Shocking well

[DStyduhar]

Hi guys,

Hope everyone had a nice Xmas.

So we replaced our pump about 2 months ago and everything has been a ok but we never shocked the well which we would like to do. The water has developed a very slight smell over the last week....doesn't smell gross just sort of off. And its slight.

Casing is 6.25", water @ 50ft but don't know the total depth of well. The pump is @ 185ft.

I stopped by the local pump house today and they sold me a 1lb bag of shockwave granules for $5. We initially planned to use plain old bleach but the folks around here like the granules. The Shockwave has 65%Minimum amount of chlorine. We also dont have any water softeners in our system. Here is our plan....please advise.

1. Turn off power to pump via breaker

2. Pour premixed granules down well

a. Amount TBD
b. Should this be premixed or just pour the granules down?​

3. Use hose bib on top of well to flush down casing until I run out of water since power is off then drain remaining house piping

4. Let granules dissolve for a few hours in well

a. how long?​

5. After x amount of time with granules in well, turn pump on and fill up house with chlorinated mix from well.

6. Let mix sit in house piping (copper)

a. how long?​

7. Turn power off to pump and drain house via outdoor spigot.

8. Fill house again, drain and repeat until no chlorine smell is present

Any guidance here?

thanks,

Drew

 

[Reach4]

2. Pour premixed granules down well
a. Amount TBD
b. Should this be premixed or just pour the granules down?

With bigger granules that fall to the bottom quickly such as 3/8 diameter Well-Safe C21000, they prescribe 50% premixed and 50% not premixed. I think the flooding volume has a place to drive chlorine through the cracks into gravel and area. I think that you are using pool shock Calcium Hypochlorite so I am guessing drop maybe 80% to 100% as little granules. Liquid chlorine bleach is mainly sodium hypochlorite.

I would also consider acid. I think they sell acid in pool supply places for pool treatment too. I use vinegar. Acid makes the chlorine much more effective.

3. Use hose bib on top of well to flush down casing until I run out of water since power is off then drain remaining house piping

I would leave the pump powered myself.

4. Let granules dissolve for a few hours in well
a. how long?

Presuming the granules sink, I would let them fall to the bottom and have time to dissolve. They will partially dissolve on the way down. But I also would let chlorinated water recirculate while washing down the sides of the well.

I would use the chlorine strips to know if chlorine is being recirculated at effective levels. But then I would also want the pH right. So I would have high range chlorine test strips and pH test strips.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my sanitizing writeup. It is written mainly with a bottom feeding well in mind, and one where the clearance between the pump and casing will not let you pass pellets. You can adapt to your situation.

https://sciencing.com/pool-strength-compared-household-bleach-6153959.html says

Thus, gram for gram, the pool chlorine will provide 11 times more FAC [free available chlorine] than [6%] household bleach.​

In comparing your granules vs liquid 8.25% sodium hypochlorite bleach, that 11 ratio would become 8. Your 1 pound of granules, at 8.3 pounds per gallon, would be about equivalent to a gallon of 8.25% bleach. I like strips and pH paper to see if I should add more. Both chlorine and vinegar get consumed doing their jobs. In my limited experience, I needed to add more.

Calcium can form insoluble compounds at normal pH. Sodium compounds are mostly soluble in regular pH water. It is a small factor, but I would give a very slight edge to sodium for that factor for well sanitizing. If the calcium compounds sink to the bottom, that would be an edge for calcium.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Ballvalve]

when you get the chloring in the well, leave the power ON and recirculate the water down the casing for an hour, then do the remainder.

 

[DStyduhar]

Hey guys, thanks for the info.

Reach, that is a hell of a write up you have for sanitizing a well. Yes, the pool shock I have is Calcium Hypochlorite.

Flooding Volume

I don't think I have hoses in good enough shape (and sanitary enough) to use from outdoor house spigot to the well head for flooding volume. If I use the hose bib at the well head and a short hose to pump water back in then it seems that would be adequate for circulating the water in the well itself but doesn't do anything for the house piping. It also sounds like the flooding volume should not be coming from the well head though...no?

The guy at the supply house said he was worried about high head pressure with pump running and trying to recirculate the water back into the well through that small garden hose/bib at the well head.

