Water Well Drilling

[TBone]

I'm looking into building an off grid one room cabin on a piece of property I have back on a fairly remote little lake. It'll only be used occasionally as a little get-a-way for a day or two at the time. I hope to power it with a quiet little 3400 watt 120v inverter generator. For water I guess I'll have to put down a well but I don't have any idea of the cost. I was told by a person on the adjoining property that his deep well was about 120 feet deep but it was already there when he moved there so he doesn't know how much it cost. Any idea from ya'll how much it costs to dig a well and put a pump that can be run on 120v? I've got a 240v generator but it's loud and a gas hog. (My water usage will be very minimal)

 

[Diggin It]

If you're only going to be there briefly and don't anticipate much need, why not haul a supply with you?

Alternatively, rain collection? Using lake water? There are ways to purify for drinking.

 

[RalphVa]

Our experience was in putting in a well at a little place in Vermont. Think the well was well less than $3k at that time. Fortunately, our old 1986ish well here is still going strong but only slightly less than 2 gpm.

Definitely go with an outfit that can put in a brushless motor to cut down on startup requirements for a generator. In fact, you could probably get one that'll work on solar, 12v and all. Just use an inverter to power it from a generator. That's the way I'd go.

Ralph

 

[grsthegreat]

ive personally never run into a 120 v well pump......i guess they may be out there, but ive never seen one. on my well pump chart, anything over 85 feet needs a deep well submersable pump. ive wired lots of those in over the years and they have all been 240 volt.

maybe some well driller can chime in if im incorrect.


edit: just for giggles, i called my friend who installs well pumps. they do make 115V deep water submersable pumps. he thinks a 1/3hp it 1/2hp would work in a 4" casing, but may only deliver 2-3 GPM at a depth of 120 feet. he doesnt selll many 115 v pumps due to larger inrush requirements on the service. going to 230v cuts the amperage in half. makes generator starting alot easier, especially in systems without softstart or frequency drives.

His thoughts are drilling to depth is so expensive, why go cheap on a pump.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

How about a shallow well with an above ground pump, that's what I have at my hunting camp, I use it for washing dishes, clothes, toilet and taking showers, I use 5 gallon jugs of water for cooking and drinking, also put down a shallow well with a pitcher pump at our old hunting camp, it was 13' deep and we pumped out of it for 20 plus years.

 

[Jstpssng]

As somebody else suggested, run a shallow well pump from the lake and haul in your drinking water. That's all that many camps have, while others simply have a 5 gallon bucket and path to the lake.

 

[TBone]

How about a shallow well with an above ground pump, that's what I have at my hunting camp, I use it for washing dishes, clothes, toilet and taking showers, I use 5 gallon jugs of water for cooking and drinking, also put down a shallow well with a pitcher pump at our old hunting camp, it was 13' deep and we pumped out of it for 20 plus years.

That's what I'm gonna look into. There are a couple of springs that feed the lake so it seems like there would be water not too far beneath the surface. GPM's would not be too important and a pitcher pump would be ok too. Does a shallow well have to be dug by hand?

 

[TBone]

As somebody else suggested, run a shallow well pump from the lake and haul in your drinking water. That's all that many camps have, while others simply have a 5 gallon bucket and path to the lake.

I thought about that but the lake is about 50 feet from where the cabin will be and up a pretty steep incline.

 

[TBone]

ive personally never run into a 120 v well pump......i guess they may be out there, but ive never seen one. on my well pump chart, anything over 85 feet needs a deep well submersable pump. ive wired lots of those in over the years and they have all been 240 volt.

maybe some well driller can chime in if im incorrect.


edit: just for giggles, i called my friend who installs well pumps. they do make 115V deep water submersable pumps. he thinks a 1/3hp it 1/2hp would work in a 4" casing, but may only deliver 2-3 GPM at a depth of 120 feet. he doesnt selll many 115 v pumps due to larger inrush requirements on the service. going to 230v cuts the amperage in half. makes generator starting alot easier, especially in systems without softstart or frequency drives.

