new sandpoint

some sand but nearly as much so will do everything again,,,,i just understand why the water comes clear and sand free while sucking it up and then when it sites for a while ,,,why does it get sandy again!

I had this problem years ago. If the pump ran constantly, the sand would stop. As soon as the pump kicked on, another burst of sand would show up. I did use the finest screen available at that time. A double 100 gauze (about 7 foot of screen) which wouldn't do the job. If you let this sand dry, you could blow it away like dust. It was that fine.

I don't think this is your problem though. I think the driller is covering his butt and he used the wrong screen.

bob...

grrr....................how long does it take to develope a sandpoint well. This morning I am back to sandy water so am running the water again! It does clear up ...any idea of how long it will take to get rid of the sand at the beginning

I honestly don't think it's going to clear up. I would be getting on the phone with your well driller.

bob...

it seems to be getting less sand when pump kicks in......ummmm so driller figures we should just try a screen for right now and maybe start again in spring......low for tonight is -32 celcius...

just try a screen for right now

Click to expand...

What kind of screen is he proposing?

bob...

As far as I understand it is one that goes on after the pressure tank It is very strange though,,,sometimes when i draw water and the pump kicks in there is very little sand,,,and then I smile! But then the odd time when I turn it on there is quite a bit more so the driller thinks if we put a filter on to catch some sand at least it wont be travelling thru my water lines! I think he called it a Vu Flow filter. I checked with another driller and he figures that this sandpoint may just be taking a while to develope. He also suggested the filter for the time being!

Your driller is just trying to sell you something else that won't fix the problem that he created. He is not a professional or he wouldn't be at all happy leaving you with a well that produces sand.

If he can't pull that screen out and put the correct size in to stop the sand, I would threaten him with a lawsuit. It wouldn't be cost effective to sue him, but it will bring things to a head one way or the other. He either quickly tells you to go to **** or he agrees to fix the problem. Either way, he won't be selling you useless products like the Vu-Flo Filter which I wouldn't give you a nickel for a truckload of. You will be rid of him if he chooses the first scenario and you can move on to another person who might be able to correct the problem.

bob...

speedbump said:

Either way, he won't be selling you useless products like the Vu-Flo Filter which I wouldn't give you a nickel for a truckload of.

bob...

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What do you find wrong w/ the Vu-Flo filters? We sell them at our shop and dont have problems with them.

Not saying that this is the correct way to fix this problem, it will help, but it is more of a band-aid.

In warm climates they fill with Algae so fast that you don't have enough time to keep them clean.

The other thing I don't like about them is that they take out nothing that would harm anyone. They are less than a band aid. Look at any water softener, iron filter etc compared to size with the Vu-Flo and tell me that they are large enough to do any kind of job.

Lastly, they are a poor excuse for a contractor who took someone's money for drilling a well that 95% of us Well Drillers believe should produce water without sand. If he proposed the Vu-Flo or any other in line filter to take out the sand that shouldn't be there, he's not much of a Driller.

bob...

The filter is on,,,not sure what it is called but it is catching the sand when pump kicks in and all we do is flush it out whenever it is full.......or when my pressure is down! It is working to keep sand out of my waterpipes! Will use this till spring and if well does not stop producing sand then will look into a a new well put outside! Still no bill from well driller

The filter might be keeping the sand from the house, but it's eating the impeller out of your pump.

Since you haven't paid this guy yet, I would hold out about 50% until he either fixes the problem or use it toward a new well that doesn't produce sand.

bob...

Silt Problem

#1 Driving a new well beside an existing well is not good unless the old well and point are removed before or after.

Most states require a well permit prior to drilling or driving a new well. They usually require a new or replacement well to be installed 10' to 25' from any existing structure and must be installed by a licensed well driller of that state. A licensed driller stands to be fined or lose his/her licensed when not following these rules.

Understand I'm not a state regulator. . . State Water Regulators usually know nothing about well drilling. . . they only know the rules the way they interpret them. In your case I wouldn't worry and I wouldn't publicize your new (replacement) well.

That being said. . . It sounds like your new well is getting better! In your case it would be better to pump the well to exhaust (outside) in spurts. Say pump for 30 minutes to exhaust over several days. This allows the well to recover between pumping cycles. We call this developing a well. NOTE: 2-1/2 hours isn't very long to pump (develop) a new well.

You may continue seeing silt and occasional cloudiness for a time. Silt settles in the tank and low places in the lines. Be sure to flush your hot water tank (by the drain valve on the bottom of the hot water tank) occasionally until you don't see any silt coming from it.

