New well. Looking for advice

[willtcam]

I have a new water well that was just drilled. Makes about 5GPM has a 10gpm pump.
I have been told that it is bad to pump it empty because it will draw in sediment. I have also been told it is better to pump it completely down so it can open up more. Looking for more input. Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

Running the pump empty during "development" is fine, but you should then shut down the pump for an interval to recover. This could be done by device to detect that you pumped the well down, or by a person monitoring.

Tell us about the well.

1. Diameter?
2. how deep is the well?
3. casing goes down how far?
4. is there a screen in the sides of the casing to admit water and filter out sand?
5. pump is set how deep?
6. if you know, what pump was installed?

I suggest you put the info that you know in a good place. A good place would be on the wall near the pressure tank, if the pressure tank is indoors.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[willtcam]

5” casing, I believe it is cased the entire depth of the hole. 98’ feet deep. Not sure how much casing is screened vs not. Grundfos 1/2 pump not sure on the depth that it is placed. I have installed a cycle sensor to stop it from running dry. I do not have a pressure tank installed since it will only be used for watering the lawn.

how long should I continue the process of running the well completely dry then allowing it to recharge?

 

[Reach4]

5” casing, I believe it is cased the entire depth of the hole. 98’ feet deep. Not sure how much casing is screened vs not. Grundfos 1/2 pump not sure on the depth that it is placed. I have installed a cycle sensor to stop it from running dry. I do not have a pressure tank installed since it will only be used for watering the lawn.

how long should I continue the process of running the well completely dry then allowing it to recharge?

Maybe put a tub under where the water spills out. Does the tub still catch sediment?

How long does it take to run dry?

 

[Valveman]

how long should I continue the process of running the well completely dry then allowing it to recharge?

If that is causing it to make sand, keep doing it for a while. You might pump out enough sand to increase the well production. Pumping out as much sand as possible is a good thing all by itself. If it just keeps making sand, and doesn't when restricted to a certain amount, then you should adjust your irrigation to that amount of flow. If you only put 5 GPM worth of sprinklers on a line, then the pump can only pump 5 GPM. However, when restricting the flow with sprinklers the pressure will increase. It is ok for the pressure to increase and for the sprinklers to run at higher pressure unless they are spraying too far or fogging instead of supplying large droplets of water. You can always add a CSV to hold the pressure steady down to 1 GPM flow, and the CSV will work with or without a pressure tank.

 

[willtcam]

It takes about 25 minutes running with nothing restricting the output to completely run dry. At about 20 minutes The water starts turning red/brownish. If I run it continues at 5GPM the water will stay clear.

 

[Reach4]

It takes about 25 minutes running with nothing restricting the output to completely run dry. At about 20 minutes The water starts turning red/brownish. If I run it continues at 5GPM the water will stay clear.

The Cycle Sensor does not then shut down the pump for a while?

 

[willtcam]

The Cycle Sensor does not then shut down the pump for a while?

I have it set turn turn off for 20 minutes and then turn back on.