i need to find my well

[bholler]

I have a 100 yr old house surface pump in the basement. What I am wondering is does anyone here know of a way to find the well without digging up the pipe the whole way from the house to where ever the well is?

 

[pen]

Probably has steel casing,,,, have you tried a metal detector?

 

[BrotherBart]

Here is an interesting approach to finding it.

http://www.kountrylife.com/forum/messages/109718.html

 

[billb3]

might be on a plot plan too

 

[razerface]

I thought they all stick up above the ground! Huh,,learn something every day,,,

No concrete, no outside hand pump, nothing?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I found a hand dug stone lined well under my walkway. "The giveaway" was snow didnt stick on that part of the pavement. The warmth of the water below causes the snow to melt as it hit the pavement in a 3' circle.

 

[jebatty]

If the water pipe from the house to the well is metal (and maybe even if it is not), take two pieces of heavy wire, bend each into an L shape, and then hold the one leg of each of the two L's close to each other and parallel to the ground, like divining rods, and more likely than not as you cross the metal pipe the wires will bend down. I have done this several times to locate buried electrical lines, and I think it also should work with buried metal pipe. I don't have any buried metal pipe that I know of on our property, so I can't test this suggestion. Maybe someone else has done this.

 

[Ehouse]

Look on the outside of the foundation wall. You might find a mark there indicating direction. The box should be within 10' of the foundation. A buried well head isn't code around here anymore, so if you're going to open it up, you might want to extend the pipe above ground.

 

[Jags]

Like Jim was explaining. Around here its called "witching". It will find natural and unnatural water flows. It will also work for electric lines and field tiles.



You need to walk at a 90 from the direction of the pipe (i.e. if the pipe is N-S you need to walk E-W). I take a handful of small flags and approach from both directions. Pin a flag where the wires cross, move down a few feet and do it again. It doesn't take long to see the pipe run. Keep moving a few feet down the pipe till you no longer get a reaction. There is the end of your pipe run.

Oh - and I have meet people that this doesn't work with. If you can't do it, get your wife or kid or neighbor to try it. They might think you are nuts, but wait till the first person makes it work. The look on their face is priceless.

 

[ironpony]

pics or it did not happen^^^^^^

 

[Jags]

I am one of the lucky ones that it works very well with. I actually have a set of 1/4" rods specifically for this. They will actually turn with enough force to gently slap me in the chest. I helped my young neighbor farm kid that purchased some family land find a bunch of field tiles that way. I also located a questionable electric run to my chicken coop using the same method. It sounds crazy, but it works.

 

[firefighterjake]

Always been a bit skeptical about folks and their diving rods . . . guess I would want to see the "science" behind it . . . I always have kind of suspected it might be more of the user consciously or more likely subconsciously manipulating the rods when subconsiciously or consciously they see clues as to where water or metal may be . . .

 

[Jags]

Nope - that ain't the case. The rods turn on their own. I have actually placed the rods in skeptics hands with them getting the same results. You should see their faces. As best as I can surmise - it happens because of the disruption of the natural magnetic properties in the ground.
Try it where you suspect there might be an underground conduit. An electrical line running to a building, or water line, septic trunk, etc.
But remember, you must walk at approx 90 degrees from the conduit. You must "cross its path".

And honestly - I have seen people that can't make it work. If it doesn't work for you, hand them to someone else. I would bet that out of 3 people you stand a VERY good chance of one of you being able to do it.
Go do it Jake - people are looking at me weird.

 

[Delta-T]

we no look at you weird....when you looking at us anyways

 

[bholler]

I think it might still be the old hand dug well didn't find it with a metal detector maybe I will try the divining rods lol. thanks bb I will try that

 

[Warm_in_NH]

My house is 1929. The "old" farm house is at the far corner of my lot. The dug well I use is next to the old foundation. My well pump in the basement pulls the water from the old well about 150' away!

Don't just assume it's gonna be close by.

IF you have a septic you can (hopefully) rule out that whole region of your yard to start with.

Good luck!

 

[homebrewz]

I think it might still be the old hand dug well didn't find it with a metal detector maybe I will try the divining rods lol. thanks bb I will try that

If you don't need to find it right away and your yard is relatively free of rocks, you can wait until the spring and probe around in the ground with a metal rod. Hopefully that thing is capped with a flat piece of rock (as opposed to some rotting boards).

 

[bholler]

don't need to right away no but it is full of rocks yes a metal rod will go in about 1/4' thanks it would work in some areas just not here. I wouldn't mind digging if there weren't so damn many rocks.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

don't need to right away no but it is full of rocks yes a metal rod will go in about 1/4' thanks it would work in some areas just not here. I wouldn't mind digging if there weren't so damn many rocks.

I live in "the granite state". I'm reminded of this every time we did sono tubes.

Not much worse than digging in rocks. You'd like to think there won't be any over the well, why back fill with them, but there were a bunch over my septic lid. No fun.

 

[homebrewz]

There may be a chance whoever covered the well did it with loose soil. Then, the probe would go in for a ways in the area of the well.
You might get lucky... beats digging in a bunch of spots.

The location may even be noted on the deed or original survey map, which should be on file at the local tax office.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've used the wire trick many times and it does work. However, witching with sticks is another thing. I can not do it but do know of others who can. One time when we were putting in a well by hand, I finally gave up and went to get someone we knew who could witch. He said I missed the vein by 10'. We moved it 10' and had water at 30' down. We simply drove a sand point and it worked very well.

 

[bholler]

it is not noted anywhere that was the first place I looked and the pump and foot valve were put in in 83 so the dirt covering it is no longer loose I am sure. I cant believe it is still working and I would like to find the well before the foot valve goes out. I guess I will try the wire trick

 

[ewdudley]

There could be subtle differences in vegetation or temperature, especially over the well itself. Maybe get up on the roof when the snow cover is melting or when the grass is greening and see if you can see something.

 

[FanMan]

The wire thing does work... I was first shown it by a retired US Navy submarine captain, looking for buried electric lines near a neighbor's cabin. I tried it and it worked for me, too.

 

[CenterTree]

The wire thing does work... I was first shown it by a retired US Navy submarine captain, looking for buried electric lines near a neighbor's cabin. I tried it and it worked for me, too.

Here's an odd spin on the "Witching" method.

My step Father works for a small town Water Company, he uses the 2 stick method to find water lines all the time. It really works for him. People call him all the time to find "lost" water lines.

The difference with the way he does it is that he always uses two twigs from a PEACH tree.

He claims it does not NEED to be metal wire as most use. So I think the "theory" about a magnetic disruption is not the case. I mean, he uses tree branches. Don't know. It never worked for me.