PH/Chlorine

So...add the chlorine (prob do 100% granules, no premix) and circulate, add the Acid (vinegar) and circulate, check PH and Chlorine using strips after it has had time to circulate, add Chlorine/Vinegar as necessary and repeat. You need to keep the PH in check because adding Chlorine increases the PH and makes the Chlorine less effective. Aim for PH from 5-5.5 but still not sure about PPM of chlorine? You mentioned using 200PPM level strips but not the desired PPM.

I see the benefit of recirculating the water in the well but is that really necessary to circulate through the house piping or can the chlorinated mix just sit in the house piping for X amount of time? It seems like once I get the chlorine/PH level correct in the well and it has had time to recirculate within the well I could just pump that mix into the house plumbing, let it sit and then drain through a garden hose to a ditch until chlorine smell is gone from water.

thanks,

Drew

 

[Reach4]

I don't think I have hoses in good enough shape (and sanitary enough) to use from outdoor house spigot to the well head for flooding volume.

The flooding volume is not pressurized. I used a plastic garbage can with two liners one time, and siphoned that into the casing. Maybe a 10 ft or so piece of vinyl hose. Cheap.

The guy at the supply house said he was worried about high head pressure with pump running and trying to recirculate the water back into the well through that small garden hose/bib at the well head.

The recirculating water goes into the wide open casing, at least the way I did it on my well with a pitless adapter. If you have a well seal, I guess you have to figure out how to get the liquid through the little vent hole. I guess then I would maybe use a Camco 40103 wand or something you build. Maybe use a smaller tube for siphoning in the flooding volume. It would take longer than with my 1/2 inch ID tubing, but that should be OK.

The other time I used a water bed mattress and the venturi pump sold for emptying a water bed. That sucked the flooding volume from the waterbed and mixed it with the water from the spigot. Maybe if I were going thru a vent hole on a well seal, I would rig up some kind of funnel arrangement. Leave room for air to get out too, but air can go thru small cracks pretty well.

The flooding volume goes into the casing. It came from the well originally, but when it is doing its flooding job, it is pushing treated water down and out thru slots and into the nearby aquifer.

So...add the chlorine (prob do 100% granules, no premix) and circulate, add the Acid (vinegar) and circulate, check PH and Chlorine using strips after it has had time to circulate, add Chlorine/Vinegar as necessary and repeat. You need to keep the PH in check because adding Chlorine increases the PH and makes the Chlorine less effective. Aim for PH from 5-5.5 but still not sure about PPM of chlorine? You mentioned using 200PPM level strips but not the desired PPM.

Thanks for that. 200 to 250 should be good.

 

[DStyduhar]

Thanks.

-Moravec shows 50ppm for average water and 200ppm for really bad cases. Why do you recommend even higher than that?

- If I have 200ppm strips for testing and my chlorine level is >200ppm any idea what will happen to the color? I mean, I will see the strip color getting darker and darker and will it eventually stay black or something? One person mentioned that he had far more than 200ppm and his strip was staying white.

- When flushing everything out do you just run until no more chlorine smell is present? Some guys have low ppm strip and keep testing over and over until they get 10ppm or whatever. Prob overkill

- When circulating, do you run a hose from your outdoor house spigot to the well? If so, do you have a dedicated hose for this?

- I still don't quite get the flooding volume thing. I mean, I understand the flooding water is to push the chlorinated mix that is above the pump to below and into the aquifer...no? But the flooding volume is just water, no added chlorine/acid. So when you flood the well you are just diluting your mix, so you add more chlorine/acid but that is above the pump again. Can you please elaborate?

thanks,

Drew

 

[Reach4]

Moravec shows 50ppm for average water and 200ppm for really bad cases. Why do you recommend even higher than that?

I like overkill. I think it should be more effective as it works into the strata just outside of the well. I hope chlorine vapors get into my old type non-piston water hammer arrestor.

I figure to sanitize every few years, so lets make it effective.

Also, as the chlorine is consumed by reacting, it will get weaker.

Regarding what the strip indicates at 250, I think it is pretty black. When I said 200 to 250, it is not that precise. I expect 100 + is enough, but I don't think the 200 will do damage due to the fairly short time. Do ease up on the softener resin, as discussed.

8.25% bleach is 82500 ppm. If you put that right on the strip, I don't know what the color would be. Maybe it would bleach out the strip? Anyway, you could make up a test solution to see what the strip looks like at a given ppm.

During flushing, I figure to get under 4 before using. However I am guessing. That is the max for city water.