jaystech
New Member
Greetings,
I have an old (likely dating back to the 1950s) driven shallow well in my basement and I am attempting to find out if it would be a viable source for outdoor watering / sprinklers. The only thing left was the pipe ( 1 1/4" galvanized), there was no pump or tank when I bought the house. I measured 29' to the bottom of the well pipe and the water level is at the 21' mark. My house is located in the basin of an old glacial lake, with sand reaching 50' deep in places. Likely the full depth of the well is entirely sand.
As it appears to be a well with no foot valve, the water will drain back out when it is poured into the pipe. It seems to drain slowly though, dropping back down the pipe about 2-3 inches per second.
I purchased a pitcher pump and tested several times over the course of a few days. It takes a good deal of effort to lift the water up the 21' (about 5-7 minutes), and the output seems to be minimal - with full strokes it takes an additional 10+ minutes to fill a gallon. The output looks similar to the first pump producing water on this video at the 0:55 mark:
I dumped a gallon of vinegar down the pipe to attempt clean up of the mineral deposits on the screen, but it didn't seem to make much difference in the flow. Ideally the driven well would supply 6-8gpm, but at this point it doesn't look like I could get even close.
I certainly don't want to invest in a pump and tank only to learn that the well screen is blocked and doesn't produce enough water to meet demand. I already spoke with several well companies in the area, they won't even come to look at it as they are estimating the job in the thousands to install a pump and tank. I was told they don't do inspections or test flow rate, they would only quote for the parts and labor (which I don't need as I would be completing the install), and at that price they claim I should just continue to use municipal supply. Even if they did the job, they claim they can't guarantee the flow rate would be sufficient.
So I'm looking for opinions or ideas to try to increase the flow rate, or maybe a method to actually test with a powered pump and measure the actual flow rate without having to invest in one. I'm hoping I don't have to redo the sand point as it is in a difficult spot in the basement and would be a major project to pull and replace. However, if it's the only viable option, I would be interested to know whether it would be best to relocate the pipe several feet away from the current hole instead of replacing it in the same spot. Thanks very much.
I have an old (likely dating back to the 1950s) driven shallow well in my basement and I am attempting to find out if it would be a viable source for outdoor watering / sprinklers. The only thing left was the pipe ( 1 1/4" galvanized), there was no pump or tank when I bought the house. I measured 29' to the bottom of the well pipe and the water level is at the 21' mark. My house is located in the basin of an old glacial lake, with sand reaching 50' deep in places. Likely the full depth of the well is entirely sand.
As it appears to be a well with no foot valve, the water will drain back out when it is poured into the pipe. It seems to drain slowly though, dropping back down the pipe about 2-3 inches per second.
I purchased a pitcher pump and tested several times over the course of a few days. It takes a good deal of effort to lift the water up the 21' (about 5-7 minutes), and the output seems to be minimal - with full strokes it takes an additional 10+ minutes to fill a gallon. The output looks similar to the first pump producing water on this video at the 0:55 mark:
I dumped a gallon of vinegar down the pipe to attempt clean up of the mineral deposits on the screen, but it didn't seem to make much difference in the flow. Ideally the driven well would supply 6-8gpm, but at this point it doesn't look like I could get even close.
I certainly don't want to invest in a pump and tank only to learn that the well screen is blocked and doesn't produce enough water to meet demand. I already spoke with several well companies in the area, they won't even come to look at it as they are estimating the job in the thousands to install a pump and tank. I was told they don't do inspections or test flow rate, they would only quote for the parts and labor (which I don't need as I would be completing the install), and at that price they claim I should just continue to use municipal supply. Even if they did the job, they claim they can't guarantee the flow rate would be sufficient.
So I'm looking for opinions or ideas to try to increase the flow rate, or maybe a method to actually test with a powered pump and measure the actual flow rate without having to invest in one. I'm hoping I don't have to redo the sand point as it is in a difficult spot in the basement and would be a major project to pull and replace. However, if it's the only viable option, I would be interested to know whether it would be best to relocate the pipe several feet away from the current hole instead of replacing it in the same spot. Thanks very much.
