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DejaVu

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A rant for tonight.......I had a windmill stop bringing water. We have pulled it before but it's getting hard to climb towers since the 41st anniversary of my 21st birthday wasn't too long ago. Anyway, I called a water well service and waited 10 days for their arrival. The leathers in the cylinder were shot and being a very con$cientiou$ outfit, they immediately installed a new cylinder as opposed to putting new leathers in the existing cylinder. Ok, I thought..probably better safe than sorry. New is good. The bill came yesterday. Am I wrong to think $1,874.05 is a little excessive for pulling 90 feet of pipe, installing a new cylinder and putting everything back down the well? Mileage was $300. New cylinder $314.82. Foot valve-$57.47. Pulled windmill,replaced cylinder, added foot valve & tested windmill-$1,200.00 for a total of $1,874.05 :shock: :mad: :eek:
 
:shock: It seems that so often when I get something repaired the bill is a shocker. I'm not a great fixer but I try to do at least the small stuff. But some jobs seem to get bigger as we get older, so I hear you!
 
Look at the bright side. You are still just a mere youngster compared to some of us. :)

Did the well service folks consult with you about installing a new cylinder? That would have been a show of courtesy on their part instead of just installing it if it really was not needed. The bill does seem quite high, but if the windmill now woks as good as new, it might still be money well spent as it gives peace of mind for watering cattle.
 
I was there and approved replacing the cylinder even though I knew leathers could be replaced. I felt as long as we had the well pulled, it was prudent to replace anything that looked sketchy. I'm not complaining about the cost of mileage or the cylinder. It's the $1,200 blue sky charge. I did talk to the well guy and he laughed and said he knew he should have charged me more. Guess I'm still living in the 1970's.
 
Sounds a little high to me. How long did it take them to do the job? The well service I use would have that done in about an hour. Adding a foot valve is new to me since the cylinder already has one. I usually don't replace cylinders unless they are damaged and replacing leathers won't fix them.
 
It took about three hours from start to finish. 60' to water, 90' to the bottom. There is an 8' stinger(extension) on the bottom of the cylinder and they put the foot valve on the end of the stinger. The well cover took the longest time because the holes wouldn't line up with the bolts when they set it all back down. They didn't pay attention to it's position when raising it so that caused a lot more work in the end.
 
I think you are well served to settle a bill like that in person, the day the work is done. Who could hand you a bill, and look you in the eye, for $1200 for 3 hours work? My 16 y/o son would think he daylight robbed you if he drew more than $100. (Including driving). Nothing very technical or special feat involved here. I bet you just got better at climbing windmills.
 
No. to getting better at climbing windmills. Yes. to getting better at finding someone else to do it. This was a crew sent out by a water well service. No chance to settle that day as they have to turn in their hours, mileage and materials used. Office figures the $$$$$$$$$$.
 

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