

[@garthmcgibbon4285]

Yes!!!

[@metallchips8569]

I have been machining for 20 years and spent several servicing water pumps for Municipals and Agriculture and goulds pumps are still in business. That pump should go to a museum.

[@snicks50]

I have the same pump on my milk house. I was told it was 92 years old not sure. But still works as of today.

[@royreynolds108]

The chunk you threw down was the check valve. The sucker rod with the pump on the bottom should have come out by pulling on it. That is the way those pumps were supposed to be fixed or releathered. The numbers on the casting side is the pattern number for the casting instead of a date. Our house in MI had a reciprocating piston pump so the water level was less than 25 feet.

[@ronblack7870]

i had one 80 ft deep

[@buggsy5]

You are limited to about 25 feet only if you have a suction pump, which that pump isn't. I don't know why you were unable to pull out the lift rod. The pump was lifting water, as proven by it building pressure in the water tank, so the piston at the bottom was free. It may be that there is corrosion above and below the area the piston contacts - it wouldn't take a lot to jamb the pipe.

[@austinlloyd9757]

I agree with you a modern pump in 80 years will be fkd every😅5 t 7 years and then replace with more rubbish

[@stepheneskelson7774]

Just pull the pipe out, change out the leathers and the bottom screen, reseal the threads, put in a new rod, some guide sleeves, put back down the hole and set it right, it'll last another 75 years.

[@funnycatvideos5490]

They don't know how to do that it's before their time so they basically disabled it and now they have nothing

[@kevinroberts9394]

Looked like it was working fine. Just needed to repack the rod seal. The leathers were obviously still good as it pumped up. And it is really hard to pull good leathers. Don't see many of his videos but if his dad is still around he should remember pump Jack's and sucker rod. Last 1 I worked on we pulled over 200 ft of wooden rods. 1 broke and after changing the leathers 3 more times we learned that you have to put it back to the exact same depth in the smooth part of the casing or it will tear the leathers up in a day that jack is not as old as you may think if it is more than 25 foot deep a more reliable system that would have ran almost forever if properly maintained a couple times a year.

[@ronblack7870]

@@kevinroberts9394 customer wanted more volume i bet . 30yrs ago i was in the exact same situation put our rod could be pulled out. 80 ft. it was only 2 inch pump. used 1/2 inch pipe as the pull rod. couldn't get enough water for modern living. maybe 1-2 gal / minute tops

[@Auto-Tech-Matt]

If you watch till the end of the video he explains why the homeowner wanted a new well pump. It's an air bnb. That's why he was changing it out. So it could be easily serviced and sanitized.

[@GW71093]

I knew there’d be people in the comments complaining that they should have rebuilt this horrible contraption lol. Easy to say when you aren’t doing it, paying for it, or relying on it for your house.

[@lancereagan3046]

I bet Goulds/ ITT Corp. would love to have that pump mechanism in their museum. Or even the Seneca Falls Historical Society.

[@beingthere597]

I remember that pump and the gawoosh-gawoosh sound it made. When I was a little kid (early 1950's) my grandparents had an insulated pump house on their farm that also served as a root cellar for my grandmother's canned vegetables and jellies. Big green-tint glass mason jars. The door to the pump house was thick and heavy and it was dark inside. I was really scared of that pump. Sometimes when it was quiet, I would crack the door and peek in for an adrenaline rush. When it came on, I would jump out of my skin, slam the door and run, hoping that monster wouldn't break free and chase me.

[@superskunkygrow]

man oh man to be a kid again 😂😂😂😂

[@Firedog-ny3cq]

Great memory!!

[@wvwildlifecam9159]

When something is way over than you and never seen one before. Its best to leave it alone. The antiques were made to last.

[@HardDriveGuruOfficial]

Thank heavens this equipment is being kept in a collection! Losing such a beautiful peace of history would hurt my heart something fierce.

[@chatrkat]

This is probably your most interesting service call, but I always enjoy watching your videos. That old equipment is further proof how good old American machinery was made back when companies cared to, and could afford to built quality products. Most likely original capacitor on that Wagner motor too.

