Well level monitoring system? Backup water tank in basement?

[CornFarmer]

Can anyone give me some advice on these two topics?

I have a 3' bored well that is 75' deep. It went dry last night for the 3rd time in 3 years. It is abnormally dry here and when the water table is normal I have plenty of water but not now.

I am wanting a wifi or wireless way to monitor my well level without having to drop a water tape in the well. What options are out there? My well is about 150' from my house.

I'm also interested in adding a 100+ gallon storage tank in my basement if something like that is possible. For if we go dry, and I can't haul water for a few days. I would like to be able to just open a valve and have water again. Is this possible?

Thanks for any info. I will be calling my well driller in a hour or two.

 

[Valveman]

You don't need to know the water level as the Cycle Sensor will monitor the water level in the well for you. When the pump runs dry, the Cycle Sensor will shut the pump off for you. There is a restart delay timer that can then be adjusted from 1 minute to 5 hours for the Cycle Sensor to automatically restart the pump. 20-30 minute delay is usually enough.

You might want a little larger than a 100 gallon storage tank. Then you do not want that water just sitting in the storage tank for a long time, as it will turn green and not be potable when you need it. When adding a storage or cistern tank you need to use all the house water from that storage tank to keep the water refreshed. Working with only about the top 6" of water to supply the house, the cistern will still have lots of water below that to use for times when the well cannot supply what is needed.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[CornFarmer]

You think the water would go bad if in a black poly tank? What if I threw an ounce of bleach per 100 gal? Would see no sunlight.

 

[Reach4]

You could get a water well sounder. https://enosci.com/well-watch-310.htm has a link that does not work, so I don't know if that product is no longer available.

Simple would be a float switch, such as one designed to turn on a sump pump. You could use that to turn on an alarm or transmitter. Or even just turn on an LED spotlight that points to your house.

 

[Valveman]

I don't know why your last post is not showing up. But yes even in a black poly tank water can get contaminated. You can add some chlorine occasionally if needed, but it doesn't make for very good water if it isn't refreshed fairly often.

 

[kavade]

Does anyone have suggestions for a reliable and reasonably priced sonic water well level detector? I need to monitor my water level and I dont have a ton of money. I dislike the idea of putting something down the well...

 

[Valveman]

Never tried them but there are a lot to choose from. Need to make sure it will still work with pipe and wire in the well. I couldn't find anything about that?

I just put a new 1/4 poly line and pressure gauge on when I had the pump out and it cost me maybe 25 bucks. Just hast to be down when the pump is out of the hole. Although I guess you could weight the 1/4 poly line and drop it in.

Scientific Well Sounder 2010 Pro (Portable Sonic Water Level Sensor) | eBay

The logged information can be easily downloaded with the included USB Cable and will be displayed as a data file to be opened in a program of your choosing. In most cases, installation and use of the Well Sounder 2010 PRO is as easy as placing the probe on the vent hole and pushing the ON button.

www.ebay.com

 

[kavade]

Never tried them but there are a lot to choose from. Need to make sure it will still work with pipe and wire in the well. I couldn't find anything about that?

I just put a new 1/4 poly line and pressure gauge on when I had the pump out and it cost me maybe 25 bucks. Just hast to be down when the pump is out of the hole. Although I guess you could weight the 1/4 poly line and drop it in.

Scientific Well Sounder 2010 Pro (Portable Sonic Water Level Sensor) | eBay

The logged information can be easily downloaded with the included USB Cable and will be displayed as a data file to be opened in a program of your choosing. In most cases, installation and use of the Well Sounder 2010 PRO is as easy as placing the probe on the vent hole and pushing the ON button.

www.ebay.com

OK, thanks for the reply and the link. I guess these things are just pricey.