Help with leaking well

[jbarker855]

Hello all- just looking to call upon the collective knowledge of the group for any pointers, tips, or tricks on repairing my leaky well. This spring, I noticed that the ground around my well casing was particularly soggy. It was not until the rest of the yard started to dry out and that area remained muddy that I realized there was a problem. To confirm what I suspected, I checked to see if the water pressure was dropping. I made sure that all faucets in our home were shut off. I noticed the pressure in the system still dropped 10 psi over the course of an hour. This, combined with the exceptionally muddy ground around my well casing tells me that I probably have a leak in the waterline at the well casing or perhaps at the pitless adapter... I understand that a bad foot valve in the pump could also cause a pressure drop but this obviously would not cause the ground to be muddy.
The well is a drilled well with a 10 inch casing about 50 feet deep. There is no water overflowing the top of the casing.
So I think I need to dig a big hole to expose the pitless adapter and waterline. I will be digging by hand. Well, that is not entirely true because I think I will use a shovel. But before I start making a muddy mess, does anyone have any suggestions, words of caution? I think I am a little intimidated by having no idea what I will find down there. Thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[RNeumann]

How to install a pitless adaptor - YouTube

Figure out what side of the casing the pitless comes out and start digging. I’d take early showers etc and then shut the power to the pump off the night before. Then start digging before you turn the water on in the morning. While things won’t be dry in that amount of time it may help.......

Once the area dug out you can figure out what type of pipe it is and what you will need to repair it. This is likely in the pipe and not actually the pitless or technically part of the well. It’s just a good old fashioned pipefitting leak. But you won’t know for sure until it’s exposed.

The video should give you an idea of what you are looking for. Basically the pipe comes off the pitless with male threads. To fix things you may end up with some extra fittings or a left/right threaded coupling and nipple. A union under ground wouldn’t be my first choice but if it’s next to the casing and pitless you would know exactly where it was.

 

[wheelbuilder]

Also, be prepared for quicksand like conditions because of the leak. I did well work for a while and spent plenty of time standing on plywood to make this sort of repair so I could get back out. Depending on the soil, you can end up with a pretty big hole so you can dig safely.
Other than that it's a pretty straightforward repair. Make a T bar to thread into the top of the pitless and you should be ok. The pipe in the well can be heavy, depending on the type of pipe and depth.

 

[oosik]

If there is a cap on the top of the 10" casing you could remove the cap. This will allow you to look down the well and determine exactly how far you will need to dig to reach the supply line going into the house.

Might be a good move. Could be that the supply line into the house is deeper than you care to dig by hand.

 

[hawkeye08]

We had a leak a couple years ago in the pipe coming from well, within an inch or so of the well. It was just over 6' deep (no idea why I put it that deep back in '93), but I put a hose clamp around the pipe with rubber insert as temp fix. Worked great to get things dried out, we replaced it with a new pipe (that piece is only 24" long) and mostly all good. It took months to get the sand out of our water pipes.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Sounds like we need a cool hand luke quote to get that dirt out of the ditch. Start digging and take your time. Don't dig the hole so small that its dangerous to be in. Soil can still cave in and kill you even in a hand dug hole! A Tripod to hold the T-handle would be welcome to take the weight off of the pitless adapter if its bad, but I suspect its fine and the supply line to the house is actually bad. ALWAYS double clamp those joints.

 

[turnkey4099]

Just went through similar a few years ago. New well in 93. We found the drop pipe was galvanized which is a no-no in this country, the water eats galvanized for breakfast. Big hole just above the pump, fixed that, turned water back on and found a bad leak at the well head. Yep, galvanized pipe nipple transitioning between the pitless adapter and the black poly 1" water line. I paid a well company to do the work. Comes a time when a checkbook looks a lot easier than saving a few bucks by DIY.

 

[Molalla1]

Just went through similar a few years ago. New well in 93. We found the drop pipe was galvanized which is a no-no in this country, the water eats galvanized for breakfast. Big hole just above the pump, fixed that, turned water back on and found a bad leak at the well head. Yep, galvanized pipe nipple transitioning between the pitless adapter and the black poly 1" water line. I paid a well company to do the work. Comes a time when a checkbook looks a lot easier than saving a few bucks by DIY.

Words of wisdom here . . .

 

[PILOON]

My experience is to never mix metal (steel) and plastics (except brass).
In a well system that has only one steel component for sure that one component will corrode so bad as to choke the flow to a mere trickle.
Any install I ever made used all brass and never a problem. (or all plastics)

 

[Big Barn]

When I saw the title I thought you were looking for a solution to an enlarged prostate gland.