[@vickchester4285]

My dad built a pump system using a similar sucker rod pump It was very reliable, and used an electric pump to drive pump. This brought back some very fond and distant memories of my Dad and me working on and maintaining our pump system.

[@KC2ATE]

I worked at Goulds in Seneca Falls for about 20 years. Neat to see old equipment still in use.

[@MIchaelPerkins-bc9zf]

My Mom, born in 1920, used a slightly different term for what you termed the leather wiper. She called it the sucker washer.

[@JoeCdaYT]

That old pump belongs in a museum

[@barryriem3216]

My grandparents had one. no tank. just a knife switch on the wall. throw it on and out came rusty water. today you pumped tomorrows water. we let it slake off over night. the rust would settle on the bottom. we were left with cool sweet water. I also had one years later. it was my older pump that did not work. some oakum a belt and some grease and it was better water than my newer well. I have not heard that sound in many, many years. what a cool sound. thank you...kind of made me think of hot biscuits out of the wood fired oven...Man Man

[@EdwinSemidey]

This thing is Amazing and still working 80 yrs later . I agree with you I would want to keep it as well.

[@tomgroenbeck7620]

My grandfather installed a hand operated well on his property around 1960 with a similar mechanism. The well was 90m deep, the water was around 18m below ground. They lowered a 4" pump cylinder on 1 1/4" galvanized pipe about 24m deep into an 8" well. The piston inside the cylinder was connected by a 3/8" rod to an arm at the top. You could buy these cast iron pumps in the hardware store, they were intended for water depths about 3m, with our setup it was extremely hard to pump (I as a kid was unable to push the arm down, I wasn't heavy enough). Later my dad converted to a submersible 3-phase pump with 4" diameter, we installed a 5" plastic casing inside and filled the gap with pea gravel. Still providing water for the lawn today. I came from Germany, so the house has 400V 3-phase power (230V per phase), and no fancy electronics box, just an old fashioned pressure switch with 3 contacts instead of 2.

[@w124mercedes7]

That old gould pump will probably outlast 2 modern pumps and around 80 years old now. American made used to mean something. America built products that were built to last and be serviced. I have a refrigerator and deep freezer built in the 30s and both work like new. We have a gas stove from the 30s and a pair of gas parlor stoves we use for heat and both work great. Everything was salvaged from. An old mansion and we're totally restored. You cant buy that kind of quality and reliability anymore. I restored cars for over 35 years and restored a 1953 caddilac and after we were done we were amazed how cold the ac system was in that car. On a 110 deg day the ac would freeze you out. Its a shame American made Isn't what it used to be. We used to build the best looking cars and now we build over priced plastic junk . Truly a shame.

[@NemoBlank]

@@w124mercedes7 Hedge fund traitors and crooked politicians saw a way to get rich selling the rest of us out.

[@whatyoumakeofit6635]

I cant believe this well was ripped out. At the least it could ha e been left alone and used as a secondary emergency or auxiliary well. Or put new seals and refurbish the mechanism and keep using for another 80 years.

[@FreeFinca]

85% of you should help this man out and give him the Christmas he deserves 🎄

[@danbrit9848]

built obsolescence wasnt a thing yet ...that was when things were made right

[@paulmaxwell8851]

That is the coolest old setup I've ever seen. If it were mine I'd definitely restore it to like new.

[@rocarroll1533]

Serviced these deepwell pumps for 45 odd years,many different brands,Anderson, Mcewens,Davies etc,if you didnt have a wind mill you usually had a deep well plunger pump ,not much else before submersibles came into play bar ram style pumps

[@bartdaw6681]

Old systems work, physics doesn’t change over time, just our understanding of it. I still like my jet pump setup at our cabin.

[@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783]

Why did I find it sad to see this old American built pump that still works have to be removed. 😢❤ I also detest air bnb. 😂

[@dwightblack9881]

My grandmother had one just like that. When that pump started, it brought back a flood of memories. Thanks

[@stevepurcell7266]

My cousin is a supervisor at Goulds pumps located just outside Chicago. Great American made quality.

[@calebmunch-ae0fp20]

In Mn, those are all over the upper nw corner of the state. They are called "pumpjacks". Our well was over 200' deep, and they do work!

