Water well rejuvenating???????????

[VALENT]

Well, it is plenty dry here and the pond has dried up. We have an old windmill well that hasnt been used for probably 20 years. The pipe and cylinder has been removed. I went ahead and dropped a string down the well and found water after 45 feet and then another 37 feet after that. Then, we brought a nurse tank full of water and filled it up to the top and the water level pretty much didnt move. After a few days, the water has dropped but I didnt have the string in order to see where to. I am guessing the well is either collapsed or the screen is clogged up pretty thoroughly. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT??

[rambler]

Well, don't add water to a well - that introduces pathogens to the ground water and could mess up other people's wells. Not a good thing.

What do you mean, you hit water 2 times in the well? Do you mean you hit water at 45 feet, and hit bottom of the well at 92 feet?????

To test a well, you pump water out of it, see how long it takes to replentish the water. Get a pump - pto powered from the tractor, electric if you have electric nearby or a generator, gasoline poweredb pump, whatever. You'd need a pump that can prime 50 feet or so, something to consider. Measure how much water you pump out, if it keeps up with your pump, or if you can pump it dry. Then see how long it takes for the water to return to it's normal level in the well. From the size of the casing, you can figure how much water the well stores, and how much it can regenerate in a given amount of time.

You don't add more water to it.

--->Paul

[gila_dog]

It's possible that the well point is clogged with mineral deposits. You could "shoot" the well to knock the deposits loose. To do that stick the barrel of a .22 rifle down into the well and fire a shot. Make sure you don't stick the barrel into the water! Keep it above the water level. The hydraulic shock of the bullet hitting the water down in the pipe will be transferred all the way to the bottom of the well pipe and may knock the deposits off the point. It can also blow holes in the well pipe if it's rusty and weak in spots. But it doesn't sound like you have much to lose. Don't use anything more powerful than a .22 rifle tho. And don't do this if there is a pump down in the well.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by gila_dog

It's possible that the well point is clogged with mineral deposits.

The well had a cylinder and pipe in it so isn't a driven well.

rambler has it right, you will need to pump the well to test it. Generally around here a well driller will install a temporary submersible pump and operate it with a generator. They pump it for at least a couple of hour and then test the flow buy timing and catching a certain amount.

[VALENT]

Rambler, yes, it was 45 feet to water and then 37 feet of water for a total of 92 feet. The water I added is very clean and not going to contaminate anything. One of the older well men around here (actually a few of them) talk about this method of checking the well by adding water. They say if the well is good the water will drain right down and it makes sense to me as water will always seek its own level.
Windy is right in that it is a 4 inch cased well and I doubt driven but the screens could still be clogged up. I guess I was hoping someone would know what chemicals I should try.
Gila dog, have you tried the shooting a well? That is another thing I was thinking of trying. The same guy who talks about filling the well with water did this for a friend with a 12 guage and buckshot but it sounds like it was a dangerous thing to do.

Is there anything I should do before trying to pump the well? I will have to get a generator but I do know how to do it as far as hooking up a pump and so forth.

[buffalocreek]

"WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT??"

Get someone who knows what he's doing. The only way you will find out the condition of the well is to pull the pipe and inspect everything. A well driller will save you money and grief in the long run. Don't mess with something you know nothing about. Internet advice is cheap for a reason.

[VALENT]

I actually know quite a bit and have found internet advice to quite often be full of wisdom. I have never subscribed to the whole let someone else do your work theory even though I seldom stop others. In my opinion, some of the advice already offered has been pretty darn good. The pipe is pulled. I guess if one of the well drillers had a camera that went down the well they could tell me exactly what is happening down there. More likely, they would suggest drilling a new well. Unfortunately, that is a six week waiting period as of this weekend. So, I would like to try something in the meantime that might stop or at least slow down our necessity for hauling water for the cows.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Originally Posted by gila_dog

It's possible that the well point is clogged with mineral deposits. You could "shoot" the well to knock the deposits loose. To do that stick the barrel of a .22 rifle down into the well and fire a shot. Make sure you don't stick the barrel into the water! Keep it above the water level. The hydraulic shock of the bullet hitting the water down in the pipe will be transferred all the way to the bottom of the well pipe and may knock the deposits off the point. It can also blow holes in the well pipe if it's rusty and weak in spots. But it doesn't sound like you have much to lose. Don't use anything more powerful than a .22 rifle tho. And don't do this if there is a pump down in the well.

