Got dem 'ole H2O blues
Sheesh -- what is it with the big box stores these days.
My well pump failed a few days ago and I was spending this morning getting the parts to do a complete replacement of the system. I was in town at 9AM and I figured I would hit Lowes and be back here around 10:30 and get to work. But noooooooo...
Submersible pump - check
Check Valve - check
Heat Shrink kit for well wire - check
Pressure tank - check
Pump Wire - bzzzzzttt - the clerk tried to sell me solid direct burial cable when I needed immersion-proof stranded with the proper color codes.
The pump's output is 1.25" NPT (a designation for pipe threading) I got a couple of adapters to go from 1.25NPT to 1.25 poly water pipe. I want to replace the entire water line so I wanted to get a 1.25" bulkhead fitting (these are called
Pitless Adapters and go through the well casing below the frost-line). Lowes had 1" Pitless Adapters but not the 1.25". OK -- plan B -- I look for some 1.25NPT to 1" poly adapters. Bzzzzztttttttt...
I wound up having to go to Lowes,
Hardware Sales (for the 1.25" poly pipe, the proper pump wire and the 1.25 Pitless Adapter) and then to Home Depot for a 1/2" overpressure safety valve (Lowes stocked these but were out) and finally to a commercial plumbing outfit for some 1.25NPT brass nipples.
It is now 2:30PM and I just got home 30 minutes ago -- sun is starting to set so I will move all this stuff out to the pump-house and start work tomorrow.
I do not begrudge the box store being out of stock of a certain item -- they are in business to sell stuff.
Still, it is really stupid when they stock 80% of a given 'system' but do not stock the other (and critical) 20%. The general reaction of the sales force there was:
Derr... -- we have that in plastic (or worse yet galvanized -- it was the electrolytic failure of a galvanized to copper connection in the house that started this whole Odyssey).
I have run into this before when running some new electrical service and needing to use weatherproof items for outside -- some things in stock, other and equally crucial things not.
Posted by DaveH at December 8, 2011 2:03 PM