Survivorman: ?Where there?s a well there?s a way? http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2011/01/survivorman_where_theres_a_wel.html By George Zell Heuston Special to TheArgus January 2011 Water is important. I was reminded of that a few days ago when my well pump quit. I had a plan for this eventuality. I?ve watched Survivorman on TV. I had my 80+ gallon pressure tank that sits next to the pump in my well house. A man and his fam can go for days on that much water. But as I?d left a drip on my outside faucets to combat the prior freezing temps here on the mountain, the tank emptied before I knew the pump had stopped. First flaw in the plan--assuming that if the pump quit, I?d have the 80+ gallons in the pressure tank to tide me. I inventoried a few dubious-looking milk jugs filled with water stored around the premesis. Plan B looked bleak. Murphy?s Law being alive and well (no pun intended), the pump broke on Saturday night over the MLK holiday weekend, portending higher rates for professional repair. ?Survivorman? that I am, I donned headlight and tools and trudged to the well house. I checked the wiring from the main electrical panel. I cycled the breakers and on/off switches. All were hot and working, right up to the pump?s control box. Beyond that to the pump, nothing. Now I don?t know anything about pump control boxes; and I?m enough of a survivorman, standing in a deluge of an Oregon pineapple express, to leave 220 volts alone, even when I think it?s off at the switch. There has been many a farmer fried rediscovering electricity in well houses. I trudged back up to the house grabbed some hot tea, which thankfully I?d left in a full teapot on the stove, jumped on the computer, and signed in to Angie?s List. Some of you may have seen occasional ads for Angie?s List on TV. It is a fee-based blog ($40/year), and is defined by Wikipedia as ?a website which aggregates consumer reviews of local service companies as a way to capture word-of-mouth wisdom. Angie's List is unusual in that it charges consumers to see reviews, reflecting the company's claim that charging consumers adds credibility to the information.? Searching under the category of ?Wells and Pumps? I landed on Steve?s Pump Service, out of Clackamas. Angie?s List rated the business as an ?A? service, with a CCB license. Reviews on professionalism, price, promptitude, etc, were positive. Here?s an example: ?I researched Pump services on Angies List - then checked those names thru the Oregon CCB for good records - before calling Steve's Pump Service. (The worker) arrived promptly the next morning. He was professional, friendly, informative and worked efficiently despite my curious-homeowner-hovering...? Thus moved by the testimonials, I called Steve. ?Hi, Steve here,? he answered. I explained my problem, and Steve stayed on the phone while he walked me back to my well house and talked me through a reset procedure -- two hidden buttons under the control box needed to be pushed. I did, the well turned on, pressurized the tank, and Survivorman magically had water again. ?Thanks Steve!? I said. ?No problem, glad it worked,? he replied. ?But it?s not a good sign that the panel is kicking out. You may want to have that checked.? ?OK, can you guys do that?? ?Yes, I?ll have Jason drive out there tomorrow.? Jason, Steve?s son, arrived the next day on time and on the run. He troubleshot and walked me through both the wiring and plumbing connected to the pump. A capacitor in the control panel was old, with blackened contacts. ?That?s the culprit,? he said. He replaced it, pressurized my tank, tweaked pressure and flow, and was on his way. Impressive. My experience was just like that described infra by the Angie?s List reviewer. I will also submit a report to the List rating Steve?s Pump Service an unqualified ?A.? Now that?s a stellar example of using cyber resources to swiftly locate services and resolve a real-world problem. Where there?s a well there?s a way -- enterprise at its best -- to which this survivorman may attest. George Heuston, FBI(ret), is a columnist for TheArgus. He may be reached at
[email protected]. Catch more of Geo?s views and news at www.snooznewz.com, or blog with him at www.publicsafetylife.com.