[@donaldswett6210]

Was a pretty common way to convert from windmill to electric pump using old sucker rod system. This being when rural electric power came to be. These old pumpjacks still show up in farm sales up here in the northern midwest.

[@Chisos1]

My aunt was still using her well with a pump jack up until she passed away 10 years ago. I still have the original windmill the jack replaced.

[@aaronbrandenburg2441]

Pump jack is the proper term for the device Shirley Coleman for converting a wind-driven pump AKA windmill operated pump such as these two Electric and yes on the world notification leading to this being converted to Electric Power. Once saw an old systemware firm power had been used as in DC low voltage surprisingly pretty much all the receptacles from the same as well as bulb bases so just be aware out there if you have some antique electrical equipment of various types and other devices check the voltage and sometimes things may be DC only as well. I was call bus and wanted and moved into a farm and what kind of baffled no power they could not find any indication that there was a connection to the grid but clearly at one point there was electricity and of course no meter nor normal service entrance. Even in ancient Antiquated one at all. However there was Warren running all over the place. Was checking things out where there was little white picture just looked in there add the bulb and said aha ha. Salsa appliances said ditto and so on right down to the old Kirby vacuum in the closet. Everything there was designed ran off low voltage DC. And was going around various places of the property shine my flashlight name of the outbuildings and said well there's your service entrance basically a big fuse board literally not even a fuse box just something that looks like more like out of Frankenstein not necessarily typical for the system but every once in a while you can see something like this apparently according to some old guys that still knew about this headband over the years. It was what was referred to as farm power I think it was 40 some odd bowls cannot remember what the voltage usually is. Don't think it was 36 but might have been at one point And the old batteries were still there even some of them still had acid in them! Glass jar lead acid batteries! There was a gasoline generator as well apparently that one was equipped for automatic start the thing is there were batteries but it is could be run by just turning on a load in the generator starting and of course topping up the batteries while in use the idea on that system was the batteries could be used without having the generator run constantly sometimes the generator was just ran by itself and other times it was a combination of batteries and in various different setups. By the way that place also had an acetylene generator for carbine lighting it looked as though they had used both not sure which was first or that originally it was gas but some of the fixtures had both Gas and Electric it's possible some of this was pre-wired for the system before it was installed don't know the full history of the place. For example the kitchens and acetylene gas stove that would have been run from the acetylene lighting plant did the settling generator was in a separate outbuilding that was essentially a big concrete box some people thought these were actually a storm shelter and in many cases were used for this after the system for the assembling lighting plant in head removed for good. Another interesting system that was on the property was using the some people call it Airgas but I'm not sure of the proper term for this. Essentially an underground giant enormous carburetor apparently would have wicks in there to get gasoline to pay for us and there would be some sort of lower possibly a Roots blower in some cases what are would be pumped into there and then the resulting air in fuel vapor what's my back and used for lighting. There was no connection as far as I know to the house with this but there was some stuff that was capped off maybe the acetylene have been used for one part and the other for another or one system superseded the other but I'm feeling they're both working around the same time period and there was a bit different fixtures and sometimes even electric and the two fixtures for these two different systems in the same building so hard to say what happened

[@assyholey4224]

The farm behind ours had alote of the same stuff in a shred behind the slave house big glass bottles with wires coming out the brick summer kitchen was bigger than some small homes.slave house has fire place so big it divided the house in halves.

[@GrymWorks-A.I.]

The Wagner motor Model G902 K4180 The model # is *G902* The rest is a date code *K=November* *44=1944* *80=8th day* So, Wednesday November 8, 1944

[@MrWolfSnack]

Wow built during the height of WW2. Just 3 days after that motor left the assembly line, the Allied troops bombed Iwo Jima. On the specific day it was made, Joseph Goebbels announced the V-2 rocket campaign.

[@kittyfanatic1980]

I get k4180 no real way to tell without it right in front of me if that last digit is a 1 or 4

[@GrymWorks-A.I.]

@@kittyfanatic1980Thats what I said.

[@charlestonsclocal]

It’s great showing us this antique well. Sad it was destroyed.

[@johndenton5555]

Made back when things were made to work properly, to last, and to be repairable. That pump is so cool! would be fun to rebuild it!

