Sand filter on well

[J_J]

It's in sand. It was drilled in 1996. 4 inch by ~95 feet, with submersible pump. I haven't gotten a quote on pulling the pump and redoing the sand fillter, but I assume (we all know what that means) that it would be more than a new pump would cost; hopefully years from now.

What do you mean it is in sand.

They usually drill down through the sand and into the rock and then another 10 or 20 ft.

My 2 in well in Jacksonville is about 120 ft, and was good until a year ago, when I gradually started to pump sand.

It got worse and worse, and eventually the well is barely producing.

What I figured out is the well casing has rusted through allowing sand to descend into the well and clog it up.

You could run a camera down the pipe and look at the casing.

I intend to try and blow out the sand with air through a 1/2 in pvc pipe and clean out the well.

Then I will try and drop a pipe inside the 2 in pipe and seal around the the bottom of the inside pipeand outer casing, and restore the well.

 

[Egon]

What happens if the Aquifier sand gets sealed up?

 

[Egon]

It's in sand. It was drilled in 1996. 4 inch by ~95 feet, with submersible pump. I haven't gotten a quote on pulling the pump and redoing the sand fillter, but I assume (we all know what that means) that it would be more than a new pump would cost; hopefully years from now.

A little more information on the well might help. Static water level. Drawdown water level. Pump seating depth. Sump or depth of sump. Depth of perforations. Does the pump have a sand filter? Pumping rate?

 

[jaotguy]

up here , we have 275' of sand ( straight down ) ... they drill 50 - 60 ' of casing then pound a "filter" down the casing till it extends just beyond the casing end ...

sometimes they guess wrong on the size of the sand and it seeps up thru the filter, filling the casing over time ... raising the pump gains you some time ....

the other fix is to pull the pump, pound the old filter out the bottom of the casing, then use a "fine mesh sand point" on the bottom of the pump .... ( yes, the casing fills with sand over time and the pump gets locked in place, but you'd have to drill a new well anyway ... and this buys you some time )

 

[paulharvey]

I'm approximately 150 feet above sea level on a sand hill in sand mine territory, so I don't know how far the rock is down, but it's down there a long ways. I can't say I know a whole lot about well, like depth to water, ect. I know the depth of the well cause it's scratched on a tag.

How much does it costs to have it pulled and re screened? Some guys at work said to just pull it and check it out, but with a well you can't really mess with it; it's got to be working by the next day or life becomes rather difficult.

I have priced some new submersible well pumps and they don't seem That bad; $299+. My main worry/problem with doing to much inside the well is:
A: I mess something up and have to shell a couple grand to a professional, which I don't have
B: I under estimate the time and amount of work, can't get it back together and running right, and have to call a professional.
C: I make a minor annoyance into a major ordeal, like some how getting pump wedged in casing or something stupid
D: I may have to do serious work to it years down the road, but that's hopefully years down the road.

Is there a good online "wells for idiots" to get a better idea what I'm dealing with?

 

[jaotguy]

ever thought about looking up the original well drilling company ? they should have records on what they did .....

check with the local office that issued the building permit , they should be able to tell you who drilled the well.....

GET HELP , the pump and pipes can be heavy !

as far as pulling the head / pump up, if you remove the CAP and look down about 5-6 feet ( flashlight helps ) you should see a lump in the side of the well ( pitless adapter ) a 3/4 or 1" pipe screws into the top of it to free and lift the pipes going to the pump ... there is a "rubber" o-ring between the 2 parts ... there should be a ROPE/cable for helping /holding the pipes to the pump ( so they don't fall into the well if you do something stupid ) as well as the wires going to the pump ( don't use these to lift the pump!) ... you should be able to lift the pipe and pump, if they don't move up easily, your well may already be filled with sand ( leave it alone if it is ) ...

expect about 5-6 hours to lift and replace the pump and pipes ( once you've done it once, the time drops greatly ) ... and keep a spare o-ring on hand every time you lift the pump ....

yes, one mistake ( dropped o-ring , etc ) and you will be without water and kicking yourself ..... pick a time when the inconvenience will be minimized ( she goes to visit friends and family and you are by yourself ) fill the bathtub with water and a bunch of water jugs , just "in case" .

 

[gwdixon]

When the well pump was replaced here it was much more powerful and pumped sand and silt enough to turn the water brownish and clog faucets. Even rainbirds sprinklers clogged. We pumped out the well and had a small pile of sand where the bypass pipe exited. Still sand in the water.

Anyway, we plumbed this sand separator on the water pipe after the pump and before the storage tank:

SandMaster Home Sand Removal Separators

It has to be emptied every few days (it can be done automatically with extra attachments) and a lot of sand and grit comes out on each emptying cycle. The sand and grit to the house has virtually been eliminated.

The idea of a sand filter on the bottom of the pump sounds good on first thought. However, as explained by the pump repairman, the filter draw up the sand and when the pump turns off the sand is deposited under the pump in the casing. Eventually the casing fills up and the pump has to be raised.

The repairman said that he recently worked on a well that had five 20' sections of pipe laying next to the tank. The owner lost 100' of well due to the sand screen. I'm sure it is an unusual example.

Yes, the sand will wear the impellers on the pump but they can be replaced. Not cheap, to be sure, but at less than the cost of a whole new pump.

 

[RalphVa]

Think I'd try putting two filter assemblies in series. Just leave the element out of the first one and a filter in the 2nd one. If you have the first one transparent (mine was that way when I had a filter), you'll be able to see the sand level to know when to dump it.

Another option is to put in something like a calcium carbonate bed and only fill it about half full (or empty), to allow for sand accumulation. My calcium carbonate bed is now my filter, too. Used to get a few particles and had a whole house paper filter element for those, but they said it wasn't needed once I had the calcium carbonate bed.

Ralph