leaky water line from well - DIY or call the pro's?

[charlz]

I have noticed a few things over the last 2 years or so:

My well pump runs at pretty regular intervals even when we are not using water.

There is a 'wet path' in the driveway between the well and the end of my shop where my pressure tank sits.


The well is old and used to service a trailer at that end of the property. When the previous owners built a new house at the other end of the property (some time in 2000) they had the pump replaced, a pressure tank setup was placed in a little add-on to the shop. The water line runs from the well to my shop (approx 100ft) and does a really long haul to the house (several hundred feet).

There is a frost-free at the well, one near where the trailer sat and another over by a corral area. Near as I can tell these still T off somewhere near the well as I do get a bit of water hammer (when the pump kicks on the sprinklers sort of turn off and back on real quick).


This is the troubleshooting I have done:

Turned off water after the pressure tank to the house.... pressure slowly drops.

Turned off underground valve right before the frost free by the trailer area (turns off all but the one by the well)... pressure slowly drops.

Turned off both of the above... pressure slowly drops.



The only thing this leaves is the frost free at the well and the piping well<->pressure tank and the piping well<->underground valve for other frost frees.

The 'wet path' looks like it is where they trenched from the well to the shop.

I was thinking maybe the frost free at the well was leaking and the water was following the trench where they layed the water line/electrical that goes well<->shop so I adjusted it last fall. Was hard to tell if it helped. We have a pretty good hard clay layer that starts down about 3 feet so I am thinking it is not unreasonable for water to 'sit' in that trench. Some water from flood irrigation does occasionally reach as far as the trench. The rest of the place drains fine though so I am not sure it would just sit in the trench longer than the ground around it. It is likely the trench is the only place water can get down through the driveway.. it is pretty well packed.

There is a spot about halfway between the well and the shop where sort of a 'crusty/crunchy' spot has formed.... looks at bit like alkali. Almost looks like it is being pushed up or 'growing' from below.

At this point I am thinking the pipe split (it is Vanguard procore HDPE 1 1/4" rated at 160psi) or a connector came apart.

I have a hoe for my b7100. Should I attempt to 'explore' or do this repair myself? Or should I call in the experts? If I need to replace the line I dunno if I could find the right tools to make connections with that kind of pipe without buying them. Wife will be pissed if we are without water for days.


Thanks! and sorry for the long post. I can take some pics when I get home if that would help.

Charles

 

[wjmst]

What about putting a check valve right before the water enters the pressure tank. I assume you have the pressure switch right there as well.

This won't stop the water in the pipes from leaking out, but it will stop the pump from coming on. Of course, depending on the leak, you will have some air in the lines when the pump kicks on.

Wes

 

[ByronBob]

Send the wife to her sisters for the weekend, dig it up and start over. New plumbing done your way allows you to have control over where things are placed and what you need to do to fix it later.

Any patch work efforts as you mention only lead to grief of another form later on. I know....

 

[mikim]

Any patch work efforts as you mention only lead to grief of another form later on. I know........been there! water pipe broke at a weak spot .. fixed it -- then it broke (next day) at the next weakest spot .. fixed it -- then a few days later it broke at the next weakest spot ....... replaced the whole thing. Fix it right the first time. (if you have the time & money) It may cost more initially-- but sure saves in the end - at the very least in aggravation.

 

[BobRip]

If this is black plastic pipe, all your really need is a propane torch (to heat the plastic slightly just before you push a fitting into it, a one second pass) , something to cut the pipe ( carpet knife, hack saw, I can't remember what I used), and a screw driver.

I would dig an entire new trench and get everthing ready before cutting into the system. When you explore you will probably damage the old tube. You could also run a bypass with new pipe above ground and then work on the old. Just some thoughts.

 

[AlanB]

From my recent experience,

Do it yourself.

Do not try and "skimp" or "get by"

Change out whatever comes up, with nice new shiny, fresh, whatever flavor you think is best.

I have found that very seldom (been wrong on a couple though) have the "professionals" been better, they tend to just not care as much as I do.

I do not know the lay of the land if you will but as Bob said, run a temp, or can you just leave everything open while you sort out your repair?

 

[Egon]

In your location can The B7100 dig to below frost depth?

Consider exposing the water line at the wet spot to give yourself an indication of what you may face.

If the line is much below 5/6 feet deep seriously think about watching others do the work. Trench work is no fun and can get ugly fast. This also applies to the wet spot!

 

[charlz]

In your location can The B7100 dig to below frost depth?

Consider exposing the water line at the wet spot to give yourself an indication of what you may face.

If the line is much below 5/6 feet deep seriously think about watching others do the work. Trench work is no fun and can get ugly fast. This also applies to the wet spot!

It can dig to 6' but I don't know the depth of the line. The underground valve for the frost free's looks to be just 3 feet or so, the frost line for my area is 24 inches. I know the one frost free by the corral area is 6' as I dug that up to remove a line that went to an automatic waterer. All the frost free's are original except for maybe the one next to the well so they may be much deeper than the newer stuff like the line well<->shop.


IIRC the previous owner told me the line from the shop to the house is down 6 feet as it crosses a hay field and they wanted it well out of the way for plowing etc. The line from the shop to the well may be as deep or right below the frost line.


I will probably dig the real wet spot by hand and see if the line is shallow. I am leaning towards doing it myself as I would like to run a new line for the frost free's that originates after the pressure tank. Likely remove or move the one near the well also... they say a frost free shouldn't be less than 20' from a well in case they leak and the water runs back into the well.


Thanks for the input!
Charles

 

[charlz]

I have found that very seldom (been wrong on a couple though) have the "professionals" been better, they tend to just not care as much as I do.

Sounds like what I have learned as well

I do not know the lay of the land if you will but as Bob said, run a temp, or can you just leave everything open while you sort out your repair?

I can leave trenches open, the shop/well area has seperate access from the house so I can just close it off to keep anyone from driving in there. Runing a temp into the shop might be a bit tricky as the current pipes go down through a casing in the floor and there is not much room in there. Hopefully it goes down and elbows out a ways so I don't have to dig out under the pad.

Thanks!
Charles

 

[_RaT_]

In your location can The B7100 dig to below frost depth?

Consider exposing the water line at the wet spot to give yourself an indication of what you may face.

If the line is much below 5/6 feet deep seriously think about watching others do the work. Trench work is no fun and can get ugly fast. This also applies to the wet spot!

Wow Egon, you guys up in North, North Dakota have it rough. I can't imagine having to dig that deep to avoid frost or is it freeze? 6" gives me all the protection I need from freeze. The wifes shovel is another story.