[@jeffwxyz]

Took something out that lasted 80 years and still working. It will be lucky if a new pump lasts 8 years.

[@phenry5083]

Good thing modern pumps have no problems lasting 50 years

[@brando12343]

you can easily get 25+ years out of a quality modern pump

[@kevamor]

But why take one that that will outlast any new pump even after already used for 80 years? Should just rebuild all that in there, new seals fix that rod and get another 80 years.

[@raxorlp9932]

@@brando12343 idk about that ^^

[@rupe53]

@@kevamor The biggest problem with the old pump is it will NOT supply water at a rate suitable for today's demands. It was installed long before people had hot showers, flush toilets, and washing machines. Matter of fact, I doubt the well yield can keep up with a family of four, which will be over 400 gallons a day at today's standard.

[@joemccain5606]

It is called a working head. Has a cylinder on the bottom and a form of one on the top they were used on low output wells. You can use a monitor pump jack and a brass cylinder modified and mounted upside down for the top end.. some folks used Jensen jacks which did the same job but looked like mini oil field pumps.The Great Plains area will keep wellmen on their toes at least they have kept me learning for the last 35 years

[@patrickjordan7670]

This is the second time I've watched this and I'm fascinated by that old pump how it keept working for so long they don't make them like that anymore I never miss your videos iv got a 290ft well here in rural Ireland myself iv pulled the pump up a couple of times in the last 25 years I'm dreading the next time it happens I'm nearly 70 not as strong as I used to be

[@kevinlsims7330]

We Had That Same Pump Growing Up!! When The Power Was Off For Weeks Due To Tornado Damage We Cut A Door In The Blocks And Used A Motor Cycle To Spin The Pump So We Would Have Water To Cook With On Our Coleman Camping Stove!

[@awhensley]

I lived in Seneca Falls in the late 1960's. Gould pumps and the birth of the Women's suffrage movement was what Seneca Falls was famous for. I really enjoy your videos. They are very informative.

[@donaldshimkus539]

Brings back memories of working on an old reciprocating pump run by electric motor. It was in a basement because the house was added onto in the 40s or early 50s. Two 100 gallon galvanized pressure tanks. They had microscopic leaks below the water lines. I moved away before that became a disaster or someone else got to replace it.

[@markkowaleski3515]

The pump was made about 35 miles from where I live, Seneca Falls, NY. They're still I business, I used to deliver steel to the factory in the 70's....1970s!

[@samsiryani9023]

Made in AMERICA and that’s why it still hold the test of time. Amazing stuff to see.

[@layne3718]

We have this same setup at our farm in a 50 foot hand dug well. still works as a backup. Same style pump, mabye little older.

[@DaveBooth-qs7sw]

When the deep well cylinder gets stuck in the well causing it takes lots of patience by pulling it up & pushing it down to clear & scrap some of the corrosion from the insides of the casing. It can take lots of time, but eventually with perseverance you will get the deep well cylinder out!

[@apollorobb]

That piece you cut off was a Check Valve . My Great Grandmother had a converted windmill well hers was a gravity feed style not a pressure style it had an overhead water tank that fed the house . Hers had almost the same gear box it may have been a bit older .

[@farmboycharlie6543]

Systems are pretty simple and repairable by most farm shops will out last a cheap a Chinese made pump. Haverepaired them with leather from old work boots and fabricated metal parts from salvage farm equipment. Our dairy farm well still uses a 3 inch casing under the old windmill. We have upraded it ourselves over the years. Still pumping 2,000 gallons plus a day out of a 30 ft well. Jack pump there was removed back in the 1960's as demands increased. But I still kept one up for inlaws until they moved in 2000. Was supplying a small farm and house just fine for 85 years

[@scotts.2624]

I used to work at a machine/ fabrication shop that specialized in rebuilding old machines. That would be a fun project to rebuild.

[@walterochsner8145]

Amazing what you find on old systems, that was state of the art at one time.

[@Mr_Meowingtons]

that belongs in a museum!

[@woodhonky3890]

Yep, you fixed it.

[@iamdesertpaul]

I feel like Hand Tool Rescue would love this. The gismocity with this is incredible.

[@brandonhoffman1875]

It works like a little oil well with a stand valve and a traveling valve in a working barrel. I’ve never seen one that small.

