Putting down a second well point (shallow / gravel well)

[timorum]

could an electric pump be used for a well point? can these seriously be driven in 20+ feet by hand?

[Michigansnowpony]

@timorum Electric pumps are usually what is used on most wells, especially deep wells. However, in this location, electricity isn't an option. As far as how deep one can go by hand -- it really depends on the soil you are going through coupled with the determination of the person doing the drilling. In heavy clay or rocky soils, drilling by hand is going to be much more problematic than the sandy soil we are blessed with.

[timorum]

@Michigansnowpony Thanks, I live in New Zealand, my property is 250m from a sandy beach and the soil on the surface ( 3ft but hopefully much deeper!) is light peat/sand the water table is around 6 ft deep. it costs $5500+ to put down a 4" professional bore about 27ft and i dont want to spend that much -im thinking this could be an option ? what sort of electric pump is best to draw up the water? is one of those hand pumps required to get the water running clear before running the electric pump?

[Michigansnowpony]

@timorum You'll probably have no trouble finding water in your location, but the shallower the well, the more you have to watch for and the more tendency for water quality problems. Not always, but something to keep in mind. As for what sort of electric pump to buy -- that depends on the depth, pipe diameter, and gallons per minute your well produces. They come in sizes according to power (1/2 horse, 1 horse, etc.) Buying bigger than what you need is a no no -- you'll pull in debris.

[timorum]

@Michigansnowpony Im assuming if you hit a rock or cant get to the water table then you cant get it out and try somewhere else?

[Michigansnowpony]

@timorum Yes, that's correct.

[mrshammerhankus]

loved this family video, god bless ur endeavors,

[plasticspine]

i agree tv sucks :)

[TheGrayman1234]

MSP, Just wanted to follow up on the functionality of this well. Is it still working?

[Michigansnowpony]

@TheGrayman1234 Hi Mr. J. Yes -- worked very well. I only had to water the garden a couple of times last summer though. On the well point with the manual pump, I never had to prime it between uses -- the water was right there, which was different from 2010. Must be the water table was higher this past summer. Tim takes the pump head off the manual well for the winter and caps this second one that we hook the gas-powered pump to. Oh, and glad I made you smile yesterday. ; )

[rkansas1]

Thx for the info,great job and wonderful family!

[localcrew]

I live in the Louisville Kentucky area and my part of the county has an abundance of flowing ground springs. My side yard has one near the surface and it gets swampy after it rains. I may have to pound in a shallow well there just for the heck of it. Nice vid!

[Droowster]

Thank you for taking the time to share, it is appreciated!

[bctruck]

Wow this is exactly what I was looking for! Have you had the water tested to determine it's safety for consumption?now that it's been summer for a while have you had to add a section?thanks for posting.

[Michigansnowpony]

@bctruck -- No, we've never had the water tested, but we've all drank (drunk?) a lot of water from the hand pump well without any ill effects, so . . . so far so good. My Dad was a full-time well-driller, part-time farmer, so I grew up on a farm with well water and frankly, I trust what comes out of a natural aquifer much more than the stuff from a water treatment plant. My dad would ALWAYS taste the water from the site he was working on -- never made him sick.

[MantiXX]

@Michigansnowpony -- I'm in Ontario, just across from you. What do you do in Winter time? Do you shut it down some how? How about freezing? Can you use it in the Winter also? Love your videos btw :)

thanks

[Michigansnowpony]

@MantiXX -- Yes, my husband takes the pump off for the winter -- but only because we aren't gardening and that saves the pump being out in the weather (although we could put a bucket over it I guess). If I'm not mistaken, you could use a shallow well like this through the winter months. Now, if something like an EMP or whatever happened, we'd definitely keep it open year round. It would be handy for my neighbors to use that surround my pasture too.

[mrshammerhankus]

@MantiXX Great question! thanx 4 posting

[basserben]

WOW! This is just what i was looking for. I just bought 10 acres and i want to build a small off the grid cabin on it. I was thinking about paying a few thouseand to have a well drilled but i'll sure as hell try this first. Thanks so much for post this.

[Michigansnowpony]

@basserben -- Hope it works out for you! It sure would be a cheaper solution than a professional well, but shallow wells do have their limitations depth-wise. Good luck!

[theoriginalOSOK]

Thank you for this vid - nicely done. I have the compents with only the pipe to get to do this myself - for a garden water source. 

[ayelvington]

Totally jealous! My neighbor and I have been pounding for two days to get through clay and shale so that I can water my orchard. The irony is that we're surrounded by mud much of the year on the surface!! Nice to see it work for somebody...

[Michigansnowpony]

@ayelvington -- Oh no! Drilling through clay and shale by hand would be the pits. We have very sandy, gravelly soil covered by a relatively thin layer of dirt. So, I have to water a lot, even when it hasn't been particuliarly dry. Hence the well points. There's draw backs and perks to every soil type. But for hand-drilling (pounding) a well point, sandy or loamy soil is probably the best.