Interesting, but I don't think I would want any extra lead in my animal's water...

[rambler]

Yea, I wonder about the lead issue, it's a tiny bullet but it is lead and it will be sitting there at the bottom of your water source for a long, long, long time. As well as other peoples' water source...... Steel buckshot maybe????

I needed to have my screen cleaned, it was plugged up with magneese. Every well is different, what is plugging up your well? Do you even have a screen on yours, most do not around here, but mine is in fine sand, needed it. The acid came in 30 gallon barrels, they used 2 of them, they had to slush out the stuff first to beat it up some, then add acid, then beat it out again, thn add the other acid, let it sit a day, then pump the acid out, then reconnect my pipes and pump. no way you want to run that stuff through your own pump and pipes, they had old used rusty stuff for that. They ended up pulling the pipes and a pump (mine or theirs) about 5 times until all this was done.

It's not exactly a homeowner sort of job! And you don't even know if you need it.....

I understand the idea of adding water, but it's not such a good idea in my mind. Lots of things can go wrong with doing it that way, false readings.... Much better to pump water out, and see where you are at. That's the true measure.

We run into people of different experience levels here, so our answers are sometimes way off base - no way to know. Someone asked about cutting grass hay a bit ago; after replying to the message as if they were the typical person who moved out to the country and got a horse and wonders how hay is made; turns out he used to run a dairy & made many years of alfalfa, but he didn't say that the first time. Oops! Hard to know sometimes.

When my well acted up, they came out with the 5 foot pipe on the cable, pulled my pump, sent the pipe up and down the 260 foot well, and bailed the water out, could see what particles were in it (the color and so forth let them know it was magneese) and how much water I was gtting compared to what Iused to get, he held his finger on the cable as it went up and down and could tell where the water level was, and got many other clues he never bothered to tell me. He also mentioned well casing made before 1974 stands up to the acid better than newer casing, my well was made in '71. And many other thoughts and ideas from his 50 years of experience working on wells.

My well would pump out about 60-70 gallons, and then pump a lot of air along with water. Be good the next day, and never noticed anyhing flushing a toilet or such. Told that to the well guy, and he said, oh, do you have a screen? Oh, your pump and well is good, but plugged screen 90% of the time, good you caught it be4 it was totally plugged, easier to deal with....

I'm sure you can figure out and do any job needed to be done.

It's the figuring out part here that is the problem.

There is no one canned answer to your problem. You have an abandoned well, you've figured out the depth and the water level, but you really haven't even told us there _is_ a problem with it???? You are looking for solutions, but have not identified the problem.

Put a pump in it, see what you can get out of it. If it runs dry and has less than 4 gallons production, then yea, you either have a slow well, or a problem. We don't really know there is a problem tho?

An experienced well person will bring that knowledge, and identify the problem, so it can be fixed if possible.

I believe you can do the work.

It's the diagnosis that is the problem, and widespread guessing from us might not lead you down the right path.

I'm sure someone will tell you to pour Clorox down the well, that clears up some problems. Sure, but I doubt it will help with this problem.

I've heard of old timers using battery acid too. That may eat out some types of screen clog, IF you have a screen and IF it is clogged, but I don't think that's a good thing to do.

A firearm or an M-80 sort of blast down there might loosen up or fracture some blockages - woked well for a frend of mine drilling a new well - but as was told to him, it's a 50-50 gamble, it can fail and make things worse, understand the risks.... We don't know if you have an obstruction.....

Need to figure out the problem first, that is the problem here. We can't throw solutions at it.