Lastly, we haven't discussed chlorinating the new well and the plugging of the old well! The new well, pumping system and house faucets should be chlorinated by mixing 1 gallon of household bleach with 5 gallons of water, pouring it directly into the new well then connect the pump again and turn on each faucet (one at a time) in the home and let it run until you smell bleach then turn it off. Wait 12 to 24 hours then flush all the faucets until you no longer smell the bleach. This purifies everything!

Depending on the quality of your drive pipe and sand point you may be set for another 20 plus years.

how do plug an old sandpoint!.....it is 12 feet below basement....we are thinking of maybe trying to pull it up but seeing it has been there for 40 years I dont now how easy it will be to pull it up. And who knows if it will evan come up in one piece,,,,ummmm!

Just an update on what happening with new sandpoint! The sand filter is still collecting sand,,,not much but still some. During a normal days use we have to flush it out once or twice......it is working for us now but am thinking that in spring when it warms up we will consider a differnet well... the current sandpoint has the finest screen available...I found out that if we go with cased well u can buy a finer screen for a cased well but on the sandpoint it already has the finest screen (hope that makes sense)

From what I have learned the aquifer here is like quicksand...very very fine silt. What is the best kind of well to consider for here and the most economical one...

Is there such a thing as a cased sandpoint well packed with silica sand to prevent silt from coming up! This well will not be in basement (as present one is) but will be outside then plumbed in....or what ever the proper terminolgy is!

The current well is producing 8gpm apx and above average quality of water. Here is the latest water quality report taken last week.


No coliforms no bacteria
manganese .64mg/l
iron 0.1 mg/l
total hardness 473 mg/l Ca CO3
nitrates 1.5 very very good!
calcium 140 mg/l
magnesium 30 mg/l

This is just some of the report but gives an idea of the water quality....the lab tells me it is good even though the manganese is a tad bit high...the guide line level of manganese is .05

I thought I should add the 8 gpm is just what the guy set it at,,,,it would produce more if needed.. For right now we are only using it for household and filling one horse watering trough (75 gallon)

with the original sandpoint the manganese was quite a bit lower..016 mg/l the original sandpoint was 12 feet below basement floor....this new one the bottom point of the point is down 21 feet....the new well water does have a metallic taste to it which i am thinking is the manganese...we drink bottled water anyhow so for right now the manganese is not an issue. The biggest thing is to be rid of sand filter and have a well that does not produce silt or sand....Also when u first turn tap on if you look closely the water has a yellowish tinge to it but if u let it run for a couple of minutes it clears up crystal clear! Once in a while if can smell and sandy smell but not very often when tap first turns on! (you have to have your nose pretty close to water to smell this)

the current sandpoint has the finest screen available...I found out that if we go with cased well u can buy a finer screen for a cased well but on the sandpoint it already has the finest screen (hope that makes sense)

Click to expand...

I don't think you ever said if this was a 1-1/4" driven sand point or not. Makes no difference though, a fine screen would be the same for a drilled 2" well as it would be for a driven 1-1/4" well. It could be a slotted screen, or a gauze screen. It could also be one of those terrible hardware specials that no reputable driller would use. Bottom line, someone is pulling your leg. If you had the finest screen available, you wouldn't be getting 8 gpm much less more. And I am not sure how you "set" a sand point or a well to only produce 8 gpm.

The problem is clearly; the wrong screen was selected in the first place or the one that was used was either torn (gauze screen) or slinkied which happens to wire wrap screens if you hit them too hard.

bob...

bob...

I agree with Bob. The biggest concern with your water quality other than the sand issue is the water hardness. I would install a new well, get sand free water,and get yourself a water softener.It will remove the manganese but most importantly the water hardness. If you are going to install this well yourself, you need to get yourself a continuous slot stainless well screan. If you dont know the consistency of the material, i wouldn't go any higher than a 10 slot. I believe Bob sells well screens on his website.

sammy

www.tylerwellandpump.com

we do have a new softner,,,the water test was straight from the well...the sandpoint is a drilled sandpoint 1 1/4 with stainless steel sandpoint,,,,berekleys 5SN Jet pump

Quick update.....next to nothing for sand lately...we can go several days before needing to rinse sand filter and when we do rinse it there is very little sand...maybe my sandpoint is actually going to work like it should...the well guy says sometimes they take a longer to develope,,