Need advice on well pumps

I have scrapped a bunch of submersible well pumps. Seperate the motors from the actual pump section first. Don't even bother trying to break down the motor to get the copper out. All the ones I have seen had windings encased in epoxy to make them waterproof. My yard gives .25c per pound and those dang motors are heavy!

The upper pump section is usually full of plastic impellers mounted on a stainless steel shaft with stainless discs seperating the impellers. Usually you can unscrew the top fitting where the pipe threads into with a big pipe wrench and simply pull out the whole impeller stack. If the top/bottom wont unscrew just cut a few slits in the case and it will come out.

The really old pumps sometimes have bronze impellers in them! Those are a goldmine but very rare from what i've seen.

Its also nice if you can get the wiring that went down the well too! usually a few hundred feet of 10/2 or 10/3 solid core copper wire.

I love submersible well pumps!

Originally Posted by G_P

I love submersible well pumps!

I "inherited" some old submersible pumps when I bought an old homestead. Have 2 old heavy Gould ones dated to 1992, 4 old smaller ones Utilitech and such. Are these worth trying to break down (do they have valuable individual parts) or are they worth more just sending to the yard as they are? Also have an old rusty Sears water pump.

Originally Posted by newbiebutlearningfast

I "inherited" some old submersible pumps when I bought an old homestead. Have 2 old heavy Gould ones dated to 1992, 4 old smaller ones Utilitech and such. Are these worth trying to break down (do they have valuable individual parts) or are they worth more just sending to the yard as they are? Also have an old rusty Sears water pump.

Just sell as-is with motor scrap

Hello, G_P. Bubba from SC here. Thanks for help on broken pumps. Have been racking my brain and knuckles on getting the motors apart. WIll do as you say and focus on the top. THANKS!