Sand Point well GPM

[MNBobcat]

The standard size well pipe for a sand point is 1 1/4" and is good up to 20 - 25 feet deep. Anything deeper, you have to go to 2". I have a hydraulic post pounder so installing either size is a piece of cake.

I'm only going about 15 feet deep. Does anyone know if I would get a higher flow rate (GPM) with a 2" versus a 1 1/4" or is the limiting factor strictly the amount of water in ground? I need to get the highest GPM I can and am trying to decide what size well to punch.

 

[topbuilder]

The surface area going from a 1 1/4 to a 2" pipe is about a 62% gain. Seems like the way to go?

 

[300UGUY]

What we have done is put in 2 points, about 20 feet apart. They are connected underground, with check valves. We used a Jet pump. We never ran out of water.

 

[joefromga]

If the 2" has more screen lines cut into it you have the potential of more gpm. But if there's no water down there nothing will help.

If you have plenty of water available then you should be able to get a lot of gpm from a standard 1.25" pipe.

I have a 15ft shallow well that is at least as fast as a good city water connection.

Also if using a large pressure tank you wouldn't have much wait time.

 

[Zerk]

Doesn't underground flow dictate it? I don't think pipe size is restrictions flow.

 

[TheGoose]

The standard size well pipe for a sand point is 1 1/4" and is good up to 20 - 25 feet deep. Anything deeper, you have to go to 2". I have a hydraulic post pounder so installing either size is a piece of cake.

I'm only going about 15 feet deep. Does anyone know if I would get a higher flow rate (GPM) with a 2" versus a 1 1/4" or is the limiting factor strictly the amount of water in ground? I need to get the highest GPM I can and am trying to decide what size well to punch.

It all depends on how much water is down there and how well you install the well. There can be all the water in the world but if the well isn't properly installed the size of the pipe won't matter.

2" will make much more water than 1.25" pipe but is much harder to install if you're pounding it down. Also, with a 2" well you can use a foot valve. With 1.25" pipe you have to connect the suction line directly to the well point and use a check valve on the surfac.e

 

[joefromga]

They do make smaller foot valves but on mine the check valves right at the pump and has held vacuum for long periods of time.

 

[Zerk]

I have inch quarter, never lose prime, even though in winter I may not got up for over a month. Usually every other weekend.

 

[MNBobcat]

What we have done is put in 2 points, about 20 feet apart. They are connected underground, with check valves. We used a Jet pump. We never ran out of water.

I did that on another part of my property. I have 6 sand points ( 1 1/4") all plumbed together in an "H" pattern.

 

[MNBobcat]

It all depends on how much water is down there and how well you install the well. There can be all the water in the world but if the well isn't properly installed the size of the pipe won't matter.

2" will make much more water than 1.25" pipe but is much harder to install if you're pounding it down. Also, with a 2" well you can use a foot valve. With 1.25" pipe you have to connect the suction line directly to the well point and use a check valve on the surfac.e

Where would the foot valve go on the 2" ?

Pounding down 2" will be a breeze. I have a commercial post pounder. I can pound a 10" diameter post into the ground like nobodies business.

I don't understand where the foot valve would go, though. Our frost can go 44 inches deep. Would you put the valve at say 50 inches below ground level?

 

[Zerk]

The standard size well pipe for a sand point is 1 1/4" and is good up to 20 - 25 feet deep. Anything deeper, you have to go to 2". .

After 25 feet you need 2 pipes, not 2", that go down to 1 pipe.

Our frost can go 44 inches deep. Would you put the valve at say 50 inches below ground level?

What is common is to have well house 4-5' underground, this also allows you to go deeper with the well.

Still need insulation and heater on thermostat. I put three layers of polyboard on the opening. In the past I had 3-4 feet of snow on top of that. This year I had a building on top of it.

 

[joefromga]

Where would the foot valve go on the 2" ?

Pounding down 2" will be a breeze. I have a commercial post pounder. I can pound a 10" diameter post into the ground like nobodies business.

I don't understand where the foot valve would go, though. Our frost can go 44 inches deep. Would you put the valve at say 50 inches below ground level?

The foot valve goes on the foot of the pipe at the bottom. It's basically a check valve with a spring loaded rubber foot inside a brass or stainless cage to keeping from losing prime.

 

[Egon]

Why can't a foot valve be placed on the bottom of a two inch pipe?

For these shallow wells would not a water jet make installation easier? At twenty feet even a hand turned post hole auger should work.

 

[MNBobcat]

Why can't a foot valve be placed on the bottom of a two inch pipe?

For these shallow wells would not a water jet make installation easier? At twenty feet even a hand turned post hole auger should work.

There are all kinds of ways to install the well. I used a pneumatic jackhammer to install 6 points a few years back. I bought it off craigslist for $75. I used a small air compressor that is normally used for air nailers. I'd have to let it catch up a few times but it worked. I then sold the jackhammer for double what I paid for it.

You can also jet them in. I tried that. It sucked. You use PVC pipe and water pressure to create the hole that your well pipe will drop into. I kept getting the PVC stuck in the sand. I gave up on that.

I now have a post pounder with a 16 foot mast that drops a 500 pound weight. It will take me longer to screw the point on to the end of the pipe then it will take to pound in the pipe. We have a layer of clay at 20 feet. Everything above that is sand.

On my other well I have a check valve at the top of the well casing. Once the well is primed, water stays in the well pipe. At the end of the year, I remove the check valve and the pump. Then the water can drain down to its normal static level which is hopefully deeper than the frost level.

The well on my house is over 160 feet deep and goes through a thick layer of bedrock. I don't know if I went say, 60 feet deep if I would have a better well. I'm not sure how thick that layer of clay is. I'd have to dig out the report on our house well. They had the depths of various substrates listed on it.

 

[buickanddeere]

The larger point or using multiple points will reduce the tendency to draw sand up and into the pump. It also matters what kind of water bearing strata the point is being driven into.The deeper the point the better.

 

[Zerk]

You can only lift water about 26 feet, regardless of pipe size. After that you need to go to a two pipe system.

What you are doing is using the top two pipes to creat a venturi to suck from the bottom pipes.



Deeper is not always better. You need the point to be in the spring. You do not want to go past it. Deeper is better for better water quality.