bcd11
New Member
First off, THIS IS ONE GREAT FORUM!!! The pro's that answer questions are a godsend to us DIY'ers. Big time THANKS!
Here's what I'm tangling with;
-Live close to Lake Michigan, very FINE sand
-Want a well to water lawn
-Water at 14' below ground surface
-Flotec 1 1/2 HP pump (not submersible/jet) w/1 1/2" intake and
discharge
Drove my first well w/36" point, 60 mesh gauze. The well flowed 15 gpm. I thought it should be more so called pump company. They said I'd better get more water to the pump or I'll burn out the bearings. Drove second well that produced 5 gpm and LOTS of air bubbles. Also drove the first well 2' deeper so there was 6' water in bottom of suction pipe. Now the wheels fall off the cart.
Seems that FINE sand puts a death grip on a pipe. During the second driving of my good well I would put the wrench to the pipe just to make sure everything was tight. BIG MISTAKE! Because I could get the pipe to turn a little...eventually, doesn't mean the point assembly was turning. Flow went from 15 gpm to 0. Figured I'd pull the point clean it out and be OK. Yeah right, a week later I finally got the pipe out of the ground WITHOUT well point.
I drove the second well another foot and now have much better flow along with the mandatory bubbles. I'll take the bubbles and leave the wrench in the tool bucket. So-o-o after that fool's story here are my questions.
1-I can easily jet a 3" diameter PVC pipe down to the water level to use as a casing TO THEN lower a point or screen into and jet the point or screen down another 5-6'. It's a LOT easier than driving it and, in theory, should make it easier to pull the pipe AND point.. Is this a wise move? If it will work, should the suction pipe be PVC or could it be 1 1/4" black poly tubing?
2-After reading some of the other posts in this forum I don't know if the gauze screen type of point is wise to use. Should I use a wound wire screen? If so, should it be a 7 or 10 slot and where is a good place to buy one?
Again, thanks to all of you that KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING for taking the time and effort to help us that DON'T know what we are doing.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Bart
Here's what I'm tangling with;
-Live close to Lake Michigan, very FINE sand
-Want a well to water lawn
-Water at 14' below ground surface
-Flotec 1 1/2 HP pump (not submersible/jet) w/1 1/2" intake and
discharge
Drove my first well w/36" point, 60 mesh gauze. The well flowed 15 gpm. I thought it should be more so called pump company. They said I'd better get more water to the pump or I'll burn out the bearings. Drove second well that produced 5 gpm and LOTS of air bubbles. Also drove the first well 2' deeper so there was 6' water in bottom of suction pipe. Now the wheels fall off the cart.
Seems that FINE sand puts a death grip on a pipe. During the second driving of my good well I would put the wrench to the pipe just to make sure everything was tight. BIG MISTAKE! Because I could get the pipe to turn a little...eventually, doesn't mean the point assembly was turning. Flow went from 15 gpm to 0. Figured I'd pull the point clean it out and be OK. Yeah right, a week later I finally got the pipe out of the ground WITHOUT well point.
I drove the second well another foot and now have much better flow along with the mandatory bubbles. I'll take the bubbles and leave the wrench in the tool bucket. So-o-o after that fool's story here are my questions.
1-I can easily jet a 3" diameter PVC pipe down to the water level to use as a casing TO THEN lower a point or screen into and jet the point or screen down another 5-6'. It's a LOT easier than driving it and, in theory, should make it easier to pull the pipe AND point.. Is this a wise move? If it will work, should the suction pipe be PVC or could it be 1 1/4" black poly tubing?
2-After reading some of the other posts in this forum I don't know if the gauze screen type of point is wise to use. Should I use a wound wire screen? If so, should it be a 7 or 10 slot and where is a good place to buy one?
Again, thanks to all of you that KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING for taking the time and effort to help us that DON'T know what we are doing.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Bart