His thoughts are drilling to depth is so expensive, why go cheap on a pump.

Good point. THANKS.

 

[Deere Dude]

Any thought to run a line from your neighbors pipe?

 

[GeeVee]

I'm looking into building an off grid one room cabin on a piece of property I have back on a fairly remote little lake. It'll only be used occasionally as a little get-a-way for a day or two at the time. I hope to power it with a quiet little 3400 watt 120v inverter generator. For water I guess I'll have to put down a well but I don't have any idea of the cost. I was told by a person on the adjoining property that his deep well was about 120 feet deep but it was already there when he moved there so he doesn't know how much it cost. Any idea from ya'll how much it costs to dig a well and put a pump that can be run on 120v? I've got a 240v generator but it's loud and a gas hog. (My water usage will be very minimal)

I have a 500 gallon tank 16 feet in the air. I used to use 55g drums but now have a pair of 275 gallon IBC's. I fill from my house on the beach, good City Utility water, and transport to my off grid place. I use a Honda 4 stroke 1" pump, and pump it up into the storage tank. The Standpipe (1 and 1/2) I connect to to pump up, also keeps the siphon active, and I have a shower head valved off of it, and I run a Portable on demand HWH runs on two D cells for the piezo electric ignition and propane. I can fill my old clawfoot tub and get he days grime off of me in a nice hot bath. The fluid head pressure is PLENTY to run the HWH, fills the toilet tank wel enough, and I can gravity feed my gas 3500 PSI Prressure washer for cleaning my tractor and Skid Steer, or anything I want to pressure wash. With a hundred foot garden hose, I can fill a little 35g drum I keep above my dish sink for handwshing and dishes, no pump needed, or putting th last fo the fire out in the brush pile, without a pump. The pressure goes down when the volume gets lower, but its not a big deal.
.

Water at 8.7 pound per gallon may not be fun to transport, but the HONDA pump is the ticket. If you have a trailer, you can shuttle good water from your home, and fill a tank at camp. Keep the tank in the shade or a shed, and don't hesitate to put it in the air so gravity can work for you, like standing under it to shower or just filling a bucket, eliminating a gas pump or electric pump. IBC can be had pretty cheap, and they do have 2" valves built in on the bottom.

 

[TBone]

Any thought to run a line from your neighbors pipe?

It's probably too far to be practical I'm afraid.

 

[buck12]

I am currently building a cabin on our remote property. I have been trying to get a well drilled since early February. Apparently there are only a few drillers left in our area and they are busy. Mid May is what I was told last week. I was also told a couple of weeks about eight weeks ago. I was quoted $5500 if he finds good water at the depth he expects. Good luck with your project.

 

[Valveman]

As a driller I don't think there is any better investment than a good water well. Even though the well maybe drilled to 120', the pump is only lifting from the water level. A 120' well usually has the pump set at say 110' and a water level of 50-80 feet or so. You can get a submersible up to a 1/2HP in 115V. Using one of the SQ models it will even have a 5 second soft start and will work with a small genset. Just don't get the SQE version unless yo want problems. Even large pressure tanks don't hold but 25% water. So you either need to run the genset and pump while showering and other things or use a storage tank. For ever 2.31' of elevation you lift the storage tank you will get 1 PSI of water.

Here is the pump I would use.
5 SQ5-18 - 9616165 | Grundfos product center

 

[PILOON]

I thought about that but the lake is about 50 feet from where the cabin will be and up a pretty steep incline.

Our cabin was similarly situated back when we had no electricity.
High up a steep hill like you.
I installed a poly lined 45 gal drum up high and piped water to the sink.
I used an old piston pump that I powered with a 3 hp Briggs which was at the waterfront.

