the old windmill part 1 and 2 NOW with ***PART 3*** !!!
Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2012, 10:47 PM - Edit history (3)
that is my artsy intro picture
When I was a kid, the ranch water supply consisted of several dirt stock ponds that would hold water most of the year, and two hand-dug wells about 20 to 25 feet deep. The one up the road had a gas motor attached by a belt to a lightweight pump jack. the water in it has sulfur bacteria or some kind of problem that makes the water taste like shit although it is ok for livestock or bathing (and I suppose one might eventually get used to it but...bleh. It never got used much other than in the summer to water the old apricot tree and supplement the water storage for the corrals. Grampa would fill the gas tank and start it up once a day and that was about all it produces - 4 or 5 hours of pumping. (no idea of rates anymore)
The main "house well" was down below the pecan trees. It is a concrete lined box about 6 foot sqquare. There was always a windmill over it but I have no memory of it pumping. The tower seemed to exist to temp kids into scaring their Grandmother to death. We weren't allowed to climb on it. You can imagine the reality.
It had a much heavier pump jack that also ran by belt only off an electric motor in my life time. It was covered with old bridge ties and was not the most "sanitary" situation in the world. It was my job until too recently to climb down inside to recover various deceased wildlife. Sometimes not deceased. Ever try to fish an angry racer out of a well with a stick?
This well supplied the house and the corrals both up until just a few years ago. OK more like 10, I am getting old. The southwest entered what was predicted to be a 20 year drought about 24 years ago. The well hung in for about half of that. We eventually dropped a little submersible in there and sealed the top up with concrete. About 5 years ago we had a collapse and the bottom filled in about 6 to 8 feet with soil and rock from the sides down low (that were not cased with concrete - and I always thought it was solid rock when I was hanging off that damn ladder) and buried the pump.
That was also about to where the water level had dropped, so without somebody going down in there to clean it out we were done with it. Because of the way it had caved I had extreme safety concerns - and if you know me and the sort of normal risks we live with you will read that as I was majorly askeered of going down there, or letting anybody else do it.
Jump ahead a few years and the talk of getting it cleaned out picks up - knock the concrete off the top and start watching it. It will show a little water through the year, if we could do something - clean it out someway, maybe we could at least use it for house water again - it was good tasting water (when there wasn't dead squirrels in it). The thought was to maybe drop a 20 foot length of 4 foot diameter culvert pipe down there and then start shoveling and pulling it out with a bucket like the bad old days. And there it sat - on the back, back back burner.
THEN...a couple of weeks ago...the livestock storage tank drained out one night. The husband went down to see if the cattle had broken a float or some pipe had finally rotted through. He couldn't find any mud or overflowing troughs and was standing around scratching his head when he thought he heard water running. Over by the old well.
too be continued...
= new reply since forum marked as read
But hey, if you say it's a windmill, who am I to argue? 
Can't wait for the rest of the story. 
Last edited Mon Jul 9, 2012, 11:01 PM - Edit history (2)
About 20 feet away from the old well is a water trough for the livestock. I am not sure when it was built originally but about 15 years ago the plumbing rusted out and we replaced it and added a short half inch pvc line back over to the corner of the well box so a garden hose could be used down there.
I am not sure what happened first - the chicken or the egg - a collapse and leak or a leak that caused the colapse, but this is what we saw:
note how the steel gate is tilted
closer view of the outside of the well box and gate corner
and...
finally, THIS is what we see INSIDE the normally dark well (heh a dry well can have water in it if you drain several thousand gallons from a storage tank back into it!)
hmmm bit of a dilemma eh?
stay tuned, there is more
A few years ago my neighbor (the good one) started a side business doing windmill and well work - everything except drilling new wells. He has also helped out with countless neighborly "emergencies" - everything from rescuing me in broken down vehicles to keeping an eye on certain other neighbors if you know what I mean.
I owed him a bit of a favor for some extra work he had to do on our main well last year so I offered him the old windmill if he could come take it down before it fell.
Here he tries to climb it for a look see, but there is a definite tilt towards the collapsed corner. He came back down when he felt it start to move.
OK we will need to park this big truck right next to the hole and we will just stand on the edge while we plan how to disconnect the electric line and hook the crane to the tower.
First, let's get this gate post and gate out of the way. Hell of a lot easier than a pick and digging bar, eh?
Then we will run the hired kid up the side of the tower on the crane cable to disconnect the power line.
Pry the breaker box loose (while standing right at the edge of a sinkhole 
)
OK now time to go up for a look.
Just wrap this chain around here. (note lack of saftey equipment - cowboys and bikers: crazy mofos)
unbolt the legs
aaannnnddd we have lift off!
just set this over here... (yes the crane has a remote control 
)
and gently lay her down
too be continued (stay tuned all you old machine freaks, also you young ones too)
Kali.
we used to pull 25 or so by hand with an oversize pulley I would think if you set up some kind of a tripod like for pulling an engine you could manage pretty easy with a come-along or even pulling with a vehicle (or horse/mule).
You may have to cut it into manageble pieces if it doesn't flex over or binds when it does (the well in the story was only 30 feet (and has collapsed even more now 
. I sure would like to find somebody local who would like to put in a shallow well)
make sure the pump comes up with it, I remember dropping and fishing was a PITA.
If you want I can PM my well guy's info - he goes out your way pretty often, he could do that pretty easy, I am sure. I think you need to have 10 posts on here to do that and I bet this isn't your political persuasion, but its all good I get along with plenty of my neighbors. 
there is even a guy from Hereford posting here on DU and there are several from Tucson
I hear ya about the Bowie area, good descriptions 
add in the Klumps and it would make a good reality tee vee show LOL
