Replies

1. 
   Ken_Schriner | Dec 06, 2001 07:11pm | #1

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   Well is approx 110 feet deep. Top casing is 7 inch ID. It is not cased to the bottom, not sure how far it is cased, but most wells in the area are cased to solid rock, usually within 10 ft. in our area (NW Arkansas). This well most likely penetrates a perched water table, the water doesn’t have sulfer, as do deeper wells in the area, and the recharge rate is much slower in dry spells than in wet. I use a submersible pump to pump up the water to a holding tank where water is then pumped by an above-ground shallow well pump into the house system with pressure maintained with a captive air tank.

   Several years ago, some of the side wall of the well collapsed, burying the submersible pump. We pulled the pump, cut off a foot or two (can’t remember how much) and dropped it back in, all was fine, with the exception of dry spells affecting us even more what with the pump hung higher in the well.

   The well is producing silt again, and this silt production is affecting the pump performance. I assume it’s stuck in mud again. Rather than merely hang it higher in the bore again, and affect summer production even more, is it possible to bail the mud out of the bottom of the hole?

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   David_Thomas | Dec 06, 2001 08:50pm | #2

   *So many thoughts, such slow fingers. Here goes.Silt can effect the pumps performance (gpm, psi) but only by eroding away the impellers and that takes quite a while. Could there silt clogging up a filter and creating more back pressure? That could quickly reduce pump output.Yes, there are way to recondition or "develop" a well. All the things that a driller can do during installation can be repeated later. These include:*bailing out the silt with heavy bailer that has a check valve at the bottom. Silty water fills the bailer in through the check valve. The bailer is on a rope. You pull it up and dump out the slurry. Repeat. And repeat.*Another way to bail is with a metal cylinder a lot like a Fostner wood bit. A slit in the bottom has a angle to it (like a snow plow blade on a radius). By turning the bailer, slit is scooped up into the bailer. Much more silt is gotten each time but rigid pipe or drill rod is needed to turn the bailer. Much easier to perform if you have a drill rig with its drill rods, overhead mast, and winch.*You can pump out the silt. Drillers often have a pump they dedicate to living a hard, short life developing wells. You want it to be higher flow than your regular pump and to keeping it moving water/silt from the well, you may need to add water while pumping.I've recovered buried wells in another way. Even ones that are full to the surface with rocks and soil. Use a big compressor (like 75-125 cfm ones for jackhammers - available at any rental yard). Put on your rain gear. Real storm gear. Get a long pipe/hose combination. I've done it with rigid pipe the whole way on 10 to 30 foot wells. For 110 feet, I'd put enough galvinized on the end to have a lot a weight and use hose for the rest of the length (you can rent air hose too). Lower it down the hole. First, a heavy mist of fast-moving air and water with come up. Then, as you get into the silt, things will get messy. It goes really quickly once the air starts flowing. I'd finish off by pouring more clear water down get the last of the silt and to clear some of the silt from the sides of the casing.I often bail a dozen wells a day and sometimes bring a cordless drill (for 2" wells and plastic bailers) with a spindle in the chuck. Makes it quicker and easier to unwind and rewind 50 to 200 of string than doing it by hand. For a production well, a plug-in 1/2" drill is probably easier than repeatedly bailing by hand. Good Luck. -David

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   Ken_Schriner | Dec 07, 2001 12:26am | #3

   *Dave,Thanks for knowledgable information. The filters are definetly getting clogged. The performance problem I'm having (after changing filter!) is that the pump seems to be buried, and at first call for water, the pump seems "bound-up". No water is pumped, and after a few seconds, maybe 5, the pump monitor shuts it down. If I start it back up, without waiting for programmed pause (90 minutes on my slow well) it will pump up water ... and enough silt to clog the filter within a few minutes.Now, you said, "bailing out the silt with heavy bailer that has a check valve at the bottom." I'd like to try that first, it's what I had in mind. Where does one get this heavy bailer? Who makes them? Thanks again ... there's water at the end of the hole!

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   Ken_Schriner | Dec 07, 2001 12:26am | #4

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