Every few days I'd crank up the Briggs and fill the drum, wife would shout when the drum overflowed.
Water for almost a week's usage! (carefully managed).
LOL, having only an outhouse was a great water saver and bathing was called a quick dip in the lake.

That system served us well for 10-12 years until we were offered hydro power.
LOL, that was real pioneering! In fact we did not have a road either, just a boat and outboard for access.

Evolution took over, we built a road, got city to take it over and it is now my permanant home.
Deer, moose, ducks and geese out my front porch= Paradise! (a mere 1 hour north of Montreal)

 

[TBone]

As a driller I don't think there is any better investment than a good water well. Even though the well maybe drilled to 120', the pump is only lifting from the water level. A 120' well usually has the pump set at say 110' and a water level of 50-80 feet or so. You can get a submersible up to a 1/2HP in 115V. Using one of the SQ models it will even have a 5 second soft start and will work with a small genset. Just don't get the SQE version unless yo want problems. Even large pressure tanks don't hold but 25% water. So you either need to run the genset and pump while showering and other things or use a storage tank. For ever 2.31' of elevation you lift the storage tank you will get 1 PSI of water.

Here is the pump I would use.
5 SQ5-18 - 9616165 | Grundfos product center

THANKS Valveman.

 

[TBone]

Our cabin was similarly situated back when we had no electricity.
High up a steep hill like you.
I installed a poly lined 45 gal drum up high and piped water to the sink.
I used an old piston pump that I powered with a 3 hp Briggs which was at the waterfront.

Every few days I'd crank up the Briggs and fill the drum, wife would shout when the drum overflowed.
Water for almost a week's usage! (carefully managed).
LOL, having only an outhouse was a great water saver and bathing was called a quick dip in the lake.

That system served us well for 10-12 years until we were offered hydro power.
LOL, that was real pioneering! In fact we did not have a road either, just a boat and outboard for access.

Evolution took over, we built a road, got city to take it over and it is now my permanant home.
Deer, moose, ducks and geese out my front porch= Paradise! (a mere 1 hour north of Montreal)

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[LouNY]

Depending on your water requirements a shallow "dug well" can do a very good job.
It does not have to be hand dug by any means.
Using a backhoe or excavator to dig a hole,
if you get water, dump in a bit of gravel set a drywell tile or two then solid tiles to above grade.
surround the drywell tiles with gravel and top with fabric and clay.

Here is a link to a pdf on dug wells; https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-1-4.pdf

Some available well tiles; Precast Concrete Well Tiles for Dug Wells

The volume a dug well holds provides a buffer even on low yielding wells,
even just a 36" internal tile holds about 7 cubic feet per foot of height so if a dig well maintains just a 5 foot depth of water,
that would be 35 cubic feet of water or over 260 gallons at almost 7 1/2 gallons per cubic foot.
Bump that up to a 48" internal and it jumps to over 470 gallons,
and a six footer yields over a 1000 gallons of storage

 

[TBone]

Depending on your water requirements a shallow "dug well" can do a very good job.
It does not have to be hand dug by any means.
Using a backhoe or excavator to dig a hole,
if you get water, dump in a bit of gravel set a drywell tile or two then solid tiles to above grade.
surround the drywell tiles with gravel and top with fabric and clay.

Here is a link to a pdf on dug wells; https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-1-4.pdf

Some available well tiles; Precast Concrete Well Tiles for Dug Wells

The volume a dug well holds provides a buffer even on low yielding wells,
even just a 36" internal tile holds about 7 cubic feet per foot of height so if a dig well maintains just a 5 foot depth of water,
that would be 35 cubic feet of water or over 260 gallons at almost 7 1/2 gallons per cubic foot.
Bump that up to a 48" internal and it jumps to over 470 gallons,
and a six footer yields over a 1000 gallons of storage

Very interesting. THANKS. I have no idea how deep I'd have to go to find water. I'm thinking about buying my wife a new shovel so I can find out.