Well casing purchase

For my livestock well project I needed some metal well casing pipe.  I called around and could not find anyone who sold 2" sandpoint pipe - not that I really wanted it anyway.  I wanted a larger pipe.  6" or 8" diameter pipe.

I checked various stores.  Some never called back.  Others weren't interested in selling to or helping me as I was a one-time customer with an odd project and was not a contractor. So much for "shopping local".

I finally got two quotes for a 20 ft piece of pipe with a wall thickness of a quarter inch and a diameter of 6 inches:

• $270
• $310

 The $310 quote would deliver.  The $310 quote also had an 8 inch pipe for $470.

I decided to sleep on it.

That night I saw a craiglist post selling 6" casing:   

approximately 50 pieces between 8 and 12' long 

The seller wanted $7.50 a linear foot instead of the $13.5 and $15.5 a foot from my two quotes.  Apparently his father used to be a well driller.  Hence the pile of pipes.

I decided to get two 12 ft sections of pipe.  However, many sections had jagged cut ends.  Not good for welding two pieces together.   The 13 ft section had a smooth beveled end.  We found a 9 ft section with smooth ends.  To show how my mind - and the seller's mind - worked that evening.  13 plus 9 equaled 24.

So I loaded the two pipes and paid the seller for 24 feet.  After chatting about artisan wells, the aquifer in the Swan Range and that affected his artisan well's water pressure, and cattle, Tammy and I left.  As we drove down the road Tammy told me that 13 plus 9 didn't equal 24.

What?!

*screech*   (or the equilivant on a gravel road)

I backed up to the seller's house.  We looked for a 11 ft pipe.  They were all 10 ft or 12 ft pipes.  I went with a 12 ft pipe.  With a jagged end some would have to be cut off to square the end for the weld.