Old well questions

steff bugielski · #1 08/10/09, 04:38 PM

We have an inactive well on our property. We also have town water. We would like to use the well.
The well sits in a pump house that has been converted into a cabin.
When Mike first bought the property the well was hooked up to a fly wheel, had some wooden broom handle type mechanism and if you turned the fly wheel water would come up. The wooden dowels were connected to each other with a chain. There was also a 1000 gallon tank in the pump house but no motor. It had been stolen.
The well has a 4" housing coming up through the floor and if i look down it I can see what looks to be one of the wooden dowels. Of course it is just out of reach. We did manage to get a cable looped around it and tried to pull it up. No way!!! We got the house jack out and were able to get it to move but it slides right back down.

Has any one seen a well like this? What might the wooden dowel be connected to? Could it be just the weight of the 100' + of dowels that make it impossible to lift or could there be some sort of float to bring up water. There is water about 85-90 feet down.

Any thought or experiences with this type of well would be greatly appreciated.

agmantoo · #2 08/10/09, 05:19 PM

I have seen such a well using PVC end caps instead of the wooden dowels. There is a tube/pipe in the well and the connected components are rotated in a looped manner and the components enter into the tube/pipe and trap water as the wheel is rotated. The trapped water is brought to the surface as long as the wheel is rotated.

Harry Chickpea · #3 08/10/09, 06:18 PM

My guess would be the dowels are bunched together down there and stuck.

NCLee · #4 08/10/09, 06:31 PM

Can you rig a chain hoist over it to try to get it high enough to get a pipe wrench around it. The wrench will keep it from slipping back in. As you pull/jack/hoist it up contine to lock onto it with pipe wrench just above the 4" pipe.

Just a though, as I've never seen one of these. Good luck with getting it out of the well.

Lee

agmantoo · #5 08/10/09, 08:37 PM

This is essentially what you have just using different materials. Scroll down just a bit here
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...num=6&ct=image

poorboy · #6 08/10/09, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agmantoo

This is essentially what you have just using different materials. Scroll down just a bit here
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...num=6&ct=image

Welp i knew of chain pumps, but this is a new one on me..Thanks for that link Agmantoo..Velly Interestin'..

Beltane · #7 08/11/09, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agmantoo

This is essentially what you have just using different materials. Scroll down just a bit here
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...num=6&ct=image

That's pretty neat!

Steff - I would love to see some pictures of this well if you ever take any. It sounds so interesting!

steff bugielski · #8 08/11/09, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beltane

That's pretty neat!

Steff - I would love to see some pictures of this well if you ever take any. It sounds so interesting!

Well all I have to take pic of is the casing. any thing else is down in the well but if we get it out I will take pics.

We did think of a hoist but were wondering if the dowels were attached at the bottom or just heavy.

plowjockey · #9 08/11/09, 08:28 PM

It sound's like a "jack" well pump.

The wooden shaft pieces are connected to each other, all the way down to the water.

At the end there is a round metal piece, nearly the diameter of the pipe, with a seal around it, possibly made of leather or rubber. In the center of the piece, there is a "flapper valve". this valve opens on the down shaft stroke and closes on the up stroke.

The big flywheel was set to move the shaft up and down. With this motion, the valve opening and closing, will pump water up, filling the entire well casing with water, until it comes out the top.

I just decomissioned and sealed a 70' well that had a jack pump. The wooden shafts had metal pieces that screwed together and the bottom piece was brass. I did have a metal "jacking" unit/flywheel at the top of the well that sealed, it and held pressure.

I built a tri-pod hoist out of landscape timbers and a come-along, to pull the wood shaft, VERY CAREFULLY, as the wood was very fragile and the shaft pretty heavy, even though it was only 60'.

You are lucky, since you can still get to the shaft and it still moves. You should give it a try. Just use a thinner steel cable to create a tight non slip "noose", around the top shaft piece.

Once you get pulling VERY CAREFULLY, you will need to stop after the first section or so and get a new "bite" on the next shaft section. This is when things can go wrong, and if the shaft slips or breaks and falls back in, it may be nearly impossible to get a hold of it again.

When you stop, take a really large wood clamp and clamp the wood shaft where it comes out of the well pipe. This can be used as a safety stop for the shaft, in case something else slips or breaks. If the shafts are chained together, they may be flexible enough to just let them fall on the gound. Mine were screwed together, so I had to just keep pullling until enough was out that the wood would just snap. I was working by myself and once I got a good grip and starting pulling, I could pull the whole shaft out by hand, without stopping.

Hopefully any of this helps.

Go for it and good luck.

cowcreekgeeks · #10 08/11/09, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steff bugielski

The well has a 4" housing coming up through the floor and if i look down it I can see what looks to be one of the wooden dowels. Of course it is just out of reach. We did manage to get a cable looped around it and tried to pull it up. No way!!!

You're trying to get the dowel that's floating in the water? That's the way I'm reading this. If so, put your city water hose in the well and see if you can fill it up. As the water rises, so will the dowel.

I think I'm reading this all wrong.

agmantoo · #11 08/11/09, 09:36 PM

cowcreekgeeks
You can essentially pour as much water into a well as it will supply. I doubt that he wants the utility bill.

steff bugielski · #12 08/12/09, 05:23 AM

Plowjockey,
You are most helpful. The plan was to use a hoist attached to the rafters but a tripod hoist sounds better and no damage to the ceiling. Mind consern was that they were attached to something at the bottom and we would get it up a few feet and then it would snap and come flying out killing some one.

I knew some one on this board would know exactly what I was talking about.
Thanks

cowcreekgeeks · #13 08/12/09, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agmantoo

cowcreekgeeks
You can essentially pour as much water into a well as it will supply. I doubt that he wants the utility bill.

Yeah. After thinking about it you're right...it's not a container. Well, mark it on your calendar...today is the very first time cowcreekgeeks was ever wrong!

plowjockey · #14 08/12/09, 04:42 PM

You are lucky to have a 4" well just sitting waiting to be used. Mine was only 3" and 70', so I just plugged it with bentonite, capped it and filled in the pit. This will prevent any contaminants from draining into the aquifer.

Once you get the shaft out, disinfect the well with bleach and put a cap on it if you are not going to use it right away.

From then on, depending on what your local regulations are, "what well?" should be the proper response, if anyone asks.