PDA

View Full Version : Anyone know about wells?



ddevore
09-28-2006, 06:49 PM
Hey all - anyone know about wells? Mine has gone down the crapper, just spent 12k on a new hole in the ground with hardly anything.... Is there a way to find more water without playing craps? Guy 1/4 mile down the valley has 55 gallons per hour - I have 3 WTF??? I would have rather supplied beer for everyone than have an 800' hole at my house!

wsuwrhr
09-28-2006, 07:02 PM
Well in all fairness, I have a few shovels.
Is the beer offer still good?
I don't know crap about wells. I wish I could help.
Is it obstructed?
Brian
Hey all - anyone know about wells? Mine has gone down the crapper, just spent 12k on a new hole in the ground with hardly anything.... Is there a way to find more water without playing craps? Guy 1/4 mile down the valley has 55 gallons per hour - I have 3 WTF??? I would have rather supplied beer for everyone than have an 800' hole at my house!

Mandelon
09-28-2006, 07:10 PM
I'm thinking for 12 grand you could have put in a quarter mile of pipe over to his house................... :crossx:
I don't think there is an exact science to well drilling, you can have a couple of experts pick a spot, but its always a gamble.

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:11 PM
No obstructions, 5 clean acres to dig - just no damn water yet! Might just bring in kegs of beer instead of water - I'll let ya know :)

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:13 PM
I'm thinking for 12 grand you could have put in a quarter mile of pipe over to his house................... :crossx:
I don't think there is an exact science to well drilling, you can have a couple of experts pick a spot, but its always a gamble.
I tried the whole bring in the water deal, the water district wants 100k to bring it in right now... Budweiser just sold a 600 acre ranch to a developer down the road so hopefully they'll pay a to bring it close.

wsuwrhr
09-28-2006, 07:22 PM
No obstructions, 5 clean acres to dig - just no damn water yet! Might just bring in kegs of beer instead of water - I'll let ya know :)
I meant obstructions as a blockage in your well pipe.
Brian

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:23 PM
Nah, nothing - fresh hole but a big IR drill in it right now...

wsuwrhr
09-28-2006, 07:26 PM
Nah, nothing - fresh hole but a big IR drill in it right now...
Ok, just tyring to help.
I have drilled clear through to China on my CNC Mill a few times.
Brian

C-2
09-28-2006, 07:26 PM
You might approach the city, tell them you have a well and see if they would be interested in trading your water rights, in exchange for a city water hookup. They might not give a crap whether or not it produces water, cities and the state hate private wells since they are a potential sources of runoff pollution (and they drain the aquifers).
My neighbor traded his well rights in exchange for city water services. We too have a functional well (only 25' deep). About 10 years ago they wanted 30K to bring city water on our property - they calculated the amount on our frontage feet. Now it's more reasonable, so I too am trying to figure out how to deal with it.
Does Murrieta have any infill programs with incentives to encourage private development? If so, they might waive a lot of connect fees/park fees/utility taxes etc.

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:33 PM
Thanks for the suggestions, I don't really know crap about these wells, except that it's a bunch of cash! Think I may go back to the beer idea!!!
Ok, just tyring to help.
I have drilled clear through to China on my CNC Mill a few times.
Brian

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:34 PM
Really, I don't know - but I'm gonna make some calls tomorrow, thanks for the advice.
You might approach the city, tell them you have a well and see if they would be interested in trading your water rights, in exchange for a city water hookup. They might not give a crap whether or not it produces water, cities and the state hate private wells since they are a potential sources of runoff pollution (and they drain the aquifers).
My neighbor traded his well rights in exchange for city water services. We too have a functional well (only 25' deep). About 10 years ago they wanted 30K to bring city water on our property - they calculated the amount on our frontage feet. Now it's more reasonable, so I too am trying to figure out how to deal with it.
Does Murrieta have any infill programs with incentives to encourage private development? If so, they might waive a lot of connect fees/park fees/utility taxes etc.

