you've gotta watch them!
Sep 12th 2014, 11:36 am
#1
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you've gotta watch them!
We took our well pump into the repair shop of our local builders/electrical merchants for repair but said please let us know before you repair it what it will cost. We had to pay 15 euros upfront for it to be looked at by the repair man. Now I have some experience of garages and mechanics and felt pretty sure repairmen were in a similar league. So hoped for the best but had a 'just in case' plan. I photographed the pump just in case there was any 'mix up of pumps 'either accidental or on purpose. When they called back a few days later and said the pump was burned out and beyond economic repair I simply said OK, we'll pick it up. I wasn't so surprised when an hour later I got another call from the company to say that they'd made a mistake. They had a few pumps in and ours wasn't the burned out one. They would take another look at it and tell us whether it might be the 'condensador' which they suspected I asked how much that would cost and was told around 28 pounds. I am now waiting to see if they find any other problems or if they are going to let me have my old pump back repaired at a reasonable price....or unrepaired.
Our type of pump costs 250 new and the second hand market for pumps here is quite healthy and the price isn't much lower than new. I'm beginning to get very cynical in my old age! We'll see. Maybe they did just make a mistake
Our type of pump costs 250 new and the second hand market for pumps here is quite healthy and the price isn't much lower than new. I'm beginning to get very cynical in my old age! We'll see. Maybe they did just make a mistake
Sep 12th 2014, 12:46 pm
#2
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
All pumps like that have a condenser which can fail. They cost a euro or two to replace.
Sep 12th 2014, 3:51 pm
#3
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
Sep 12th 2014, 8:00 pm
#4
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
Sep 12th 2014, 8:48 pm
#5
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Location: Granada Costa
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
You're right - it's a capacitor - I was thinking in Spanish for a change. It's usually a white tube about 3 or 4 inches long with two terminals on it.
It's there to give a very big kick start to the motor when it starts. If it is faulty then the pump just does not start.
It's there to give a very big kick start to the motor when it starts. If it is faulty then the pump just does not start.
Sep 14th 2014, 2:49 pm
#6
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
Years ago we had a similar thing... Our pozo pump quit working. We can fill our cistern from a lorry, but its a lot more expensive so less desirable.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
Sep 14th 2014, 8:54 pm
#7
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Location: Aracena area Huelva Spain
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
Years ago we had a similar thing... Our pozo pump quit working. We can fill our cistern from a lorry, but its a lot more expensive so less desirable.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
Sep 15th 2014, 6:14 am
#8
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Joined: Feb 2011
Location: Mallorca
Posts: 19,367
Re: you've gotta watch them!
Woahhhh Cautionary tale that Amidesilas. I have just spoken to a friend who used to be a well digger and so of course knows a lot about pumps. He said, any probs send it to him by MRW and he'll fix it for 3 euros. (This one is a 250 euro pump new) And he said if it breaks down again he can always get a pump with a 2 year guarantee for 100 euros ...and yes we've seen something similar on ebay for 85 so we know that's about right. Talking in the thousands sound like the wrong number of zeros!
The problem was that the first fontanero claimed it to be "unrepairable", so they could legitimately "throw it away", which actually meant refurbishing it and reselling it, making a bundle in the process.
Still... "You gotta watch 'em" is spot-on.
Sep 15th 2014, 8:49 pm
#9
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,171
Re: you've gotta watch them!
Years ago we had a similar thing... Our pozo pump quit working. We can fill our cistern from a lorry, but its a lot more expensive so less desirable.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
Anyway we called a local fontanero who looked at it and said he'd need to pull it up before he can figure out what's wrong. Seemed reasonable, so we agreed to his €300 price for pulling it up (it's deep - 170 meters).
So they can with a crane an pulled it out to find it was encrusted with mud. Apparently sediment had accumulated in the pozo and had reached the level of the pump. It only needed to be raised off the bottom.
Anyway, it was a very big pump. He said he'd have to take it to the shop to look at it to see if it can be fixed. So away he went.. Pump and all.
Well, in a couple of days he called and said the pump is unrepairable, and a new one would cost over €2 grand. OK its an expensive pump, I thought, but I reckoned getting a second opinion would be sensible.
So I called other fontaneros who quoted me wildly varying costs from €1200 to €6000. It took several weeks - actually a couple of months to get all the quotes. In the end, the low bidder convinced me, so I had him out to measure the fittings, etc. When he saw the pump had been removed, he asked where it was - and I told him.
Shocked, he said that you never ever "throw away" an expensive pump like that, and they can always be fixed for less than replacement cost, and said I'd better get it back because I could save as much as €1500 replacement cost. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and had already offered ways to do it cheaper, so I twnd to trust his judgement.
So I called the first fontanero, who told me they had "thrown it out". Right then. When I told the other fontanero, he just shook his head and said "No, he had it refurbished and sold it, you NEVER throw away a pump like that. Never.".
€2000 mistake. Yes, you gotta watch 'em.
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Last edited by Rotor; Sep 15th 2014 at 9:00 pm.
Sep 15th 2014, 9:36 pm
#10
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Re: you've gotta watch them!
I got a call back today after I rang them. Oh they said we've checked it out and it's the windings and the condenser. That'll be 79 euroquid. I can't do that, I'll pick it up in the morning, I said. I'd rather give my friend from energijuma 100 quid for a pump with a 2 year guarantee AND have him fix the first one for next to nothing. Because we live in the Sierra we only have to go down 10 metres even in a dry summer like this. Those deep wells sound outrageously expensive!
Sep 15th 2014, 9:41 pm
#11
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Posts: 3,171
Re: you've gotta watch them!
I got a call back today after I rang them. Oh they said we've checked it out and it's the windings and the condenser. That'll be 79 euroquid. I can't do that, I'll pick it up in the morning, I said. I'd rather give my friend from energijuma 100 quid for a pump with a 2 year guarantee AND have him fix the first one for next to nothing. Because we live in the Sierra we only have to go down 10 metres even in a dry summer like this. Those deep wells sound outrageously expensive!
Sep 16th 2014, 10:22 am
#13
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Posts: 10,718
Re: you've gotta watch them!
They had to install pylons to bring in a 33,000 ? volt supply and all necessary transformers etc.
