New residential water well in North Texas. Running into problems

[Dunner]

Hello all, My original well (only source of water for the house) was drilled ~12 years ago. The water from the original well was terrible (2800PPM TDS) and was only used for showers, washing toilets etc. The well pump and/or motor recently died so instead of pay 5-6 grand to pull and replace and still have shit water I contracted with another company to drill new well (600 Ft for 30 grand). First attempt they found a real nasty layer at 315 - 365 ft and then finished up at 600 Ft. Sealed and tremied the well but the water would not clear after a month due to a high amount of colloidal clay (TDS for around 400).

They came out yesterday and drilled a new well to 500ft to stay out of the clay. Casing went in smoothly but they could not get the tremie line down past the 345 ft mark. They are now pulling the tremie line and are going to try to blow in the tremie down the other side of the bore hole with air. If that doesn't work he's going to try to pull the casing and re-drill the bore hole. If that doesn't work we are on to well number 3.

Uggh man patience is running low with out water in the house for going on 5 weeks. I have been hauling water in to flush toilets and luckily we have nearby family for showers but damn i need a change in luck.

 

[Valveman]

Crossing my fingers for you. Hope that helps. Lol. May end up needing a large settling tank and some water treatment equipment. Those of us with perfectly clean water coming out of the well should realize how lucky we are.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dunner]

Update: on well number 3 now, ugh! This one drilled to 740 and looks better at initial pumping. Only been running for an hour or so but water looks much better and is seeming to settle. Have it on a timer to run 1 hour and off for half hour on repeat. Will see what it looks like in the morning. Keeping my fingers crossed!

6 weeks of hauling water and only flushing has taken a toll on the wife. Lol

 

[Greenmonster123]

Update: on well number 3 now, ugh! This one drilled to 740 and looks better at initial pumping. Only been running for an hour or so but water looks much better and is seeming to settle. Have it on a timer to run 1 hour and off for half hour on repeat. Will see what it looks like in the morning. Keeping my fingers crossed!

6 weeks of hauling water and only flushing has taken a toll on the wife. Lol

Tell your wife to think of the pioneers and how tough they had it. She should consider herself lucky. Just kidding hope the latest well works out for you

 

[Dunner]

Update: on day three of new well. The drillers left a valve and 20ft pvc off the well head so I can run the well with out having it go through the house or pressure tank. I have been running it for an hour at a time then off for 1/2 hour then repeat. Water clears up to crystal clear during the hour run but when it’s off for 1/2 hour or longer it starts up cloudy.
Should I be running it longer, leave it run overnight? Thoughts?

 

[Reach4]

Sounding pretty good. I am not a pro.

Update: on day three of new well. The drillers left a valve and 20ft pvc off the well head so I can run the well with out having it go through the house or pressure tank. I have been running it for an hour at a time then off for 1/2 hour then repeat. Water clears up to crystal clear during the hour run but when it’s off for 1/2 hour or longer it starts up cloudy.
Should I be running it longer, leave it run overnight? Thoughts?

Collect a jar of the cloudy water, and let it sit undisturbed overnight. But check it earlier too. If it clears at the bottom first that would indicate air I think. If the water clears at the top first, then sediment. Look to see how quickly the sediment falls.

I would think your intermittent aspect is helping. If the question is whether you should run the water continuously overnight, I don't know. Any chance the well runs out of water?

 

[Dunner]

Sounding pretty good. I am not a pro.


Collect a jar of the cloudy water, and let it sit undisturbed overnight. But check it earlier too. If it clears at the bottom first that would indicate air I think. If the water clears at the top first, then sediment. Look to see how quickly the sediment falls.

I would think your intermittent aspect is helping. If the question is whether you should run the water continuously overnight, I don't know. Any chance the well runs out of water?

I have let it run for about 4-5 hours once as I fell asleep between cycles lol. Not sure if it would run dry overnight. I’ll take a glass with me on the next start up to see if it is sediment.

this could make for a long weekend.

