Driven well problem

[nomorewell]

Three summers ago, I drove a 1.25" point down 22 feet and got a good driven well for watering the garden. I could run one oscillating sprinkler for two days straight. I use a 1/2 hp Wayne pump with a pressure tank and, in winter, I take the pump inside.

Last week, I hooked everything back up, but got no water except for a few drops. There was six feet of water in the pipe, but apparently no recovery. So, I connected (sealed) a garden hose to the pipe and turned on the city water for a half hour, hoping to clean up the screen. Now, if I put the hose a few inches into the pipe (not sealed) the well will take in 4 gallons per minute.

My neighbors have driven wells 200 and 250 feet from mine and they are running fine.. Both use 1/2 hp pumps, but they have drop pipes down into the 1.25" driven pipes. They have no pressure tanks or check valves. They just prime the pump as needed.

I could have an air leak somewhere, and wonder if using a drop pipe might solve the problem.

Thanks for any advice.

Edit: I finally got the sucker going and had it running for an hour. Was pumping just short of 4 gal per hr at 40 psi with the ball valve on the outlet partially closed. Every so often the pump made a noise like air passing through, and the gauge would fluctuate slightly. Filled a large glass, and the water's clear as a bell, but full of air bubbles size of a pinpoint.

 

[Speedbump]

You answered your own question. You have an air leak.

Dropping 3/4" down a 1-1/4" pipe for drop pipe is a bad thing to do. You starve the Pump for water and don't really help anything. If the well is steel pipe, try tightening it with a big wrench. This will also give the screen a spin helping water get through if it's starting to plug up. This may stir things for a while, but they should clear up with a little pumping.

bob...

 

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[nomorewell]

Belated thanks, speedbump.

After turning the pipe, and subsequently purging with a garden hose, it now doesn't pump a drop. I will make a final attempt to install a leakproof seal from the pipe to the pump, a distance of only three feet. I guess if that doesn't work, the pipe needs to be pulled.

 

[Speedbump]

It still sounds like an air leak, but who knows for sure. Taking 4 gallons per minute means it should give at least 4 gpm or better. Something doesn't sound right.

bob...

 

[nomorewell]

speedbump:

I had attached the pump, about three ft from the well, with 1.25" pvc that had a union. Thinking that might be cause for a leak, I replaced it with one piece of pvc with two fernco couplers. No luck.

If it is an air leak, then it's got to be in the pipe joints, or maybe the screen got plugged up good when I turned the pipe. Plunging the pipe and flushing with a garden hose has not worked. Still zero pressure and not a drop of water. There are six feet or more of it down there.

I will now pull the pipe, but First a question:

Once the pipe is up, I could shove down 1.25" pvc with a plastic point. This is inexpensive, and I would be certain of a clean point and no leaks. Maybe 2" pvc would fit if I ran water through the pipe as I was shoving it down. Any comments on this are appreciated.

 

[Speedbump]

When you pull the pipe out, I doubt the hole will stay open so you can push another pipe in. Running water down a point will do absolutely nothing.

bob...

 

[nomorewell]

The mystery is solved. I started pulling the pipe with my 4 ft hilift jack and some chain. Got the first section up and turned off. Then, suddenly, it began to pull more easily. Sure enough, the 3 foot point is still down there. Threads on the end, where it let go, are cut off, and the point fell back to where it was.

I shoved down (actually I had to hold it back) a 10 ft length of 1.25" pvc, attached another 10 ft length, and they went down easily until hitting the point down there. No problem getting it down, and I think I could have used 2" pipe. I put a garden hose into the pvc and it took the full force of the city water with no sign of water coming to the surface. I could hear it just pouring into the water below. The old point (only three years old) must really have been clogged up and corroded.

Now the problem is to get a 1.25" pvc pipe down there. Maybe I could drive a new hole, on a slight angle, with steel pipe, and then slide the pvc point down. I sure could use some suggestions about this.

 

[Speedbump]

Driving Wells on an angle is not the recommended procedure. I recommend you start over with a new hole, Point, Pipe etc. Otherwise your just throwing good money after bad.

bob...