[@buggsy5]

It may not be as small as the creator is conjecturing. I have seen a number of similar setups that used about a 3" pipe.

[@brandonhoffman1875]

@@buggsy5 it looks small. I have a couple wells that use 1 1/2 inch tubing and it’s bigger than that

[@crabmanrockefeller9117]

Agreed on the new well. However, I would try two hydraulic jacks and a jack plate to pull the casing (start the pull on the pump rods) or actually pull hard enough to break the casing free and pull the whole thing. Then you can cement it and do a decent P and A. Two 12 ton jacks and a jack plat would give you 24T of pull. 1" jack plate. Once the sucker rod breaks use that on the casing. 24 tons should get the casing moving then you should be able to pull it with a crane. Maybe more than 6000' crain.

[@crabmanrockefeller9117]

My fear is this well could cross flow and contaminate the new well. So casing jack out and proper PA.

[@ocsrc]

That belongs in a museum. I wish we had a well museum in America that would ask for these systems and other 70+ year old systems

[@heroslippy6666]

It'd be amazing to see a bunch of ancient pumps setup and maintained to keep on running like they originally did.

[@iansmartel5473]

Using wind power before the word GREEN POWER was thought of.

[@rickatkins1493]

Your solution is the only way that well can pass a Legit inspection. I lived in Virginia for many years, and I have dealt with a lot of inspectors. Great to see the old American made product steel functioning❤

[@johnsmith7676]

Inspections are for slaves. And, the ones mandating these "inspections" are your masters, and ANYTHING but legitimate.

[@4bSix86f61]

It's astonishing that ancient tech lasts longer than modern tech.

[@wendellporter4875]

modern tech is chinese made crap

[@bobmatt9742]

We live in a throw away country now !!!!

[@dmetriglover3628]

Pretty cool find I would love to have that pump that old stuff amazes me. This well is almost like servicing a oil well with that packing box over the wellhead . Sad that the well couldn't be saved but that's the way things go and you learned and gained experience so it's a successful day.

[@danmerillat]

Fixing the seal would have given them a system that'd work another 80 years. My "modern" pump had to be replaced 3 times in a decade.

[@ian3580]

There was more broken than the seal. The air piston was also broken

[@danmerillat]

@@ian3580 I'm sure they'll be saying "Sure glad we got rid of that piece of junk with one worn out part" as they replace their fifth starter cap.

[@ian3580]

@@danmerillat What are you doing to well pumps that you're replacing starter caps that often? My neighbors and I are all on about 12 years without pumps without issues....

[@northwoodsguy1538]

I had friends use pump jacks like that powered by gas engine ( ie 5HP Briggs with horizontal shaft) in the Dakotas to water cattle on parcels that are not close to power. Suppose they could use a generator and motor like your setup.

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Amazing effort to save this well. I'm delighted that you took video of the old pump working one last time. That whole place is a time capsule. It's great that the owner is keeping the old pump unit.

[@truth6600]

Goulds ,the best I've ever worked with.

[@Tate6788]

That’s a piece you take back and put on your shelf what a cool find !

[@deuscaffeum526]

Exactly the setup at may grandparents house up till the mid 70s when they made everyone go on to city water. He still used it to water the garden. And to drink water way better than the city had to offer.

[@horatioyen256]

Thanks for sharing the failures as well as the success

[@knox16161]

I own a property in TN that has exactly this same setup only the pump is a MYERS. I live in CA so I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet. This is the first video I’ve been able to find that has shown how the system is put together. After some research the pump head can be adapted to a windmill powered mechanism as well.

[@jim7smith]

Shame that was rusted to ruin. Definitely a unique pumping system. Looks identical on a smaller scale to the oil well pumps I drive by in Texas

[@lbstilts]

They used to call those "Sucker Rod" pumps in my area.

[@dbad8798]

A company called Demming made a pump called a rod pump that was in a house that my parents bought when I was a teen about 60 years ago and we were told that it was over 80 years old then and we used it for 10 years and was told it was common in the area and it looked very much like the pump you have their, I live in the thumb of Michigan.

