Well casing - yet another failure

*sigh*

It shouldn't take this long or be this hard.

Contractor Robinson was still busy and expected to be busy the rest of the year.  Contractor Russ - the guy who was afraid to lift the pipe into the hole in case the pipe slipped and hit his excavator - was now available as he just got back from a several week hunting trip.  The problem was his excavator was on a work site on a mountain.  But he had a large pay-loader available and claimed it had a little more down pressure than his excavator.

He drove the pay-loader over Wednesday morning.  Because the bucket on the pay-loader was larger than an excavator bucket I needed to take pat of the corral fence down.  I locked all the cattle out of the corral except for the cow whose other leg was not causing her problems.  I locked her in the loading corral.

The pipe stands 15 ft above the ground.  The pay-loader can only reach 12 ft up. I climbed on the bucket and wrapped a chain around the pipe and attached it to the bucket.  Then it was time to push the pipe into the ground until we could get the bucket on top of it.

Except the pipe wouldn't go.

Both of the front wheels of the loader rose into the air from the pressure.  He rocked the pipe slightly.  After almost a half hour of this it looked like the pipe barely moved.  I re-measured the pipe.  It *may* have gone down an inch or two.  I believe he said his pay-loader weighed from 22,000 to 32,000 pounds.

So disappointing.

After listening to people who claimed an excavator the size of a Caterpillar 120 or larger pushed a 6 inch well casing pipe into the ground were mistaken.  All this time lost.

I spoke with the last well driller in the Valley who also pounds shallow well pipe into the ground.  When I mentioned I couldn't find anyone who sells a sandpoint pipe he told me of a business who did.  While a sandpoint pipe is a cheaper way to get water, I am not sold that this is the way I want to go.  The well driller said he would stop by in the next few days to see what I have and give me a recommendation and if he can use the pipe I have.

Some day I will have a water well for my livestock.  The sooner the better as the weather forecast is for another major Winter storm all of this weekend.  I want the well done before Winter stays for good.