Anyone know much about water wells?

[MISWFL]

I'm messing around with an old 1970 Florida water well that was abandoned 20+ years ago when the county forced everyone to go to municipal water. It's a deep well that used a jet pump. It's 115' deep with a 2" steel casing that's 48' deep according to the county records. I pulled the drop pipe and the packer/ejector/venturi unit is pretty crusty and missing all the leathers and rubber seals. There's water about 42' deep.

 

[RonD]

Whats the question?

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, what's the question? Could you use it? Sure, not recommended for drinking unless you evacuate it and do a dosing of bleach or something. 2" would be a small casing for a deep well, I think I have a 6" casing and a 4" pump, I just replaced the pump in December and replaced the schedule 80 PVC up pipe with black poly...

 

[MISWFL]

It would be used for an irrigation well only.

All I've been able to find for a replacement ejector/packer/venturi unit is pretty expensive. I'd like to use PVC schedule 40 pipe to replace the heavy steel pipe. Do they sell rebuild kits for old units?

 

[scotts90ranger]

black poly pipe is the bees knees for well pipe... one piece that weighs like 12 pounds and is super flexible... and super cheap, PVC isn't near free anymore...

Some pumps can be rebuilt but I don't know much about that...

 

[RonD]

If you can get the brand and model number there may be rebuild kits, but that company may be long gone so no parts

You want a Submersible pump at least 1/2 horse power depending on what flow rate you need, you will also need a holding tank

You also won't know the recovery rate of the well at say 50ft, could be you will "pump it dry" in 24hours at 13gal/hour, and have to wait 12-24 hours for more water to seep in and come back up to 50ft level

One of the problems in Florida was they were pumping out ground water faster than it could refill so they got sink holes and of couse dry wells until water could seep back in

 

[MISWFL]

black poly pipe is the bees knees for well pipe... one piece that weighs like 12 pounds and is super flexible... and super cheap, PVC isn't near free anymore...

Some pumps can be rebuilt but I don't know much about that...

What does 50' of 1.25" black poly cost now? Barbed fittings and clamps to attach fitting?

I was meaning the ejector/packer/venturi unit, not the pump. The original is long gone. I have a new 3/4 hp convertible pump.

If you can get the brand and model number there may be rebuild kits, but that company may be long gone so no parts

You want a Submersible pump at least 1/2 horse power depending on what flow rate you need, you will also need a holding tank

You also won't know the recovery rate of the well at say 50ft, could be you will "pump it dry" in 24hours at 13gal/hour, and have to wait 12-24 hours for more water to seep in and come back up to 50ft level

One of the problems in Florida was they were pumping out ground water faster than it could refill so they got sink holes and of couse dry wells until water could seep back in

It's a 2" well, so I don't think submersible is an option. I already have a new 3/4 hp convertible pump. It's just for watering the plants and lawn in the yard.

 

[franklin2]

You are just out of reach. That pump could pull out of the well at 33 feet with just a single pipe and a foot valve. That is the reason for 2 pipes and the ejector, the output of the pump helps the water get out of the well.

 

[scotts90ranger]

It was around $100-130 for the poly pipe and fittings if I remember right for 1" by 100' (needed 80')

 

[Will]

Florida is much different than Indiana. We are on well water. We have a 30" concrete casing well that is 30' to the water and who knows how deep the well is. It's 50 years old and no records. The pump hangs down on a rope with an old abs plastic pipe feeding water to the surface.

At the back of my property is an 1830s homestead with an old well lined with field stone. It runs dry in the summer. I made a concrete cap for it--we found it by accident and at the time my kids were all of an age they could have found it by accident with unfortunate consequences.

Up in Iowa and Wisconsin I have been involved in sand point wells. We pounded them in with an armored tip on pipe until you reach water. A pump sits on the top of the well. The flow is less than a casing well like I have at my house.

In Florida, I think your house falls into a sink hole when you extract too much water.

 

[19Walt93]

My artesian well is 455 feet deep and they were still getting powdery gray granite dust at 400 feet plus. The steel casing is more expensive than the drilling so I guess I lucked out when they hit ledge 8 feet down. The well cost about $8000 in 1988- so, half the price of a loaded Bronco. The water tastes good but has so much magnesium in it that wee needed a softener after the holes in the washing machine tub plugged up. A test 5 years ago found radon, lead, and uranium so I installed a radon bubbler and some fancy filters. My grandparents old spring is on the bottom corner of my lot, it's about 4 feet deep and still producing after over 100 years. Salamanders live in it. My cousin has deeded rights to it.
My first house was about 10 miles away in a sandy area that was underwater thousands of years ago. I had a well point, basically a 2" pipe with a nose cone that was pounded down into the sand about 30 feet.