[@chuckpierce1905]

My parents'house in the 70's had the same setup and worked great! Theirs was in a vault that was located under ground and had a manhole cover for access.

[@wademizelle3433]

We had an old stroke pump like that when I was a kid. We pulled it out by hand, it was 60 feet deep and had 40 gallons a minute. Used a pipe cutter to hold the pipe up while each 10 ft. Section was unscrewed, over 60 years ago. Thanks

[@davidyansky6605]

Had one similar to this on an old farmstead I bought. I built a new house but still kept the 60' well running for 20 years until the sandpoint failed and it started pumping up mud. It's still sitting in the well house, disconnected but works.

[@davidbulich1254]

I love that old stuff

[@jf2487]

its called a rod pump has rods made of wood or later updated to steel usually run about 20 ft. each hase depths of 200-300 ft in depth on bottom is a set of cup shaped leather sleeves that are in the last section has a casing in bottom that draws water from bottom of well thru a stroking motion.old timers would pour bleach down well to shrink leathers to make them easier to pull

[@hermanschepers4739]

Have my granddad's old house and shop. So I inherited the old wooden rods we pulled out in the mid 60's.

[@donaldshimkus539]

The wildest one I ever saw was in a very old farm house. Water was pumped by a windmill and stored in the tank on the windmill. A pipe came from the tank to the attic and teed off for cold going down and the other side went into a copper lined box with a float valve (much like that in a toilet) in the attic. I figured this is how they got hot water most of the year.

[@macdude3585]

Out with the good in with the Garbage

[@stevelalondejr2183]

Welcome to my world pump jacks, cylinders & leathers here are still a normal well pumping system. You might have fixed that with a different rig, tools & more knowledge of how they work and are put together you had plenty of pull though. I agree with the sanitize aspect to a point and they aren't major gpm units for pumping water but they'll make pressure when right. We have gas in some wells here and these will pump water and gas with a Hoffman 79 valve added to vent gas off. They are like a ship slow and steady time replaces speed/volumes or submersible pump type well system. It was working just needed some care and fixing a new well and system will help a rental system for sure. My oldest now 40 cussed me teaching him these type systems along with jet pumps etc but they make $$ when you are the only one able or willing to work on them ! Get a 6'-8' hoist chain 1/4''- 3/8'' high tensile and make a loop chain save yourself from nylon slingshots! At least you tried that's way more than most would do here and a good pump jacket still works and worth $$ saving getting hard to come by.

[@tommystarcher6982]

Of course it still works! Everything they built back then was built to work for decades and decades

[@tacoma50]

Worked for 80 years….. until you put your hands on it!

[@williamallen7836]

Except you can't sanitize that old setup. Which negates being able to rent the property out as an AirB&B as the property owner plans on doing. Plus if you rewatch the beginning when the pump kicks in and some of the water leaks to the top, you will see the unmistakable sheen of oil in the water. This is caused because the side of the pump housing is open, and some oil gets splashed out. If the water leaks out at the top, then the oil will leak down into the well when the pump stops. I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of drinking oil contaminated water or even bathing in it. Just because old setups may last longer does not mean thar it's the best method. It may be robust if maintained, but it allows the well to be contaminated with each use of the pump.

[@lawrencewillard6370]

He was paid to do it. The owner made the choice.

[@nickjudd5188]

I agree. Educate yourself, research the system and service it properly. Replacing it with modern gear is inefficient use of resources. As for the sanitation requirement, all they needed to do was install a filtration system between the pump and house.

[@ian3580]

Actually it wasn't working. The air piston was broken anyway.

[@roberts.3712]

We had a pitcher pump next to the kitchen sink as a kid growing up. Don't know how you could service it but it lasted forever. Better than going outside in the winter. I am 85 years old by the way.

[@hardhead5700]

We used a pump like that when my dad first built his house in the 50s, he switched to an electric pump in 63. He kept the pump on the pipe stand next to the house after he had his new well put it. It still moves really smooth like it still wants to pump water

[@thomasulrichs7248]

That is like an old fashioned galvanized hand pump with wood handle and leather wiper. We used them to pump out our wood sail boat and row boat.

[@raymondburch3670]

The side part was a priming collar, just made it easier to keep jack seals wet and primed.

