Well is pumping sand

[Jed1154]

I have sand in my toilet tanks and a plugged washing machine inlet screen. I have not noticed any sand plugging anything else in the house.

My question is, is there anything that can be done short of drilling a new well to 'fix' the problem? I have no idea how long it has been like this but I have lived here for 2 years, and the previous owner since 2003.

I called a well guy and he said that for 120 bucks he can come out and look at the well and the sand and determine if there are any options in the way of filtering it because if its too fine, a filter won't work.

I have two wells. I was told by the original owners that the first well 'started pumping sand' and so they had to drill a new well and that is the one that the house is on. I hooked up the original well to water my garden and odds and ends, and i know for sure it pumps sand because you can see it in a bucket if you put water in it. Kind of wierd to have two wells pumping sand within 10 feet of each other.

Any ideas? This is out of my area of expertise, but I dont want to get screwed over by unscrupulous companies.

Filter, redrill...other options?

 

[Valveman]

Even if you can filter it, the pump is still dealing with sand, which will shorten it's life tremendously. Rule of thumb is if your pump last 5 years or more, a filter is a good option. If the pump doesn't last at least 5 years, it would pay to drill another well. The screen and/or gravel pac in the well should prevent any sand from entering the well. If the screen is not right, it will always pump sand. If the sand will settle to the bottom of a bucket or glass, you can usually filter it out.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jed1154]

It will settle in a bathtub, can't really notice it in a glass. It settles in teh toilet tank pretty nice though.

Im not sure if its always pumped sand or if this is a recent occurrence or what. It has taken 3 years to plug the washing machine screens to the point of trickling. One problem is that the previous owners put a slab and a shed over the frickin well....gonna be a pain to get that apart to fix i think.

Does anyone have any experience with Rusco Sediment filters...its a spin down filter.

 

[Jed1154]

Anyone suggest a filter for my application? I don't know whether it needs a big filter, or a cyclonic filter or how to determine the sand size to see what would be appropriate.

 

[Valveman]

Three years to plug the washing machine screen is not much sand. A cartridge filter will need the cartridge changed occasionally but, will usually filter smaller particles. A spin clean or cyclonic filter can usually be purged occasionally but, usually has a courser screen.

 

[Jed1154]

Three years to plug the washing machine screen is not much sand. A cartridge filter will need the cartridge changed occasionally but, will usually filter smaller particles. A spin clean or cyclonic filter can usually be purged occasionally but, usually has a courser screen.

I ordered one from Rusco. It has the ability for you to order and change out the screens to whatever size you need to filter sediment.

I suppose i don't have much sediment at all, but it is there. I know the neighbors on my street have talked about sediment in their water. My well and most everyone elses around the area are screened at .008, some at .010.

Growing up, I dont recall ever seeing any sand from our well at all. However, I didnt do the washing machine maintenance either.