Rocknpalms
09-28-2006, 07:37 PM
I am on a well. No city water. I pump about 7,000 gallons a day for the lawn and trees. My well puts out about 27 gallons per minute. This summer I am starting to get some air through the pump. I am thinking about going with a small solar pump and shallow well to fill the pond (storage for the lawn) and give the main well 550' some rest.
Here is what I would do if I was you. Get a large storage tank. About 5000 gallons. That should buffer your high and low demands and a booster pump.
Also try to witch for water. get two welding rods and bend a 90 in them at the end. Practice over a five gallon bucket of water. Trust me it will work. Once you get the hang of it walk your property.
Any sceptics out there try it for yourself BEFORE your post.

hoolign
09-28-2006, 07:46 PM
I know a thing or two about wells.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/433DSC00361.JPG
:D

hoolign
09-28-2006, 07:50 PM
I am on a well. No city water. I pump about 7,000 gallons a day for the lawn and trees. My well puts out about 27 gallons per minute. This summer I am starting to get some air through the pump. I am thinking about going with a small solar pump and shallow well to fill the pond (storage for the lawn) and give the main well 550' some rest.
Here is what I would do if I was you. Get a large storage tank. About 5000 gallons. That should buffer your high and low demands and a booster pump.
Also try to witch for water. get two welding rods and bend a 90 in them at the end. Practice over a five gallon bucket of water. Trust me it will work. Once you get the hang of it walk your property.
Any sceptics out there try it for yourself BEFORE your post.
Witching rods work great! for buried lines and for water..don't forget to bust the coating off the welding rods

Rocknpalms
09-28-2006, 07:52 PM
Witching rods work great! for buried lines and for water..don't forget to bust the coating off the welding rods
I use tig rods. Not coating.

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:52 PM
Tried the walking welding rod trick - it did work and I thought I was a genius! Damn hole only got 5-7 GPM and I'm looking to get more like yours... I just talked to a guy that has some sort of device that the well guys swear buy (2 grand, they better) to find the best water here... Just hope this all won't dry up my beer cash!
I am on a well. No city water. I pump about 7,000 gallons a day for the lawn and trees. My well puts out about 27 gallons per minute. This summer I am starting to get some air through the pump. I am thinking about going with a small solar pump and shallow well to fill the pond (storage for the lawn) and give the main well 550' some rest.
Here is what I would do if I was you. Get a large storage tank. About 5000 gallons. That should buffer your high and low demands and a booster pump.
Also try to witch for water. get two welding rods and bend a 90 in them at the end. Practice over a five gallon bucket of water. Trust me it will work. Once you get the hang of it walk your property.
Any sceptics out there try it for yourself BEFORE your post.

whiteworks
09-28-2006, 07:52 PM
go deeper, its there

Rocknpalms
09-28-2006, 07:54 PM
Also try a wire coat hanger. Lets see how this works for the lookers. Cut up some wire hangers and walk over your toliet. Post your outcome.

ddevore
09-28-2006, 07:57 PM
I'll go deeper - but the guys say nothing is normally deeper than 750 here - at $15 a foot I'll see what the guy has to say on Sat... screw computers, I need to get into that business!
go deeper, its there

whiteworks
09-28-2006, 08:01 PM
how deep is the hole now?

ddevore
09-28-2006, 08:32 PM
down to 800' now :cry:

FASTJTBT
09-28-2006, 08:41 PM
A Buddy Of Mine Put His In Just Off Of Leon Road Went 2oofeet Now A Year Later The Water Is About 12ft Down They Think That New Dam Is Perking The Valley.

C-2
09-28-2006, 08:45 PM
Wow, that sux ass.
When it rained heavy year before last - I saw water at about 5' down. When I was kid, we had water seeping out the top during the winter, that was only a few miles away.
Is $15 just for thr drilling, or all the casing/seals?