 

[Dunner]

Tell your wife to think of the pioneers and how tough they had it. She should consider herself lucky. Just kidding hope the latest well works out for you

lol I tried something similar about how we take things for granted and we should be thankful. That’s when she suggested I make the next run to wash clothes.

 

[Reach4]

I have let it run for about 4-5 hours once as I fell asleep between cycles lol. Not sure if it would run dry overnight. I’ll take a glass with me on the next start up to see if it is sediment.

I was thinking of some kind of sequencer/timer that could cycle for you. It is very easy to find a cheap timer that can repeat on 15 minutes or more, and off 15 minutes or more by lifting or pushing tabs. However you have a 230V pump, and that makes you not able to power the pump from the common timers you find in a USA store, unless you rig something in a non-standard way. I won't say what I might consider.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Defiant...-In-Mechanical-Timer-in-White-26378/205517336
Maybe you could power a relay with one of those timers, and control the pump with that.

 

[Water Pro]

Hello all, My original well (only source of water for the house) was drilled ~12 years ago. The water from the original well was terrible (2800PPM TDS) and was only used for showers, washing toilets etc. The well pump and/or motor recently died so instead of pay 5-6 grand to pull and replace and still have shit water I contracted with another company to drill new well (600 Ft for 30 grand). First attempt they found a real nasty layer at 315 - 365 ft and then finished up at 600 Ft. Sealed and tremied the well but the water would not clear after a month due to a high amount of colloidal clay (TDS for around 400).

They came out yesterday and drilled a new well to 500ft to stay out of the clay. Casing went in smoothly but they could not get the tremie line down past the 345 ft mark. They are now pulling the tremie line and are going to try to blow in the tremie down the other side of the bore hole with air. If that doesn't work he's going to try to pull the casing and re-drill the bore hole. If that doesn't work we are on to well number 3.

Uggh man patience is running low with out water in the house for going on 5 weeks. I have been hauling water in to flush toilets and luckily we have nearby family for showers but damn i need a change in luck.

unfortunately, by drilling a new well your not guaranteed to get any better water than you originally had. hope for the best but you may need a treatment system regardless. high tds is the most expensive to treat, but almost everything can be treated in one way or another.

 

[Dunner]

unfortunately, by drilling a new well your not guaranteed to get any better water than you originally had. hope for the best but you may need a treatment system regardless. high tds is the most expensive to treat, but almost everything can be treated in one way or another.

good news is if I can get the water to cleanup the TDS is only measuring 359 now.

 

[Valveman]

If the water gets cloudy each time you start it up then you need to start it up many times until it clears. The timer is a good idea as it may take days of on for a while then off for a while to clear the water.

 

[Water Pro]

If the water gets cloudy each time you start it up then you need to start it up many times until it clears. The timer is a good idea as it may take days of on for a while then off for a while to clear the water.

try to run it 1/4 gpm for 24 to 48 hrs and see it clears. from a hose that's a slight trickle. gauge it in a milk jug. every 12 hrs or so check your water level in the well. if you drop a small stone down the well till you hear it hit water. it's almost exactly 20 ft for every one second (counting on one thousand..two one thousand) to water. That will give you depth to water to ensure your not gonna run the well dry. did they tell you gpm the well produces?

 

[Valveman]

try to run it 1/4 gpm for 24 to 48 hrs and see it clears. from a hose that's a slight trickle. gauge it in a milk jug. every 12 hrs or so check your water level in the well. if you drop a small stone down the well till you hear it hit water. it's almost exactly 20 ft for every one second (counting on one thousand..two one thousand) to water. That will give you depth to water to ensure your not gonna run the well dry. did they tell you gpm the well produces?

If you have a 44 gallon pressure tank that holds 10 gallons of water, that might work similar to a timer. At 1/4 GPM the tank is a mechanical timer that will deliver water for 40 minutes with the pump off. Then the pressure switch will start the pump and fill the 10 gallons in the than in 1 minute. Running 1 minute at 10 GPM might not be enough to get any debris out the top of the well? But it might?

