Need a new well

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Hello everyone!

I'm doing some research on how to drill a new well as inexpensively as possible and came across a rather interesting youtube video show a well being dug with just a steel pipe and gravity

The farm house I'm buying in Delaware county, Iowa has an old well (approx. 150 ft with water at 60ft)from the 1900's and the well company said the water is cloudy/contaminated even after 1 hour of pumping at 10 GPM with bacteria - likely b/c the casing is cracked. They quoted $12k for a whole new well/system (the piping inside the house is new so that's basically just for a new well and hooking it up to the house.

I would like to TRY this myself, and I like this steel pipe method but my questions are.

1. how deep could you dig before the hole begins to fill with water? And if the hole fills with water would this method even work? Would putting a cap at the top of the pipe prevent the mud/dirt just falling back into the hole? or is there some sort of valve I could attached to the pipe?

2. My other option would be to hire someone - Can I ask a dill company to drill a hole 150ft deep and I case the well myself and about how much should I expect to pay? (I'm buying a few books on the subject).

Thanks!!
 

Reach4

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I am not a pro. Those who are will also want to know these things: What is the diameter of the existing casing? What is the material? When do you think this was drilled?

What do you have in the way of a pitless adapter and/or well seal? The frost line in your area may be 40 inches, so there needs to be some way to keep the water below the frost line. Consider posting a picture or two (camera preferred) 800 pixels or less if you upload it here. There also is a limit on byte size. If you link to it, you could make the picture as large as you like.

Have you tried disinfecting the well? http://www.moravecwaterwells.com/disin_test.htm is my favorite writeup.

1 hour at 10 GPM seems like a short time to me.

They have cameras that can look down a well casing. Some people have lowered a cellphone camera with a light and been able to see things.

What bacteria did they detect? How long did that test take? Pathogenic bacteria are going to enter a well near the top. There are no pathogenic bacteria that are 10 feet down for a long period, so any pathogens are entering from above. (I am pretty sure that that is true, but don't take me as an authority.) I think that well people tend to be reputable, but maybe there may be exceptions.

It may be that your well can be repaired by replacing a damaged casing near the top or by other sealing. Or the problem could be the seal at your pitless or contamination could be coming in from the top somehow.

I found the video to be interesting, but I have a hard time seein you digging through 150 feet of clay and limestone with that method in a reasonable time.
 
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Thanks for replying,

I don't know too much about the well other than viewing the report which apparently found ecoli and other bacteria in the well (the water coming out was green). I didn't take any pictures unfortunately when I was at the property but the basic set-up is the well is locate in a concrete pit and appears to have a pressure tank located directly above the well (not up to code) - I don't know diameter of casing/pumps ect BUT it was producing.

This well might be fixable but judging from the color of the water there is definitely a major failure somewhere (probably the casing) and the well company said they would have used a camera but the water was just too cloudy to figure out exactly whats going on.

Otherwise I don't know much else about this well but I will soon when I close on the property (early October).

In general I like the idea of putting in a new well and capping off the old one, but I don't want to spend major $$$$

Anyhow, so far no one said this wont work....... and I found some good sections of 12" steel pipe on craigslist for about $10 per foot. A 10 ft section of pipe would weight about 300lbs and could probably make some decent progress (if I can get this done in 2-3 weeks I'm happy LOL).

I would build some sort of tripod platform from 4x4's (probably the most expensive part of this "plan) with a hoist on top and my truck as the tow vehicle. I found a tool that might work well for a quick release


I know this idea sounds crazy but will it work?? LOL
 
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LLigetfa

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You may have overlooked one thing... the old well needs to be properly sealed or else it will still contaminate the same aquifer. It's like peeing in a swimming pool... it's all just one body of water.

Also, how do you plan to seal the new well casing to the borehole? Drillers use a bentonite slurry as they are drilling.
 
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I'm new to this and just purchased a few books on the subject - I don't mind spending a few thousand on materials - or even have a professional do part of the work. I found a good PDF file on here regarding sealing abandoned wells from the state of Texas and similar to what you said they recommend bentonite chips, or some sort of grout?

The property is on a few acres so I'm thinking if I locate the new well a little further I might avoid any problems with contamination?

Regarding sealing the new well, is it possible to dig the hole first, drop casing in (6 inch??), then some kind of gravel on the bottom, and then grout?? Will I need a pump for the grout or can it just be dropped in the hole??

Sorry if I have dumb questions but all this is new and my books did not come yet (not sure how helpful they will be) Thanks!
 
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Reach4

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the basic set-up is the well is located in a concrete pit and appears to have a pressure tank located directly above the well (not up to code) - I don't know diameter of casing/pumps ect BUT it was producing.

This is good. Solution may be under $2000 depending on things. That number would be more painful if you had not been given the $12,000 number initially.

I recently had my well in a pit upgraded to a casing out of the ground. The well cap was leaking. The walls of the pit leaked, and let the water rise up to the top of the well cap in the pit. The exact cure will depend on the casing that you have. With my 4 inch steel casing, the cure I chose is to have a 4 inch steel casing welded onto the existing casing, and a suitable pitless ( Merrill SMCK) installed into that. An alternative was to have a custom adapter welded onto the 4 inch and a 5 inch casing welded onto that. That would have let me have the conventional trapezoidal pitless installed, and I think still be able to use my nominal 4 inch (3.75 max actually) pump. But I was not sure that would work and still keep the pitless below the frost line. I avoided solutions that would require a new 3 inch pump to clear the pitless. I paid $1800. Yours could be less or more, depending.

Law here requires the well workers to demolish 2 of the pit walls before burying things. When done there will be a piece of casing with a cap. If there is no pit demolishing rule there , then you might spend significantly less (no excavator need maybe).

