Problems with driven well

[Jbos333]

Hi all, new member here. Hoping to gain some knowledge from someone who has had similar issues.

OK so I purchased an old farmhouse with a driven well in the basement. Who knows when well was driven- in any case, the present setup is at least 50 years old. There was a 1/2 hp myers pump on its last legs. The original driven pipe was 1.25". Somewhere along the line, someone drove a 3/4" galvanized pipe down inside the existing pipe, with a cap on the end and 1/4" holes drilled in the pipe. Over the years, the 3/4" pipe had corroded inside to the diameter of a pencil, maybe. It was still being used, pumping about 1/2 gal per min.

Jacked out the 3/4" pipe, it came out in one piece. Jacked out the 1.25" pipe, it broke so approximately 3 ft. of pipe and point were left in ground. It is approx. 17 feet deep to the end of point. Installed a new point and 1.25" pipe, hoping what was still in hole would crumble when driving new point. Last 1-2 feet drove very hard. Hooked up, primed pump. It acted like it was sucking air. Pulled pipe/point out, cleaned, retaped joints, tightened as tight as possible (24 and 36 inch Rigid wrenches). Started pumping. Still seemed like it was sucking air (or starved for water).

Sleeved with continuous piece of 1" poly. Ran right to pump. No check valve. Seems to be pumping better but still cannot pump continuously without reducing output side a little. Right now can pump approx. 2-2.5 gal/min. Seems like we might have dirt clogging the screen, impeding flow. As soon as output valve is opened fully, pressure drops to zero and stops pumping. Also, output as of right now is a 1" hose bibb so that is also restricted even when fully open.

1. Can I leave the 1" poly as the suction or is that too restrictive? The pump is Goulds J5S.

2. When disassembling the 1.25" pipe behind check valve (to run poly down inside) the was an air seal I could hear it when I opened the system. That would lead me to believe there are no leaks in the joints behind the check valve. Does this sound like a reasonable assumption?

3. If the assumption above is true, I should be able to pull the 1" poly back out, and hook pump up. Then the only (assumed) problem is dirt clogging the point. Any ideas on the best way to fix that problem?

Thanks,

Jay

 

[Valveman]

The 1" poly keeps the pump from creating a vacuum on the 1 1/4" casing. So when the water level pulls down below the 1" pipe, it starts sucking air. When hooked directly to the 1 1/4" casing, the top of the screen must still be under water or sealed to to the earth or it the pump will lose prime as soon as the water level drops below the top of the screen. Move over and drive a new well so the old screen won't be in the way and so the casing will seal to the earth better.

If you can't make this work, your next option is to throttle the well pump down to 1-2 GPM, and let it fill a cistern or storage tank. Then an additional jet or submersible pump can draw from the cistern and supply the house with as much water as needed. 1 GPM from the well will supply 1440 gallons per day. You just need to store it in a 500-1000 gallon cistern so the booster pump can supply 1 to 10 GPM as needed for a house. Most regular showers need 2.5 GPM to function, and if you flush or use any other water while the shower is on, a house can use 5-10 GPM during times water is being used.

Here is a drawing of a set up like that, you would just have a shallow well jet pump feeding the cistern instead of a submersible.