If you put a ball valve on the well head and restrict the flow to 1/4 GPM a timer could turn the pump on and off as needed. However, 1/4 GPM velocity up 1" pipe is not fast enough to bring sediment up with it. The sediment will just spin around in the pump and wear it out. You might want to restrict the flow with a ball valve while developing the well, I am just not sure 1/4 GPM is the right number. I have better luck running the pump wide open and using a timer to turn it on and off as needed.

 

[Water Pro]

If you have a 44 gallon pressure tank that holds 10 gallons of water, that might work similar to a timer. At 1/4 GPM the tank is a mechanical timer that will deliver water for 40 minutes with the pump off. Then the pressure switch will start the pump and fill the 10 gallons in the than in 1 minute. Running 1 minute at 10 GPM might not be enough to get any debris out the top of the well? But it might?

If you put a ball valve on the well head and restrict the flow to 1/4 GPM a timer could turn the pump on and off as needed. However, 1/4 GPM velocity up 1" pipe is not fast enough to bring sediment up with it. The sediment will just spin around in the pump and wear it out. You might want to restrict the flow with a ball valve while developing the well, I am just not sure 1/4 GPM is the right number. I have better luck running the pump wide open and using a timer to turn it on and off as needed.

You're 100% correct. I should have specified it be done using the pressure tank. good catch!

 

[Dunner]

Ok check my thought here. Today on first turn on the well pumped cloudy water for 15-20 minutes than cleared up. Thinking if I’m trying to get the cloudy water out should I run the well for say 30 minutes, rest 15 minutes then repeat? That way I get many more cycles in shorter time frame.

I had been run for an hour and off for half hour.

it will be a pain in the ass but the tank and controller and breaker are in my workshop where I have a TV so I could bring a few beers down and watch the games today.lol

 

[Water Pro]

Ok check my thought here. Today on first turn on the well pumped cloudy water for 15-20 minutes than cleared up. Thinking if I’m trying to get the cloudy water out should I run the well for say 30 minutes, rest 15 minutes then repeat? That way I get many more cycles in shorter time frame.

I had been run for an hour and off for half hour.

it will be a pain in the ass but the tank and controller and breaker are in my workshop where I have a TV so I could bring a few beers down and watch the games today.lol

see my and valveman posts. put a hose on the PT and run 1/4 gpm for a day or till it clears. that's your timer

 

[Dunner]

I must have misunderstood that 1/4 bpm Might not be enough to raise the debris.

well is 740 deep with pump at 640. I have a 80 gallon pressure tank.

I have 1 1/4 pvc pipe off the well head with a ball valve with 20 ft pvc running into to 5 gallon bucket and hose connected to the Hose bib at pressure tank. What I have been doing that past two days was turning off the water to the house (ball valve near pressure tank)opening the ball valve at the well head Then turning on the hose bib till pressure switch kicks In turning off the hose and letting it run off the well head.

with my plan for day to be in workshop watching Football and cleaning up, if I leave the ball valve open at the well head I can just throw the breaker to turn off and on. (Essentially I am the timer.lol)

might make sense to do what you valve man suggested at night but will 1/4 bpm be enough to lift the cloudy water?

I really appreciate the advice.

 

[Dunner]

Also from the lasT couple of cycles what I am seeing is after pump kicks on it take about 4 minutes to cloud up ( the cloudy water does not settle after time so I assume I am still cleaning out the “driller mud/ bentonite clay”) it then cleanup after another 10 minutes of runn time.

 

[Dunner]

Ah ha water pro and valve man I see what you are saying now. The pump will run at full pressure to fill the 80 gallon tank (which at 25 per minute pump rate will only a few minutes) The the slow drain off will rest the pump until it hit 40 psi then kick on to fill the tanks again. Rinse repeat.

the only concern I have with this is it take about 4-5 minutes before I get cloudy water at the well head the way I’m doing it now so not sure if it clean it up or not.

learning well more than I wanted to about wells ( pun intended)