I found and Old Well

[Tweetot]

Today I found a 2" well pipe without a casing around it that sounds out to 80' 8" on my property. I have not taken a bottom sample to see if I have a strainer or silt but I am betting silt for a well pipe that has been uncovered and 6" underground for almost 40 - 60 years. The water level in the pipe was only 1" below the top of the pipe, but I know that doesn't mean diddly except the pipe is probably clogged.

I am going to drop a 3/4" pvc line to the bottom and pump it with a good trash pump I have. I will continually add water to the pipe to keep the level in the pipe within a foot or two of the top. I figure this way I can maybe pump some of the sediment out of the bottom of the pipe. As long as I keep the line full the pump will continue to pull water from the bottom of the pipe. The pipe holds about 13gals. of water.

IF (BIG IF) I get the pipe clean, what are my options for an agricultural well? 2" case is too small for electric submersible. Windmill? Mechanical submersible? Deep well hand pump? I know I could get the local well guy out here but I am trying to do this with little or no cash outlay.

Ideas?

Thanks,

Tweetot

 

[Willl]

Question, will your trash pump pull 80' ?

 

[denmansoft]

The trash pump won't have to pull 80' if he is going to keep the pipe full.
You only need to pull the height of the water surface. It dosen't matter the depth of the opening of the suction pipe.

 

[Skyco]

Yeah you can't suck water more than about 25' vertically, you can push it as far as you want. Why would there be an 80 ft pipe too small to put a submersible pump in Maybe it used to be free flowing at one time...

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I bought this pump 3 years ago just for pumping water from a creek to my pond, i only use it if we don't get much rain and the pond starts to drop, and i put a spigot on top to hook up a water hose.

I am pulling the water 120 feet and pushing it up a small hill 150 feet to a pipe that my gutter downspouts run to the pond.


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[bncsauve]

Are you sure there isn't a casing around the 2" pipe further down? You may have the end of a submersible setup. I don't know where the well is relative to power, but watch out for wires below the surface. I can't imagine why someone would have sunk an 80' well without it being submersible. If that's truly what it is and the water level ends up below about 25' you may be able to drop a smaller line into the 2" and pressurize around it to pump up water, or drop a piston with a valve in it connected to a long rod to use it as a lift pump.

 

[J_J]

I bought this pump 3 years ago just for pumping water from a creek to my pond, i only use it if we don't get much rain and the pond starts to drop, and i put a spigot on top to hook up a water hose.

I am pulling the water 120 feet and pushing it up a small hill 150 feet to a pipe that my gutter downspouts run to the pond.


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johndeer4300

You are not actually pulling vertical 120 ft. The pump draw/suction is 26 ft. In that 120 ft, you probably have a rise around 26 ft.

Tweetot

It would be best if you pumped water to the bottom of the well to push out all the loose stuff, and when the water does not rise anymore, you are probably in the aquifer. You need to get the top of the pipe above ground level and sealed so that all the trash will come out and go somewhere else. If that water level is being pushed close to the surface, there is a deep well jet you can insert in a 2 in pipe, and the jet action will help draw more water. Here in Florida, if you go down about ten ft, you will have water, but people usually put the 2 in pipe about thirty ft, and almost any pump will draw from it. If you are out in the middle of a field, you will need to carry water to pump out the well if that is your choice. One of those gas powered trash pumps will draw around 25 ft and pump lots of gal.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

johndeer4300

You are not actually pulling vertical 120 ft. The pump draw/suction is 26 ft. In that 120 ft, you probably have a rise around 26 ft.

No I'm not pulling it straight up 120 ft. and its hard to get it primed.
I put a foot valve on the end and fill the whole with water to get it primed...but it would pull it straight up that far if i tried it.

 

[J_J]

No I'm not pulling it straight up 120 ft. and its hard to get it primed.
I put a foot valve on the end and fill the whole with water to get it primed...but it would pull it straight up that far if i tried it.

I don't want to argue about this, so ,please read this data.

33 ft is the theoretical limit on suction pump lift.

Irrigation Water Pumps

 

[tommu56]

johndeere4300
The reason any pump can't draw water over vertically 28ft at sea level is because the pump just removes the air and surrounding air pressure at the end of the pipe/hose pushes water in to the pipe or hose.
14.7psi one atmosphere = approx 28 feet of water

The horizontal distance the pump can "pull" is only as long as the friction loss the pump will allow.

I have drafted with a fire truck over 60 horizontally and moved over 1000 gpm but the lift was just over 10 ft.

tom

 

[EddieWalker]

Instead of trying to pump it out, which may or may not work, what about jetting water into the pipe? I'd probably try it with half inch PVC. I'm not sure if I'd put a tip on the end, or leave it open. I'd try it open first and just start shoving pipe into the hole with the garden hose attached to the end and the water running. The water coming out of the end of the pipe will clean out what's in there and force it back up and out of the pipe.

If you did this, you might want to make the pipe in the ground longer so that what comes out of it, doesn't go back down into it again.

Do you have water available to do this? hahaha Might not even be an option.

Eddie

 

[Ken]

Dig down a little deeper maybe there is a casing for the well. 40 to 60 years ago the pump would use a sucker rod to pull the water to surface. and the pump was driven by a geared pump shaft. These rods were made of wood and a metal joint every 20' and some times would untwist and fall to bottom of well. Then only method was to pull total pipe out of well. 80' of 2 inch pipe and filled with water can get heavy. seek advide from some one that has this experance. Or a wraped chain around pipe and use front end loader to lift pipe to check movement. but then could drop the pipe if not careful farther into the well.
Also 40 years of rusty pipe there isn't much to work with. the sucker rod had a check valve to hold water from going back into well.
It would require large pipe wrenches, slimy slick pipe and rust. good clamping tools to hold pipe from going back into well when lift is relesed for new hold to continue raising.
Experance is a great teacher. Losing the pipe makes a sickening slurp going into the well
100 atta boy's get taken away for one slip.
ken