Installing a PVC pipe into a driven well pipe to stop grit?

Last year a plumber used acid to clean the well point for a driven well, located in our basement.
Ever since we have been dealing with sand/grit in our water lines,etc..
No doubt the screen is shot.

Another plumber says he can run a PVC pipe fitted with a screen into the old well pipe and fix the problem of sand sediment coming up. Our old driven well is a single 1 1/4 " pipe coming up from concrete basement floor.

Has anyone ever heard of this? Will it work?
Local well drillers I've spoke to are dubious about this idea. They say the old well point/pipe cannot be replaced either, that the best option is a new well.
No one I've talked with thinks a sand separator will help.


A new drilled well would be about 50 - 70 ft. and we've been told that due to iron content we would have to install a water softner if we choose a new well.
I don't like water softners because of the sodium content in treated water, plus the extra overall expense for a softner.

The old well has good water pressure and other than this recent sandy sediment the water has been clear, harmful bacteria free, and never rusty. We have never needed a water softner.

Would this other plumber's plan to run another pipe into the old one work?
What about a sand separator working?
Is there no possible way to fix this problem so we can use this well minus the sand? What about turning the water pressure down a little?

The tank and jet pump are also located in the basement, easily accessible.

64fairlane said:

... the well point for a driven well, located in our basement ...
Another plumber says he can run a PVC pipe fitted with a screen into the old well pipe and fix the problem of sand sediment coming up. Our old driven well is a single 1 1/4 " pipe coming up from concrete basement floor.

Has anyone ever heard of this? Will it work?

Click to expand...

I believe not. Any new screen that would fit would end up being too small and would likely plug up inside the old casing.

64fairlane said:

Local well drillers I've spoke to ... say the old well point/pipe cannot be replaced either, that the best option is a new well ... about 50 - 70 ft. and we've been told that due to iron content we would have to install a water softner ...

Click to expand...

Same deal here. Wells are supposed to be outside now, but pulling one up piece-by-piece and replacing the point and casing used to be common practice. I have two old ones disconnected inside, and the well driller who did the new one outside many years ago once indirectly suggested I could get iron-free water by repairing one of those shallow wells.

64fairlane said:

Is there no possible way to fix this problem so we can use this well minus the sand? What about turning the water pressure down a little?

Click to expand...

Even at a lower pressure, you still need a certain volume of water, and that volume is going to bring everything along inside a small casing.

The screen in the well is a bad idea.

If you don't need a softener, you probably have surface water with a low PH. This alone can damage your plumbing and other things in your home. The sand will destroy the pump prematurely and can make a mess of things in the home.

Centrifugal sand traps sometimes work, sometimes not. They aren't cheap.

If the Plumber used Muriatic Acid, that was a bad choice.

The new well should be sand free, have a neutral PH (7.2 or so) and be much safer water to use than surface water.

bob...