Find a used or cheap deep well pump, and some deep well wires, and some pipe (plastic is popular now a days) and start pumping - see what you get. Learn something, how much water you get, how fast the well fills. As much info as you can get. Then see were that info leads next.

--->Paul

[VALENT]

Paul,
I truly appreciate the time you put forth to help with this problem.
When I went back out there yesterday, the water level was pretty much exactly the same as last week Wednesday (45 feet to water and then 37 feet of water.) Because I was there with the water (and had a hopeful feeling in the back of my mind that maybe the wellscreen or blockage was cleared) I went ahead and filled the casing with water again but with the same result. I am trying to get together a generator and other necessities to pump the well and see how much water I can get and thereby see if the well will recharge on its own. I am trying to find a 12 volt submersible pump that could do the job but havent had any luck for less than about $900.

[manygoatsnmore]

See if you can rent one.

[agmantoo]

This pump would work
http://cgi.ebay.com/WS-1-2-HP-115V-S...item20b918111d

Additional you will need wire to go down the well to the pump plus roll piping and a few barb fittings plus 4 worm drive clamps.

A generator should provide the 115 volts.

What is the inside diameter of the well casing? I perceive it is 4 inches or more.

[VALENT]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

This pump would work
http://cgi.ebay.com/WS-1-2-HP-115V-S...item20b918111d

Additional you will need wire to go down the well to the pump plus roll piping and a few barb fittings plus 4 worm drive clamps.

A generator should provide the 115 volts.

What is the inside diameter of the well casing? I perceive it is 4 inches or more.

The inside diameter is a little more than 3 and a half inches.

[CIW]

The best way we have found to resesitate a well is to pump it.
Put a "Y" and 2 valves on the output hose. Close off one side of the Y and put the other side back down the well with its valve open. Make sure that your pick up pipe goes close to the bottom of the well.
Start the pump and get it circulating water back down the well. After a few hours crack the outside valve and tighten the other valve the same amount. Over the next few hours close one valve and open the other to where you are pumping fully out onto the ground. Its good to have a pressure guage to help maintain a correct back pressure for your pump. Around here this usually takes most of a day to accomplish.
When you start pulling water out of the well it will be replaced from the reserve in the surrounding area. Over time the more you can continuially pump, the larger amount of water you will have in reserve under the ground and the further away you will be pulling water from.
We do something similar to this to clean up ground water that is contaminated from something like a petroleum leak. In the spring time or in a place with large amounts of underground water sources you can pull water from 1000 yds. or more.
What you are doing is building underground waterways that all lead right to your well. You pull the water up, filter it and send it back down.
This works even quicker if you have another well to put the water back down into or a place to pumpit out to.
Another thing that can be done is to have your well casing pierced if it is steel. It will give you another place to let in water. You will still need to resesitate the well but it will happen alot quicker. Most of the drillers around here have the units to put down the well and do the job. It usually takes them about 2 hours to pierce a well. I don't know about your area.

[VALENT]

CIW, that is some good information. I will have to see if anyone around here is able to pierce the casing like that as it seems like it could possibly do the trick. Unfortunately, most of the well guys here are mostly interested in just drilling a new one. That pumping the water back down the well seems like it could work almost like jetting a well with the big air compressors.

[Cyngbaeld]

Would building an inertial hand pump help any? It is basically a length of pipe with a foot valve on the bottom.
http://www.fdungan.com/well.htm
Scroll down on the page till you find the instructions.
You at least should be able to water the cows.

[VALENT]

That is a good idea, Kim. I had seen this hand pump a while back but had forgotten all about it. I may have to find these parts and give it a go- even though 15 minutes of pumping for 5 gallons of water does sound like work to me. btw, I am now out of the Spangled Russian Orloffs as my last hen died a few weeks ago. I do have three roosters though.

[Cyngbaeld]

Sorry you lost your last hen. I need to get a breeding pen set up and hatch some more. We moved the house and I've been so busy redoing fences and digging a garden and messing with goats, I just haven't had time.