TnR
New Member
I've some questions regarding a Driven Well. I have used the search function, and i am either using the wrong key words, or using the wrong terminology. So i apologize if this is buried somewhere in the wealth of information on this site.
We have property in Upstate NY, Allegheny mountain region, and it is rather far back in the woods. We have a small cabin that we are converting to a livable dwelling until we can break-ground building a new house. The two sights are too far apart to justify running a pipe between them for water.
So after alot of research, and time spent on this site, we decide to try the route of a driven well, and hence my reasons(questions) for posting. I apologize ahead of time if there is too much info here, or already covered elsewhere.
This past weekend i attempted to Drive a Wellpoint for the first time. We used a 1 1/4" wellpoint from Tractor supply, 5' sections of pipe with HD couplings sealed with pipe dope.
A fence post driver weighing about 25lbs was used for pounding on the sacrificial pipe and drive cap.
My questions / concerns are:
During the first 19' we pushed through clay, took all day. During this time i would stop every so often and put water into the pipe to see if it drained, it didn't.
While i had the pitcher pump on the pipe i couldn't pull the water even inside the pipe.
The suction would keep the handle in the raised position, I'm hoping this means my joints were tightly sealed?
At 20'ish, i added water to the pipe again, and it slowly slowly started to drain. I put the pump back on and was able to pull something up. At this point, the pipe was going down much faster. An inch or two every dozen pounds, vs the fraction of an inch the first 19' of clay. Is water bearing soil generally easier to push through?
I drove for another couple feet, putting me at a depth of 23.5'. I again added water, and this time it drained quicker. I filled the pipe, and walked away for a few minutes, when coming back i couldn't see any water in the pipe at all.
With the pump back on i was able to pull slightly more water up. Roughly 15 to 20 pumps produced enough to fill a solo cup (its not red).
I could fill and dump the cup several times without pause and not seem to loose any volume from the well. This leads me to believe that the pipe is an area, or is entering an area that has a decent recovery, yes?
The very small amount of water i am pulling up looks alot like a cup of coffee with to much creamer in it, not quite white, but a very milky brown. We pumped on it for about 30 mins, let it sit an hour, and pumped on it again for about 30 mins, still the same color.
Does this mean i am getting somewhere, and another 5' would be needed? Or more?
Since i pushed through so much clay, is the pipe full of clay?
Why would the pitcher pump take more muscle to pump, is it the clay, or the fact i am not quite into the water bearing soil? Shouldn't it move pretty easily?
Does the clay above the water have a negative impact on the quality of water, causing the cloudiness? Or is it common to have a water bearing area under clay?
Any thoughts on whether i am getting into trouble or getting in to the good stuff would make my weary shoulders feel better. For now the cost of having the well professionally put in, and then trenching it over to our temporary dwelling is just way to high.
We have property in Upstate NY, Allegheny mountain region, and it is rather far back in the woods. We have a small cabin that we are converting to a livable dwelling until we can break-ground building a new house. The two sights are too far apart to justify running a pipe between them for water.
So after alot of research, and time spent on this site, we decide to try the route of a driven well, and hence my reasons(questions) for posting. I apologize ahead of time if there is too much info here, or already covered elsewhere.
This past weekend i attempted to Drive a Wellpoint for the first time. We used a 1 1/4" wellpoint from Tractor supply, 5' sections of pipe with HD couplings sealed with pipe dope.
A fence post driver weighing about 25lbs was used for pounding on the sacrificial pipe and drive cap.
My questions / concerns are:
During the first 19' we pushed through clay, took all day. During this time i would stop every so often and put water into the pipe to see if it drained, it didn't.
While i had the pitcher pump on the pipe i couldn't pull the water even inside the pipe.
The suction would keep the handle in the raised position, I'm hoping this means my joints were tightly sealed?
At 20'ish, i added water to the pipe again, and it slowly slowly started to drain. I put the pump back on and was able to pull something up. At this point, the pipe was going down much faster. An inch or two every dozen pounds, vs the fraction of an inch the first 19' of clay. Is water bearing soil generally easier to push through?
I drove for another couple feet, putting me at a depth of 23.5'. I again added water, and this time it drained quicker. I filled the pipe, and walked away for a few minutes, when coming back i couldn't see any water in the pipe at all.
With the pump back on i was able to pull slightly more water up. Roughly 15 to 20 pumps produced enough to fill a solo cup (its not red).
I could fill and dump the cup several times without pause and not seem to loose any volume from the well. This leads me to believe that the pipe is an area, or is entering an area that has a decent recovery, yes?
The very small amount of water i am pulling up looks alot like a cup of coffee with to much creamer in it, not quite white, but a very milky brown. We pumped on it for about 30 mins, let it sit an hour, and pumped on it again for about 30 mins, still the same color.
Does this mean i am getting somewhere, and another 5' would be needed? Or more?
Since i pushed through so much clay, is the pipe full of clay?
Why would the pitcher pump take more muscle to pump, is it the clay, or the fact i am not quite into the water bearing soil? Shouldn't it move pretty easily?
Does the clay above the water have a negative impact on the quality of water, causing the cloudiness? Or is it common to have a water bearing area under clay?
Any thoughts on whether i am getting into trouble or getting in to the good stuff would make my weary shoulders feel better. For now the cost of having the well professionally put in, and then trenching it over to our temporary dwelling is just way to high.