Water well prob, need ideas....

[WayneB]

I have used the same type of well point that you have and we have never had a problem with it. I have the jet pump (it is a sears 1 hp pump) and I have it located about three feet from the end of the pipe coming out of the ground. It is much easier for the pump to push the water than it is to pull water.

If you are using fittings I would suggest using plumbers pipe seal and not tape, just makes a better seal. If you are leaking anywhere along the line it will show up in the pump time to shut off. Normally you will see air in the water lines if there is a leak.

I used 1 ｼ galvanized pipe from the point up to the pump. Then from the pump out to the camp I am using 1" black plastic. We are pumping up 185 feet to the camp with about 50 psi at the end of the line.

I have also added a sediment and carbon filter to the system

 

[MotorSeven]

Sorry boys, I have to leave you with a cliff hanger. Headed to Manitoba for a week or so. I'll get back on the water system when I return. I do appreciate all of the ideas batted around here, it has helped a ton!

RD

 

[MotorSeven]

I'm back! Had fun in Minnesota & North Dakota with the flood & blizzard, but the trip went good.

I attacked the water system yesterday. Couldn't find a replacement impeller, so I put a new identical pump on......NO Change. Then I put a new and bigger pressure tank on it.....also NO Change.

Went to the creek & pulled the sand point up again.......Clogged I am confused because this was the first thing I checked when this problem started. It was clogged then, so I pressure washed it inside and out, put it back down & the problem was still there.
So, I took off the sand point and stuck a foot valve on instead.....VIOLA....the system Works Perfect!

Now, today I am going into Knoxville to pick-up a 36"x8' concrete culvert. I am going to stand it on one end, pour a floor in it using quickcrete. Then a small bit on a rotary hammer drill to perforate the bottom & sides up to about 3'. Using backhoe the sand is getting removed, then culvert set down in the hole vertically. The sand will be moved back around it to lock it in place when the creek floods. My foot valve goes into the culvert about 1' off the bottom. Then I will make a concrete lid for the top of the pipe that can be removed to service the valve and clean out any sediment that will migrate into the cylinder....

What do y'all think?

RD

 

[MotorSeven]

And here it is, the best part about it is that it was FOC! (free of charge)
The place told me that any damaged stuff(and they had one whole corner of the yard of it) thay have to pay a Company to come break it up and haul it off.....usually in the area of $10K. So this culvert has some linear cracks in it but intact, and it has a wire mesh inside so it is not going to fall apart. They even loaded it for me & wouldn't even let me buy them lunch .
Once I get the backhoe lined up I'll shoot some pics of the install & finished product. Until then I'll be drawing water directly from the creek using the foot valve.

RD

 

[CurlyDave]

I sure hope this works out for you.

I knew someone with a place near Lake Tahoe in CA. It was right on a river.

What he mentioned was that some people who drew their water from the river would get the "bleeding sh*ts" every spring when the snow melted and brought an entire winter's worth of animal doo-doo down into the river in spring.

 

[Egon]

So a Caisson it is!

 

[J_J]

RD,

I am a little puzzled about how you can not draw water through the sand filter. The only reason that you might not be able to draw water is that the filter holes are being plugged by the sand. Now, are you trying to keep out the sand or don't care. You said that you put a foot valve at the bottom of the line. Did it have any kind of filter on the bottom of it. like a brass cone shape? If not, you will really draw sand now until all the fine stuff is gone. Do you have a check valve at the pump? If so, it should be vertical. You did say that you have fixed all leaks on the suction side.

Years ago when I had a well jet guy, jet down a well, he did that in about 20 min, and I saw he did not put a filter or foot valve on the end of the pipe. I ask why, and he said it will just clog up and give you trouble. He also said that over time, what you will have is a pocket of water. He pumped that well for a couple of min, until all the sugar sand was gone. It has been good since then. So he must have did everything right.

Someone mentioned about other well points installed. I have seen as many as three well points n a ten ft triangle feeding to one line going to the pump. That is done when the sand will not filter the water fast enough. Not all sand is the same.

 

[MotorSeven]

Curly, we do not drink this water, only use it for washing, bathing & flushing. We have an artesian spring on our place that we 4wheel to and fill 5 gal water bottles.
JJ, yes I didn't post a pic, but the sand point looks like is was dipped in wet concrete, plugged solid. We used lime rock sand, and I think it is causing a chemical reaction to the mesh/metal in the sand point. I have temporarily attached a foot valve just under the surface of the water just so we can draw until Egons "cassion" is rigged. It will be set in the creek vertical and about 6' of the culvert below the surface of the water & 2' sticking out. I decided to back fill the area around the culvert with gravel instead of sand. I realise that over time, sand/sediment will find it's way into the culvert. If it does and reaches the foot valve, I will have a septic Co come suck the bottom out, sanitize & cover it back up.
Hmmmm, the check valve just in front of the pump is horizontal not vertical, why is that critical? I thought about adding a second sand point, but kinda figured both would also clog, so I opted to try the cassion.

My neighbor did some calculating, 30" of culvert will hold 36 gal & change per foot. A 5' column of water should be adequate to keep from sucking it dry during high use such as watering the garden. Water will always be flowing into it from the holes drilled, so I am confident that this will work.

RD

 

[J_J]

MotorSeven,

Are you going to jet the culvert down, or do it with a BH?

Was that crud on your filter kind of sticky? It sounds like clay particles, and that will clog any filter. On the check valve, I was told many years ago that the vertical setting was a better position, because it will seat better. I had a problem one time with prime, and I switched from horizontal to vertical, and the trouble went away. Some of the check valve seating arrangements are brass to brass, and others are brass to rubber washer, and the PVC checks are plastic to rubber. Sand will cause some some problems with both.

You still need to filter the sand somehow, even if it's a small sand filter on the bottom of the foot valve. The culvert will also fill with clay/sand over time. At the point that the pipe goes in the culvert, I would put a removable fitting so you can unhook the down pipe and pull it out for inspection or cleaning.

Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[Egon]

"cassion"

There are many such installations in situations just like yours.

Pay close attention to the gravel/sand pack around the concrete pipe as it can/may act as a filter and plug up over time. That means digging out and replacing.

A sump pump placed on the bottom while disturbing the bottom with a pole may allow you to clean out the silt that has settled in the bottom and save the cost of a vacuum truck.

you could tell if its working by the colour of the pump discharge.