Well in basement?????...........

[dave85]

Looking at an old farmhouse in Iowa.Full basement under the 2 story house. The pump and pressure tank is in the basement corner and next to the pump is a manual pitcher pump.

Is the actual well under the basement? With a pitcher pump also, it's probably a shallow well?

Thsi house sits in the middle of conventionally farmed corn/soybeans and I'm concerned about pesticide contamination. But the house is on a knoll, highest point on the farm.
So, if I can get the pump(s) functioning, I will test the water.

Anyone have any ideas?

Dave

[kitaye]

I doubt the well is directly under the house, though I'm probably wrong. Is the manual pump for priming the powered pump? Or could it be left over from a cistern that is under the house?

If the water tests good then count your blessings. It'll be easier to keep unfrozen under the house.

[dave85]

Originally Posted by kitaye

I doubt the well is directly under the house, though I'm probably wrong. Is the manual pump for priming the powered pump? Or could it be left over from a cistern that is under the house?

If the water tests good then count your blessings. It'll be easier to keep unfrozen under the house.

Don't know any of the above. didn't even think about the cistern thing.
Dave

[gccrook]

Yes, the well could be under the basement. Our first house in Wichita, Kansas had the well in the basement. It is no longer legal, so I could not get anyone to come out and clean it for me. I seem to recall having a well in the basement of the old farmhouse I lived in as a kid. Now days, they will not allow a well closer than 25 feet to the house.

[Batt]

If the well pump goes out, how do you replace or repair the pump? Usually the pipe is in 10' sections and if it is a deep well you need some kind of mechanical assistance to lift the pump, pipe and water in the pipe.. Lots of questions pop up.

[uncle Will in In.]

Around here nearly all the old style pumps are in the basement, but none of the wells are in the basement. If it's possible that the water vein is not very deep, a pitcher pump might lift the water after it is primed. They no longer put down driven wells in Ind. About all the drilled wells have a 4,5,or 6 inch pipe going down to the water with a supmersable pump down in the pipe below the water level. These have a blader tank above ground in a non-freeezing location.
A cup of coffee says the well for the electric pump is not under the house. Can you see pipes going through the basement wall? Does the pitcher pump go into the floor, or through the wall?

[big rockpile]

Well if you can see the Pump it is not a Deep Well,if you can see Pipes going through the Wall,your Well is outside.It could be a Cistern under the House.There should be an opening to get into it if there is.

big rockpile

[agmantoo]

The pumps are most probably offset from the well. The static water level in the well isn't deep for a pitcher pump to work.

[agmantoo]

Sorry double post

[Bearfootfarm]

Originally Posted by Adron

If the well pump goes out, how do you replace or repair the pump? Usually the pipe is in 10' sections and if it is a deep well you need some kind of mechanical assistance to lift the pump, pipe and water in the pipe.. Lots of questions pop up.

The pump is above ground.

"The pump and pressure tank is in the basement corner and next to the pump is a manual pitcher pump."

[RichieC]

I grew up in a house with a well in the basement. It wasn't in use. I was directly next to out oil tank (!). And the house wasn't even all that old, just 1890 or so.

[Cat]

There is a well in our basement, too.

[Lynne]

No ideas…

There is an old house on main street in town that a coworker bought.. There is still a (contained?spring in the basement and a huge stone fireplace covering one wall. Both are usable, but not used by the owners. I think it’s pretty cool – wished I had that option.

[Quint]

I've lived in a couple of houses with wells in the basement. One was in town an was a sandpoint type. It was technically illegal under city code to have one but since it was in the basement no one knew. You were suppose to have it outside in a wellhouse and pipe the water in. A well guy wouldn't replace one in a house but you could do it yourself illegally. I redid the one in that house myself. I drove a new point and put in a new pump and tank. Another house on the block had an actual old dug well. It was really deep and lined with brick. It was a really nice.

[MullersLaneFarm]

The house water comes from a sand point in our basement. The pump and pressure tank are there. The barn water comes from a sand point in the 'well house'.

Neither a well in the basement nor a sandpoint are legal to put in now, but since the ones for the house and barn were pre-existing when we bought the house and tested fine, we did not have to put in a deep well.

Paul put in a driven sandpoint for our pitcher pump in the barn yard after we moved in.

[fishhead]

My well is in my basement. The ceiling is only about 5' so when it was driven they used 4' sections. The screen plugged so I pulled it and replaced the screen and pipe. It was like wrestling a pig for 5 hours but I got'r done.

I'm thinking of driving a new one outside because the screen is plugging again since I pounded it down into the old hole. If I do drive a new one I'll use 10' sections (2 of them) and an electric driver. Driving the new well shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour but the digging to the house.....

[highlands]

If the well is directly under the house then be aware of radon issues if you live in a radon prone area. Radon often comes up in the well water. The spring house outside the home is a good place to free the radon and dissipate it. A well in the basement can be a source of increased radon throughout the house. When the house was old and not tight this would not be an issue. Tightening it up can cause trouble.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org