new well - advice sought

Good morning Bob - I bought the well point at a place called Affron supply - its a local plumbing/irrigation place. I told them exactly what I wanted to do and they sold me the well point and cut/threaded my the pipe for me.

The well point was 1.25", 3' long, and had holes about the size of elongated dimes all over it (if you can picture that). I'm not sure how big the screen was

But I do know that the general consensus around here is that Affron really knows their stuff. So after I explained where exactly I live, and what I was wanting to do, I'm pretty confident that they sold me whatever they thought would be best after taking everything into consideration.

The screen you bought is the worst screen out there for obtaining any usable amount of water. I wouldn't be surprised if your in a very good vein, but that's all the screen will allow. That screen is mostly pipe and doesn't have anywhere near the openings a gauge or slotted screen has.

I hate to be the guy with the bad news, but I don't think with that screen your going to be able to do any better.

bob...

dangit bob - that was a lot of sledgehammering!

OK then... well lets see - what options do I have? I suppose if there was a way I could pull the 25' of pipe out of the ground, I could replace the well point and hammer everything back into the same spot. Anyone have any ideas on how to remove pipe from the ground?

Or can you think of any other ideas?

Meanwhile when this is finally done, everyone's coming over for tall glasses of ice water.

Make it Beer and I might show up. West Palm isn't that far away.

We used to use a Railroad Spike Puller, a 1' piece long 4" X 4" and a pipe wrench to hold the chain in one spot on the pipe.

I would highly recommend using a hammer instead of the Sledge Hammer. I know lots of tutorials show a Sledge in their instructions, but believe me, it's hard to hit that Drive Cap squarely every time. Hitting it off center a little and not hitting it with the hammer perpendicular to the pipe will break and damage joints. Now you have air leaks.

The hammer I built a few years back looks like this:

Forgive my drawing, I never went to Art class.

bob...

fine, beer it will be.

You gotta love the "can-do" attitude on this board! So I guess I'm on the lookout for a railroad spike puller?

I haven't seen one in over 40 years. (showin my age)

They look like this only they have a slot in the end that a chain link can lock into. Once you get the clove hitch around the pipe with the chain the wrench just above the chain with someone pulling up on the wrench to take a good bite the other guy jumps up and down on the business end of the spike puller. The bar is around 4.5' long.

This is the best I could do on the Google search:

Thanks bob... what about here (****):

http://tinyurl.com/2q46vm

No, that is a log lifter. It won't work for what your going to do.

bob...

ok... how about the 2nd one down - here: http://tinyurl.com/2m23cz

Nope, it has to have a long very stout body with a claw on the pipe end.

Sometimes, you can turn the pipe clockwise with pipe wrenches until it gets rather loose then take two wrenches facing each other so you can turn it back and forth while pulling up. It may twist all the way out since the screen is brand new.

bob...

You'll know you are deep enough when your arms are so sore that you can't pick up the sledge and you've run out of beer.

Static water level

You know I have not seen any posts where static water level was measured with just a simple 25' tape measurer. I tried the string thing, but fount that with tape when it hits the water it makes a sound through the pipe like a tape hitting water. Then all you have to do is read the tape. After reading the tape Subtract the length of pipe to ground level, and their is your static water level.

Well repair!

If you are able to repair the well by replacing it, I wouldn't ask anyone. . . just do it!

The idea of using a ball valve instead of a cap is a great idea. Dropping the water back in the well fast is an important part of the development!

To check the depth to the water (static water level) I prefer using a string and a small plastic pill bottle (with a little weight , like a coin in it). Make a small hole in the lid and run the string through the hole and tie a knot in it. Run it in the well, when it hits the water it floats. Tie a knot in the string, pull it out and measure it. Subtract this from the total depth of the well and that's the amount of water in the well. This doesn't mean a lot! What's important is that the well doesn't suck air and cause the pump to lose it's prime. You'll know if it loses it's prime!

Using an electric pump is OK for testing and surging (developing) the well. I am hoping that your permanent 1 hp pump is a jet pump?

6 gpm may be all you will get from this one well? You may have to drive two wells and connect them together. . . it's best to keep the two wells at least ten feet apart to prevent a cone of influence (one well affecting another).

6 gpm can be enough for a three bedroom home using a cycle stop valve for constant pressure www.cyclestopvalves.com and a larger tank for storage.

Further information on driving wells can be found at the following web sites: http://www.lifewater.org/resources/rws2/rws2c2.pdf and http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD0951.html