I have an electric pump,and I was looking into getting a hand pump for a back-up, but I need to know how deep my submersible is , and also how deep is the water level. I was thinking of dropping some kind of rope or a tape measure with a weight at the end into the well pipe, that way I can measure both at the same time. My question is: will the weight at the end of my rope hurt the existing pump in any way by landing on it, or it will just go around the pump landing on the bottom of the well? Any advice?

My question is: will the weight at the end of my rope hurt the existing pump in any way by landing on it, or it will just go around the pump landing on the bottom of the well? Any advice? The weight you put ion the line won't hurt your pump. Depending upon how big the well casing us will determine if it will slip past the pump to the well bottom. Good luck. Tom

Make sure you have the breaker off when you do that. Probably already had tought of that, but it could be trouble for your pump to turn on with the rope next to the pump.

What you really need to know is how far down is it to water. That can be tough to determine. The well casing tends to stay wet and so the rope will be wet even above where it hits water. But it's worth a try.

You guys are quick! Thank you very much! I am going to try that one day this week.