R.A.D.man
09-29-2006, 05:26 AM
Do you know the depth of the well down the valley? How much elevation change between your well location and his? Sometimes it is that simple, sometimes it is not, it depends on the geology. Are you in some sort of local groundwater district? If so, they can be a good source of information on well depths.
If you do not gain any more water, 5 to 7 gallons is enough for household use with some lawn irrigation. The best thing for you in this situation is to use groundwater storage tanks at the surface and booster pumps to make the pressure for your home use. At 5 gallons a minute, you get 7200 gallons per day if it is sustainable.
You would want to size your submersible pump to only get the water to your tanks at this point. As I mentioned, the booster pumps will do the rest of the work.
A great product for you will be some sort of submersible pump motor protection. This will allow you to maximize the water you pump from the well while protecting your motor from burning up in the event the well pumps off. Franklin Electric make the Pumptec and Pumptec Plus for just a few hundred dollars and these work on motors up to 5HP which would be just fine in your situation. Your well driller and or pump installer should be familiar with these types of setups. If not, I would be suprised and a little leary.

hoolign
09-29-2006, 06:31 AM
Was the zone giving you 3gpm when they installed the pump? or did it deplete to that?? Seems like a low number to have the drillers set a pump in! Have they checked the pump itself? Electrical current? Did they pig the pipe before it was installed? There are a number of problems that you could have encountered,. It's not always a problem at the source..just my .02

lawbreaker2
09-29-2006, 06:52 AM
I am on a well. No city water. I pump about 7,000 gallons a day for the lawn and trees. My well puts out about 27 gallons per minute. This summer I am starting to get some air through the pump. I am thinking about going with a small solar pump and shallow well to fill the pond (storage for the lawn) and give the main well 550' some rest.
Here is what I would do if I was you. Get a large storage tank. About 5000 gallons. That should buffer your high and low demands and a booster pump.
Also try to witch for water. get two welding rods and bend a 90 in them at the end. Practice over a five gallon bucket of water. Trust me it will work. Once you get the hang of it walk your property.
Any sceptics out there try it for yourself BEFORE your post.
Yes this does work, I had to find a septic line in my yard and my buddy showed me this and I was stuned. it does work.

R.A.D.man
09-29-2006, 07:06 AM
Oops, somehow I ended up with 5 to 7 gallons from 3 gpm.
That is low, but still could work with ground storage. How are they making the gpm estimate? Are they drilling with air or mud? Sometimes the drillers estimate from returns at the surface can be misleading. You may want to ask them about the cost to do a quick and dirty pump test to verify. Maybe they will cut you a break on the test. Do you have a static water level reading. Has the well bore been properly developed. Development is very important especially in low yield situations. Find out what they have done so far if anything for development. I have seen many instances where domestic well drillers do not properly do this.

Flyinbowtie
09-29-2006, 08:36 AM
I worked for a driller up here for a couple of years when I was a kid.
There are people in the west end of this county who would jump for joy on a 3 gallon a minute well. Three gallons a minute is 180 gallons an hour, 24x7. Folks up here in that situation set the submersible pump, usually a 1.5 GPM, to keep the well from running dry, and pump into a 1500 or larger holding tank, then use a jet pump to lift the water from the holding tank to the pressure tank at the house.
My sister used this type of set-up on a house she built near Camp Far West, which is an area that is notorious for crappy wells. She had plenty of household water, and irrigated a rather large lawn & over 50 roses using drip irrigation and sprinklers on timers to water the lawn in the pre-dawn morning.
The lenders in this area want to see 3 gpm or a system described above before they will write paper on a house.

Cheap Thrills
09-29-2006, 09:14 AM
I've done a little drilling. About 2 years worth. And on more than a few occations came up with an 800+ foot dry hole. you could always cut it up and use it for post holes HA Old drillers joke.
Hydrofracking (sp?) or Dynomite will usually open up a slow hole.
Oh , and at 800' and 3gpm depending on where it heads off at you probably have a day's run or more normal usage. I wouldn't worry about having it hydrofracked or blasted unless you continuously run it dry.
C.T. :wink:

centerhill condor
09-29-2006, 11:57 AM
we sell a well treatment to help dissolve and remove silt..presumably ya'll can get some out there? It might improve your flow from exisiting wells.