one way to drive a shallow well point

[georgepds]

I installed a shallow well last week. Bought all the pipe parts for the well head from home depot.

You pound 5’ lengths of 1 ½” schedule 40 galvanized pipe coupled together by special fittings that can can stand the stress. You put an end cap on top so as not to destroy the threads. The bottom is a 2’ section called a sand point ( it has a point on the end, holes on the side, and is shielded by screen to prevent debris from coming in)

The pipe is driven in sections. Attached is a picture of Bob and his friend Sokon driving it down with a 27 lb specialty hammer called the wam bam (also from Home Depot, special order). It really helps to have a couple of beefy friends to drive the point.

You test for water by dropping a string tied to a nut down the pipe. Not exactly high tech, but it doesn’t need to be. We found water 9’ below grade and drove the point down to 15’

We attached the well head to a Harbor freight 1 HP 896 Gal per minute shallow well pump ( I know , junk, but it was just suiting around the shed, and so far it works) . It’s a simple pleasure, but it was fun to see the water coming up out of the ground (the final connection was clear plastic pipe) .

 

[begreen]

I wish that was so easy on our property. We could really use an agricultural well.

 

[georgepds]

I wish that was so easy on our property. We could really use an agricultural well.

I get what you're saying,deep wells are more difficult than shallow wells, but it is not that easy. Towards the end it took them 15 strikes to go 6". Others have reported 40 strikes to go an inch ( smaller hammer).

15 strikes was all they could muster, then they'd have to catch their breath

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have the automated version of that. From Deep rock well drilling company(got it back in the 80s) They are still in business today.http://www.deeprock.com/hd/ Engine turns a similar 5 ft pipe sections with a carbide coring tip and flushes the cuttings out with water. I used it once and it cuts fast through relatively soft rock like shale. You end up with a 4" Dia. Well. My kit was for 50Ft but they claim you can buy additional threaded steels and go a lot deeper.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I wish that was so easy on our property. We could really use an agricultural well.

What kind of bedrock under your place and what depth is the water table. That will determine if you need to call in the big rigs.

 

[begreen]

No bedrock here, we are on a massive glacial dump so mostly glacial till. That can be sand, gravel, clay layers, and boulders from 1 ft across to the size of a Buick. The main issue is finding an aquifer. If you are lucky you may hit a spring on top of the clay. But you could also drill several times and come up dry. The main aquifer is several hundred feet down. Folks below us had a well drilled down 190 ft and only get about 2.5g/minute.

 

[georgepds]

Re hydra drill

Do you use a casing with that?

What prevents the sides from collapsing?

 

[Ashful]

I'd be surprised if there's not an attachment for a rented skidsteer that could handle the hammering action, no?

View attachment 227631 I have the automated version of that. From Deep rock well drilling company(got it back in the 80s) They are still in business today.http://www.deeprock.com/hd/ Engine turns a similar 5 ft pipe sections with a carbide coring tip and flushes the cuttings out with water. I used it once and it cuts fast through relatively soft rock like shale. You end up with a 4" Dia. Well. My kit was for 50Ft but they claim you can buy additional threaded steels and go a lot deeper.

We may need to talk, at some point. I've been toying with the idea of placing a hand-pumped well between my barn and chicken coop, for watering chickens, getting water when I'm working in my barn (wood/metal shop), and just showing the kids how we used to get water.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
Good Job!
I bet the new Wam Bam vinyl fencing that Home Depot sells gets it’s name from that Wam Bam tool because they use it to set the fence posts quicker and easier!
See
https://www.homedepot.com/s/Wam%20bam?searchtype=text&NCNI-5

Also see videos
https://wambamfence.com/video/short-demo-of-no-dig-fence-23.html

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Re hydra drill

Do you use a casing with that?

What prevents the sides from collapsing?

Yea they sell casing. You usually only need casing at the top section or so until your in mostly rock.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I'd be surprised if there's not an attachment for a rented skidsteer that could handle the hammering action, no?
.

No hammering action with this system ,just cutting action. I dont suppose you can go too far hammering. Pretty simple setup ,the key is the hose connection that sends water down the drilling stem to flush out the cuttings ,just like the big rigs. You can also drill into a hillside at a downward angle to try to create a spring.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I've been toying with the idea of placing a hand-pumped well between my barn and chicken coop, for watering chickens, getting water when I'm working in my barn (wood/metal shop), and just showing the kids how we used to get water.

You can put together a set up without the powerhead(most expensive component) You will need the cutting bits, 5' drilling steels and water adapter that takes water from a garden hose and sends it down thru the steels. Usually use a 1.5 in steel to drill the initial hole and then reaming bits to open it up to as much as 4" . To power the system you can use a HD electric Drill. Like those right angle ones used in construction.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

No bedrock here, we are on a massive glacial dump so mostly glacial till. That can be sand, gravel, clay layers, and boulders from 1 ft across to the size of a Buick. The main issue is finding an aquifer. If you are lucky you may hit a spring on top of the clay. But you could also drill several times and come up dry. The main aquifer is several hundred feet down. Folks below us had a well drilled down 190 ft and only get about 2.5g/minute.

You need the big rigs ,and even then you have no guarantee. Could get expensive.

 

[maverick06]

good for you, I am envious!

you can google about washing in wells. I did it with PVC, stopped at 16', ran out of time that day. Couldnt get it restarted... dry at 16'. I will give it another try, Frankly surprised I didnt get water at 16' based on the location...

