Is This Two Wells Or One?
 

The property we are buying has a well on it, as evidenced by the pump in the yard. There is also another well pump in the barn about 150 to 200 feet further out. Would there be two wells, or did they somehow link the two together so they could pump water in both locations? There is only one tank in the basement. I am clueless about wells!! Here is a picture of the one a little way from the house:

http://i36.tinypic.com/2rfsfpj.jpg

There is just one Well.That is just a Hydrant off the Well,probably a Pipe running to the Barn.

big rockpile

Does the hydrant actually go down into the well, like a hand pump would? That must be a hydrant in the barn too. Sorry to be so dense! :o Am I to assume the well is in one of those locations? How can I tell? There is a well pump in the basement, but we can't tell if the hydrants work yet because there is no electricity to the house. There will be an electrician out this week.

No a Pipe from the Well runs to itconects under it.When you pull the Lever up it opens the Valve down deep,when yo pull it down it shuts the Valve and water in the Pipe above ground drains back so it won't freeze.

big rockpile

Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it! How do I know which hydrant the well is under?

With Deep Well I've always just had a Casing sticking up about foot above the ground.

But it could be a Cistern where you should have a concrete cover.

big rockpile

This is a foreclosure property, so we can't ask the seller, but from what the neighbor said, this is a well. There is a cistern out front that the former owner had put in about two years ago. The neighbor said they were afraid of the well water (with no justifiable reason). So I do know it is a well, but not sure where it is!! So I should look for a casing below the hydrant? Or maybe a few feet away? I feel kind of silly asking this.

The well is not necessarily under either Hydrant,they are fed though a Pipe from the Well.

big rockpile

Thank you big rockpile for being so patient with me. Once we can get out there and cut down some of the brush, maybe we will see part of the casing sticking up. Thank you for the help!! :)

You might see where the Pipe to the Tank comes in the Basement then go outside and see if it lines up with either Hydrant.Well might be between them.

big rockpile

Your Welcome!

big rockpile

There will be a pump of some sort to actually pump the water. Check to see if there is a small pump house or as stated, some type of concrete housing. The picture is of a yard hydrant you would hook a hose up to.

Not sure where you live, but in MN all sellers of properties must complete a Well Disclosure and have it filed with the Dept of Health. This information is accessible via website by address, legal description and / or owners name. If your state requires this then there is the possibility that there is well information on record at your Dept of Health from previous owners.
Also, some older wells are in basements or are points, which might look a little different. Just depends on when the last well was put it. I have seen them is some very odd places! The last house we lived in had a point in the basement, a point in the barn and a drilled well in the yard.

That is a picture of a farm hydrant.

Think of a normal shutoff that you would connect your garden hose to. the actual shutoff on your standard garden hose supply is within inches of the handle(normally using a rotary motion), where it is subject to freezing in cold weather.

In this case the shutoff is controlled by the lever you see in the picture. A rod is connected to the handle and runs down inside the pipe to shutoff below ground. How far underground depends on how far down the soil will freeze during the coldest time of the year in your area. Frozen soil also means frozen water pipes, interrupting the flow of water to the top of the hydrant.

The hydrants come in various lengths so that they can have the bottom end with the shutoff buried below the frost line. There is a drain at the bottom so that the water in the hydrant is drained below the frost line thus no water to freeze in the pipe.

Check out your farm supply store. They will have hydrants for you to look at.

Now, all that being said, the hydrant requires a pressurized water system. A hand pump is not going to supply the hydrant. That means you must have a water supply from your community system, or a self contained pump and pressure tank somewhere on the premises, powered by electricity. If you have self contained pressure pump system, turn off the electric supply to the pump and you will find that the flow from the hydrant will stop after the pressure in the tank is exhausted.(Think power outage = no water)

If you have an additional well with a hand pump that is operational, you will have a water supply during power outage.

Hand pumping water for animals and splitting wood for a wood stove will
keep you warm during a power outage in winter!

Please note, the handle on the hydrant is not a pump handle. It is only a shutoff handle

I feel for you...we had a confusing well set up to figure out on our property
also..

Try to call well installers in your area to see if you can track down
who put it in, check with the health dept and also whoever does permits
in the county. Finding the builder would help...
Making friends with the clerk of court is the first thing I do in a new area,
they know almost everything (or know who does).
Previous owners will be on file somewhere (tax records) and they
may be helpful.
Neighbors are helpful also.

There is an open galvanized thing in the basement. I think it has gravel down in there and a pump. Could that be the well?

Thank you, that makes sense. So when we find the well we would be wise to put a hand pump on there for power outages. I do know where the pressure tank is in the basement. We will try to follow that out.

Thanks nancy! It is confusing, especially since this is our first country property. I did check the county records, and there is no record of the well, so it must date back a ways. I have also called installers. My goal is to find the thing and get it back up and working. The last put in a cistern and used that. I would like to get the well back to working and use the cistern for run-off from the house.

" I think it has gravel down in there and a pump. Could that be the well?"

If you're buying the place, spend the money and hire a plumber or well guy to check your system out. It's hard for anyone on this site to tell what you mean by a "galvanized thing" in the basement.

Money well spent.

I didn't take a picture, so I was trying to explain it. I am doubtful that is the well, more likely a large sump pump or something. We are having a whole house inspection when the electric has been fixed. I am sure he will be informative. I was just excited about it having a well and wanted some input from the board. I have learned alot already. Thanks to those who contributed! :)

there may not be a well you may only have a cistern, may be the reason you cant find any record of it.

Don't get too excited about a well if someone said they were "afraid of the water". I live in an area where the well water is not safe for children to drink. Around here people get excited about NOT having a well (being hooked up to the water system) because that means you don't have to haul drinking water. This was something I did not know moving to this area, and was actually a bit disappointed when I found out the farm was hooked up to the rural water system and the well didn't work. We do plan on getting the well working for the livestock and garden. The best thing about being on rural water is it's a gravity fed system - we have water even without electricity LOL!

If it is not required before hand, make sure you get the water tested. Never assume well water is going to be a good thing.

I had wonderful well water growing up in MN, and wonderful well water at our WI home, but it's not like that in all areas.

Cathy

Get help from someone ON SITE. We can't help you much because we can't see the property.

The inspector can help.

Your possible neighbor can probably help some, too.

A plumber or well service company can help.

We already have an inspector coming out. I was just excited and wanted to find out as much as I could. This will be our first home in the country. :bouncy: I do know it has a well, and from what the neighbor said, the well water is safe in that area. We will still have it inspected and tested. I was just curious about it having two hydrants (which I thought were pumps), everyone has explained it all to me pretty well. :)

Sounds like the place is "older".
If you can't find any records at the health dept. then it could likely be a very shallow 'well' . . .be carefull.
Have it tested first thing.

Yes a good plumber will give you better answers than this forum will.

Hey.

Use a metal detector to locate where all the piping runs. The quality of your neighbors water doesn't indicate the quality of yours...it can vary just moving over a couple hundred feet...get the water analyzed. A well guy can take care of all this. Don't forget to have the septic checked out. Putting in a new well or septic can be big bucks...

RF