If you have a 5 inch steel casing, the much easier fix to weld on a 5 inch casing extension. Either way, you get a pitless.

You could temporize by putting a utility pump with a float control into the pit. Just do it right to begin with. If things are the way I am envisioning (well cap below ground level in a 40 inch or so deep pit), I am shocked your well person did not suggest this. Maybe I have been too quick to think that your situation is what I am thinking.
 
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Craigpump

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Not to be snarky, but you're kidding, right?

NO driller is going to risk his reputation and license by letting someone who knows absolutely NOTHING about wells do anything but ask questions, watch and then pay the bill.
 
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This is good. Solution may be under $2000 depending on things. That number would be more painful if you had not been given the $12,000 number initially.

I recently had my well in a pit upgraded to a casing out of the ground. The well cap was leaking. The walls of the pit leaked, and let the water rise up to the top of the well cap in the pit. The exact cure will depend on the casing that you have. With my 4 inch steel casing, the cure I chose is to have a 4 inch steel casing welded onto the existing casing, and a suitable pitless ( Merrill SMCK) installed into that. An alternative was to have a custom adapter welded onto the 4 inch and a 5 inch casing welded onto that. That would have let me have the conventional trapezoidal pitless installed, and I think still be able to use my nominal 4 inch (3.75 max actually) pump. But I was not sure that would work and still keep the pitless below the frost line. I avoided solutions that would require a new 3 inch pump to clear the pitless. I paid $1800. Yours could be less or more, depending.

.

I'm purchasing this property at a large discount b/c it's being sold with a bad well and the septic is not up to code (only has one chamber) and will need to be replaced.

If the well casing can be repaired and the well "sanitized" with chlorine or bleach then I got a steal on the house (possible) but right now I'm budgeting for a new well - AND it just sounds like a fun project. LOL

But some big unanswered questions remain (besides if the hole can even be dug.....LOL)

(1) Is casing a well as simple as dropping 6" PVC pipe down the hole with sufficient screening material on the end?
(2) Seal the well - Can I use a 2" PVC pipe with a large funnel on top to get grout into the hole. Maybe with some kind or air compressor/ pump set up? (what kind of grout would I be using)

I might not have the perfect idea just yet BUT there has to be a way to do this without spending crazy money (a few thousand is no big deal but anything more than $6-7k is).

Also I need a permit and since I'm the owner no license is required
 

Craigpump

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You need to go online and see what drilling equipment sells for, figure in payroll, insurances, advertising, maintence and repairs, office & shop space, then put a value on the drilling companies years of experience before you say that 6-7 k is too much to spend on a clean, reliable source of water.

While you're at it, figure how much water you will use (80 gallons per day, per person on average) and you will see that a water well is absolutely the very best investment you can make.

The reason that house is so cheap is because, no mater how nice it may be, it doesn't have the two things a house needs. Water and a way to get rid of it.
 
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You need to go online and see what drilling equipment sells for, figure in payroll, insurances, advertising, maintence and repairs, office & shop space, then put a value on the drilling companies years of experience before you say that 6-7 k is too much to spend on a clean, reliable source of water.

And you're right BUT the only quote I have so far is for $12k (granted I only contacted 1 company so far - a "big" reliable company in Delaware county Iowa) If I could pay 6-7k for a new well/pump/pressure tank/ and line to house I would (and maybe I will find someone)

Anyhow, I have a few books coming in this week and hopefully one will explain this process better.

But for a hole in the ground with a pump and a tank I know I'm not paying $12k
 

Reach4

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What are the odds that you will buy the house?

Click Inbox above.
 
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What are the odds that you will buy the house?

Click Inbox above.

I really hope I'm able to buy this home - hopefully nothing on the bank's end slows things down. The house is on 2 acres on some pretty nice farm land in Delaware County, Iowa. The property is bank owned and I had the winning bid @ $25,000

Granted the house does need some work but for a house from 1902 it's in good condition overall (newer plumbing/wiring). The big items that need to be fixed are:

(1) the well (currently pumping green nasty water.....) (well company quoted $12k)
(2) septic is one tank and code requires 2 (I'm guessing I can get this done for about $3-4k)
(3) Garage and kitchen need cosmetic work (4-5k for super nice kitchen)
(4) the prior homeowner removed all the circuit breakers - so I'm not sure what kind of problems I could run into

In general most of the big purchases I have made (cars/boats) start off as junk (bad engines/transmissions) but once you learn how to replace those parts you have a nice vehicle (assuming the car/truck is in good cosmetic shape).

Auctions/used stuff is always a bit of a gamble but so far I've done well with them.
 

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Valveman

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Anyone who thinks a well is just a hole in the ground with a pump and tank needs a taste of drilling. There is certainly an art to it, and it can’t be learned from books.

Maybe you are in an area where the digging is easy, the well won’t cave in, not hard to figure out where the water formation is, and the surface formation is easy to seal. Then all you have to figure out is how to drill the "hole", what size and kind of casing to use, where to put the screen, perf, or other openings, and how to keep the seal from flushing down the hole. Once that is done it is not too hard to snake a pump in the well and hook up a pressure tank, as long as everything goes right.

It is when things don’t go right, and they rarely do, that a driller/pump man earns his wages. As long as everything goes like the book says you will be good. But if you need to ask a driller to come out and fix a mess, it will be even more expensive.

You are welcome to ask questions here and I wish you all the luck in the world. Some of the best drillers I have known didn’t know how to read. And the ones who do read still learned drilling at the school of hard knocks, not from a book.
 

Craigpump

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Cary

I like your comment about some drillers not knowing how to read. My father had a driller in Ky that couldn't read or do math on paper, but put a load of random length casing on site and a 10ths tape in his hand he would tally the pipe in his head and drill the hole to depth with 1 foot of pipe above grade EVERY time.
 
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