Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating completed a well pump recovery and replacement at a second home in Kremmling, Colorado. For two years, the owners had lived with water that came and went, and the cause had been taken for a pressure problem. Pulling the equipment confirmed that the well pump had separated from the drop pipe deep in the well.
Project Facts
- Location: Kremmling, Colorado
- Project Type: Well pump recovery and replacement
- Property: Second home
- Equipment Installed: Franklin Electric 1.5 HP, 10 GPM submersible well pump; Franklin Electric SubDrive Connect variable-speed drive; new pressure transducer
- Primary Concern: Two years of on-and-off water that had been blamed on pressure
- Cause Found: The well pump had separated from the drop pipe hundreds of feet underground
- Additional Work: Recovery of the old pump, drop pipe and wiring with specialized equipment; well sounding; new pitless adapter; new schedule 120 PVC drop pipe with stainless steel couplers; new check valves; pressure tank pre-charge reset; well chlorination
- Result: A new pump and a variable-speed control system built to work within what the well can produce
The Challenge
For two years, the owners of a second home in Kremmling had lived with water that came and went. The water was never fully out and never fully reliable. Their working theory was a pressure problem, and on paper that theory made sense: the well pump and equipment were only about five years old, young enough that most homeowners would not suspect the pump itself.
That assumption is what kept the real cause hidden for two years. A pump that is slowly separating from its drop pipe does not always fail all at once. It can deliver intermittent, unpredictable water for a long time before it gives out completely, and from the surface that looks a lot like a pressure issue. Solving it meant getting a technician down to where the hardware actually lives, not just troubleshooting from the pressure tank. Our post on signs your well needs service covers other symptoms worth watching for.
Diagnosing a well problem hundreds of feet underground takes specialized retrieval equipment, and the owners’ schedule added its own pressure. As with many Grand County properties, this is a second home, and the owners were in town for only part of the process before heading back to their other home.
The Solution
The job started with technician Joe, who diagnosed the issue on an initial visit. Systems Advisor John then scoped the estimate before any work began, and Danny and Zach handled the recovery and replacement on a follow-up visit about a week later.
Recovering the Old Pump
Pulling the old equipment confirmed the diagnosis. The well pump had separated from the drop pipe deep in the well, and the crew needed specialized recovery equipment to bring the pump, drop pipe and submersible wiring back to the surface.
Once the well was open, the crew sounded it to get current, accurate numbers. The static water level and total depth did not match the older records on file, which is a reminder that measuring a well directly beats relying on paperwork that may be years out of date. The crew chlorinated the well and allowed contact time before returning it to domestic use.
A New Pump Sized to the Real Depth
With the well open and properly measured, the crew installed a new Franklin Electric 1.5 HP, 10 GPM submersible well pump on a new pitless adapter. The pump hangs on new schedule 120 PVC drop pipe with stainless steel couplers, with new check valves at the pump discharge and at regular intervals up the line. The crew set the new pump several hundred feet down, sized to the well’s real depth rather than an outdated figure.
A Variable-Speed Drive Matched to the Well
The more significant upgrade was on the control side. In place of the old fixed-speed setup, the crew installed a new Franklin Electric SubDrive Connect variable-speed drive. This control ramps the pump’s output up and down to match the home’s actual demand instead of running the pump at one constant speed.
That matters for this well, because the surrounding geology does not support drawing water at a flat, maximum rate continuously. A variable-speed drive reduces the strain on both the pump and the well while still delivering consistent pressure at the tap. The crew also installed a new pressure transducer in place of the old pressure switch and reset the pressure tank to the correct pre-charge for the system’s target pressure.
Before calling the job finished, the crew flushed the new system, tested it under load, and confirmed that it was cycling and pressurizing the way it was designed to. All required paperwork was filed with the state as part of closing out the job.
The Results
The two-year mystery has an answer: a separated pump, not a pressure system slowly wearing out. The old equipment is gone. In its place are a new pump, new drop pipe, and a variable-speed control system built to work within what this well can actually produce, rather than a fixed-speed setup working against it.
For a well with real production limits, that difference matters. The goal was not to force more water out of the ground than the well can naturally deliver. The goal was a system that delivers steady pressure without overworking the well or the equipment in it, so that the same slow failure does not repeat itself.
Well Pump Service in Kremmling and Grand County
Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating has served Grand County for over 100 years, and this job is a reminder that a symptom at the surface does not always point to the cause underground. Sometimes solving a well problem means going all the way down to see what is really there.
Our Sweet Water Pump Services team, part of Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating since 2018, services, repairs, and replaces well pumps, pressure tanks, and water storage systems in Kremmling and throughout Grand County. Sweet Water Pump Services has been part of the Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating family since 2018, and Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating was the first plumbing company in Grand County to hold a Colorado Water Well Pump Contractor License.
Our team also provides well water testing and plumbing service in Kremmling. Two other Kremmling projects show the water treatment side of our well work: methane well water treatment and whole house well water treatment.
Dealing with water that comes and goes, or a well system that is starting to act up? Call Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating at 970-627-3441.
More well pump projects: well pump replacement in Tabernash and well pump and control system replacement in Fraser.
Well Pump Recovery FAQs
Why does my well water come and go?
One cause is a well pump that is separating from its drop pipe. A pump in that condition does not always fail all at once. It can deliver intermittent, unpredictable water for a long time, which looks a lot like a pressure problem from the surface. The owners of this Kremmling home lived with on-and-off water for two years before the separated pump was found.
Can a well pump fail when it is only a few years old?
Yes. The pump at this Kremmling home was about five years old when it separated from the drop pipe deep in the well. At that age, most homeowners would not suspect the pump itself.
What is a variable-speed well pump drive?
A variable-speed drive ramps the pump’s output up and down to match the home’s actual demand instead of running the pump at one constant speed. On a well that cannot support drawing water at a flat, maximum rate, a variable-speed drive reduces the strain on both the pump and the well while still delivering consistent pressure at the tap.
Why measure a well during a pump replacement?
Older records can be wrong. On this job, the static water level and total depth did not match the records on file. Measuring the well directly let the crew size and set the new pump to the well’s real depth.
What is done to a well during a pump replacement?
On this job, the crew chlorinated the well and allowed contact time before returning it to domestic use. Before calling the job finished, the crew flushed the new system, tested it under load, confirmed that it was cycling and pressurizing correctly, and filed the required paperwork with the state.
Does Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating service well pumps in Kremmling?
Yes. Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating and Sweet Water Pump Services service, repair and replace well pumps, pressure tanks and water storage systems in Kremmling and throughout Grand County.