[@shawnzimmerman1547]

Thats a piece of history man

[@drob5664]

Great find, it has been probably 35 years since I came across an old working jack pump.

[@KevinKinder-ey9gv]

Put that pump in a museum

[@BRICEN18]

I’d like to recommend some tools. 1. Steel wedge mcmaster# 5775A1 These are great for separating mating surfaces. 2. Ball peen hammer, save the claw hammer for nails. 3. A 3/4/5 lb sledge of your choice.

[@networkguy3152]

I found a similar setup once in a basement of a farm house. It was a homemade do hickey that was like some kind of steam engine wheel that spun and actually pumped a hand pump.

[@turnbullfl4114]

If I was homeowner, I would have said "Put it back together the way it was".

[@phenry5083]

No you wouldn’t have because that’s the risk you take with wells and you sign off on it before hand

[@williamallen7836]

Why? Do you like an oil contaminated water supply? Rewatch the beginning when the pump kicked in. There's the unmistakable sheen of oil in the water that leaks past the pump. That oil comes from the open side of the gearbox. The oil gets splashed out. If the water leaks past the pump piston, then oil will leak down into the well when the pump stops. I don't care how robust that old system may be, it's a health hazard. Not to mention all the poison from all that rust. It's so rusted that you can't even repack the seals so it won't leak. The old pump had it's day, and Long life. It's time to move on to something that won't posion it's owners.

[@kenwillis8487]

They bought the house to rent out! I know from my past as a real estate agent that the well either passes or fails water quality and flow tests! I’m guessing the well failed inspection or the water samples fails due to oil and dirt contamination! It would have been a condition of the mortgage company that the well was replaced either b4 closing on the property or money was placed in escrow to pay for new well or retrofit of existing!

[@williamallen7836]

@@kenwillis8487 Exactly. Just because an old item is robust, it does not mean it has not out lived it useful life or overall better in it's current use.

[@Lunas2525]

The water was not safe to use as it was it was even stated in the video it would not pass current water standards. Also it was already partially broken and looked ready to break any time. Its just too bad we dont get to see them pulling out the 2 inch casing and drilling a new well

[@johnmuir3233]

Well you got the first and last video of one of those pumps running. Still cool

[@richards5843]

I believe the last part you cut off is a back flow preventer. It keep water from draining from the pressure storage tank back into the well.

[@william6526]

That broken shaft is suppose to open and close a gate valve to stop the water that's is pumped from leaking back down into the well. We used this type of pump on the farm for years before we had electric pumps. As long as the wind blew we had water. We had a large tank to supply us with water when the wind wasn't blowing. You need to see if the owner will let you put that old pump in your shop for a collectable piece of history that's probably one of the last you will ever see.

[@hiteck007]

I guess that's why there was a check valve a bit further along in the pipe work which would work a lot better than that idea.

[@henningventer2917]

In South Africa those pumps are still popular. Some with stationary distillate or diesel motors and some with electric motors. Makers names that I can think of is National and Rapid. That Goulds was manufactured as a powerhead for a deep well.

[@rocarroll1533]

Google Track Industries in Christchurch New Zealand, pretty sure they still manufacture a new Anderson deepwell rod pumps,beautifully engineered and smooth running pump gearing

[@donlancaster7306]

We had a windmill pump well it was awesome

[@KenLee-e5y]

Can't tell you the last time I saw one of these. A reciprocating dingle arm actuating a canooter valve is how all wells used to work areound here. Now they have all been converted to electric submersable pumps and the old casings made of prefabulated aluminite have been replaced with PVC. They just dont make them like they used to.

[@randymarrs1532]

That old pump pretty cool

[@oliverstreet7704]

The chunk you didn't understand is a gravity operated flow check being used as what was called a foot valve. Flow from the well lifts the weight from its seat. Gravity puts it back down. No elastomer seal. No spring. Low opening pressure. Very low flow resistance. The weight's motion and turbulent opening flow clears small particulates and some minerals, can develop buildup allowing reverse flow and require cleaning. Extremely low failure rate. High manufacturing cost. Heavy, high shipping cost. A similar type of flow check is used for hydronic heating.

[@SledgeHammer43]

Be nice to see you drill a new well for that site.