Thats nice to have a second water supply.

 

[begreen]

You need the big rigs ,and even then you have no guarantee. Could get expensive.

Correct, except that it's almost guaranteed to be very expensive. That's why I haven't done it.

 

[georgepds]

There are lots of problems you can encounter. The first one is lack of water. I had a shallow well for ~20 years before the city put in city water a decade ago. I finally had a little time to put the well back in for exterior use. Moral is I know there was water there, and it was not that deep. I also knew it was deeper than 6’. When the sewer went in, it was above the head of the tallest worker. I also knew it would not be much past 23’ deep, 33’ is the theoretical max, but factor in pipe and pump loss, and the old systems just would not have worked so deep

Another thing in my favor was sand. Dig down past the surface perturbations, and all you find is coarse sand, there would be no rocks blocking my path. But sand is not a friend to all, in looking up hydra rock stories, I found one DIY tale of woe in sand, mostly due to inexperience (*)

So you do have to think a bit about what you’re trying to do. You might not strike water, you might hit a rock, the technique you use might not work. In reading about the method I used I heard tales of woe. Some people broke couplings, some people got the striker head stuck, others struck rock.

For couplings, I used the everbuilt well couplings home depot sells, and asked the tech to make the pipe threads a bit deeper. For the tap head, I used the everbuilt head and anti seize grease, and that may have helped. For rock, I dug down three feet, and that got us past all the surface perturbations that go with old construction

So I thought a bit about how to do it, and got lucky

(*)https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/adventures-with-a-deeprock-hydradrill.33182/

 

[begreen]

Wow, that's one hell of a story. Now I am firmly convinced not to try this.

 

[georgepds]

People ask me all the time to do this or that to their house when they see something finished in mine. I always say I’m a miserable carpenter/plumber/brick layer/mechanic but I’m glad to help you. I figure if their blood is mixed with mine in the disaster, it may be enough to keep the friendship.

In the back of my mind are stories like this. Though less frequent now, they happened often enough when I was younger. I one had a tie rod go bad on a Ford Mercury Comet when I was a kid. I managed to take out the front springs in trying to repair it. I had a whole neighborhood of men (Mr Hass, Dean Souwitky, Cooper, Greenberg, and Melia come to mind, though I’m sure there were more) to help put it back together, and witness my shame. Mom served drinks

 

[Seasoned Oak]

So I thought a bit about how to do it, and got lucky

(*)https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/adventures-with-a-deeprock-hydradrill.33182/

No way would i ever attempt a 250 Ft deep 6 in well with a small one person machine like this. Thats a job for the big rigs ,for sure. Im amazed he could do it at all. 50 to 100 ft possibly and often you dont need to go near that far. The water table at my country property is about 10 -12 ft deep. I already have a hand dug well there and dont think i ever looked in there with the water lower then that. Find out how deep your neighbors wells are and that will tell you the kind of equipment you need, and if it makes sense to do it yourself.

 

[jeanw]

why aren't y'all using your wells or springs for your main drinking water? It bound to be better for y'all then that dang"city water". I seen people on youtube using several filters outside and bring it in the house. I have heard DR Wynn Parker say that tap water may have over 200 contaminants; Including health damaging chloramine.
why so close to the house georgepds.? I guess it has to be? you must not have a basement by the looks of your pic. I sure wish we could tap a spring. How can one tell if water coming up is a spring or uphills people septic?
please explain
thanks y'all

 

[maple1]

Nice thread.

We've got a well point at our cottage. The cottage has been in the family for years but we just became directly involved last year. The pipe sticking out of the ground is getting pretty old looking, I hold my breath every time we go there half expecting the pipe to have finally crumbled or something. Any issues like that and I'll be coming back to this one.

 

[bholler]

why aren't y'all using your wells or springs for your main drinking water? It bound to be better for y'all then that dang"city water". I seen people on youtube using several filters outside and bring it in the house. I have heard DR Wynn Parker say that tap water may have over 200 contaminants; Including health damaging chloramine.
why so close to the house georgepds.? I guess it has to be? you must not have a basement by the looks of your pic. I sure wish we could tap a spring. How can one tell if water coming up is a spring or uphills people septic?
please explain
thanks y'all

There is absolutly no gaurantee that well water is any safer or cleaner than city water. Especially with really shallow water tables contamination is a real possibility. Our well which is very deep has extremly high levels of iron and manganese which requires lots of filtration

 

[maple1]

why aren't y'all using your wells or springs for your main drinking water? It bound to be better for y'all then that dang"city water".

How can one tell if water coming up is a spring or uphills people septic?

Your second line might be one answer to your first line.

 

[begreen]

If you have good quality water that needs no treatment consider yourself blessed. Water quality coming from the ground can vary dramatically from one spot and region to another. Everything that comes from the earth is not pure or even potable. The water can be hard or soft, acidic or base, odor free or stink of rotten eggs (SO2), stain-free or black or brown staining. In more and more areas close to urban, military or industrial sites the local aquifer has been contaminated and can be unusable. And for some folks it's even flammable.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Our local watershed is thousands of acres of clean lakes, streams and forest with almost no homes on any of it. Also no motorized vehicles allowed on it. When its extracted it runs through a modern purification and filtering plant.Taste good right out of the tap. I take the chlorine out just to be on the safe side before consuming. Its hard to do better than that with a private well. When im traveling,one one of the things i miss most is the great water here.