[kriptideband]

that helped me alot I live in mobile alabama I think I will only have to drill 2' and i am in water LOL

thanks I will put 3 X 8' foot sections of 2" GALV pipe

[Michigansnowpony]

@kriptideband -- I'm glad you got something out of the video. My husband always takes a little prodding to be in a video and he does much more interesting stuff around here than I do. : )

[gstonegraphix]

I didn't know I could do a little well like that .I have a few acres in a remote location and I might put one there.We camp there sometimes and have to bring water to wash our hands off and put out campfires.I'm glad you made this video.

[marthale7]

Thank you for showing this. I am considering doing the same in my back yard. I did not know it was that easy. The water table is pretty high were I am so think I may try this as well.

[anto1191]

Great way to get free water i live in Ireland a our water falls from the sky way too often and our government thinks we should pay for it , great project its great to be self sufficient i will drill tomorrow LOL

[vonhismean]

cool stuff

[ojibway3]

Thanks Snowpony for the help.

[UrbanRedneckGardenin]

Thanks! We're on a community well for our little three street whatchamacallit area. The well is in the lot next door, and now ya got me thinkin', and wondering just how deep it is.

I'm sure the city would love it, if I started drilling for water. lol They done took our right to own a chicken, while building highfalutin' houses all around us. : /

If the economy would have waited another year or so. We'd probably back out on the edge somewhere again, where we could basically do what we wanted.

[Michigansnowpony]

@UrbanRedneckGardenin -- Well, as long as you made sure you weren't digging or drilling where there was buried cable, water lines, etc, I don't see why you couldn't try. I know in some communities on city water, etc. it's still okay to drill your own well for watering purposes. Then again, in Denver you can't even collect water off your roof legally. But I'd definitely check into it before I ruled it out. It's a nice "perk" to have your own water supply.

[Praxxus55712]

Ok THAT is an excellent video! I enjoyed the heck out of it. :) I could have really used one of those at my garden. I ran a ton of hose from the house. If I didn't have so many monolithic rocks in my soil, that would be perfect for replacing my ugly hose that snakes through my back yard.

[Michigansnowpony]

@Praxxus55712 -- Ray, I have so many rocks (small ones though) in my soil, I can't even get the prongs of a tomato cage down . . . We just hope we don't hit a bigger rock going down with the little 1.75" pipe. So far, so good. We have an interesting situation with our property: High water table, BUT no clay, just a sandy gravel base with about 8" to 12" of topsoil over it. So, despite the abundant water, we have almost too good drainage. Plants can get too dry very quickly.

[VivianRinSC]

I had to forward this to my husband, also named Tim. lol.

[Michigansnowpony]

@VivianRinSC -- Yeah, I noticed we both have Tim the toolmen. : ) And we both seem to be pretty good at keeping them busy with projects. LOL

[pinetar100]

cool .i have a lot of standing water in the woods behind my garden.not to far maybe 60 or 70 feet .i think i will try one of them in my garden great video thanks

[Michigansnowpony]

@pinetar100 -- We have wetlands just behind the garden area also. I bet your water table would be similiar. It's not a big investment if you don't get water, but if you do, what a good thing to have as back-up during dry spells. Even if you have to haul water by hand, it beats losing your garden to drought!

[TheGrayman1234]

Wow very interesting. The my Dad put down one when I was a small child, but we never hit water. I think that our water table is much lower. Very interesting to see though.

[ironhead41]

nice.....yall close to the lakes?......water table here is 200 ft........

[Michigansnowpony]

@ironhead41 -- We're 17 miles from Lake Michigan but surrounded by gravel pits (as well as neighbors). The thing about Michigan is, (My Dad was a full-time well-driller, part-time farmer) the water table can vary drastically within a very small area. It was not uncommon for him to drill almost a flowing well for one house, and across the street, have to go down 250' to hit good water. Up by the house, we likely wouldn't hit water either with a shallow well.

[baddogonline]

Great video, you have a new well in just a few hours...

[qualqui]

Wow,....even li'l Elena got into the work,....so fine when the water ran crystal clear,....thanx MichiganSnowPony for sharin' your knowledge with us! = )

[Michigansnowpony]

@qualqui -- That kid (Laina -- short for Lorraine) is happiest when she's helping. She can plant tomatoes, weed, clean a stall, milk a goat -- you name it -- and she takes enormous satisfaction in actually doing work! Sometimes I have to make her go play. Then there's my youngest who is strictly here for the party. LOL

[mrshammerhankus]

@Michigansnowpony That is too cute, kids should spend more time with their elders, she is a greeat example, she must have GREAT parents!!!

[ojibway3]

Hi,

We enjoy all your projects so very much snow pony... we are trying to do a lot the same here in Ma.

Could I ask a question about the hand pump? Can you recommend a good reliable brand and approx. cost?

Sure would like to do it myself...hope I don't hit any big rocks that we are famous for here in New England.

Wishing you well,

paul

[Michigansnowpony]

@ojibway3 -- Hi Paul. If I'm remembering correctly, that pump came from Lehman's. We actually bought it ten years ago. Now, my husband machined it (former tool and die guy) or something like that, so it would wear better. I will have to refer this question to him. He has the expertise in this area. My Dad was a water well-driller and for two summers, I actually went with him to work every day, but I didn't pay enough attention obviously!

[ayelvington]

@ojibway3 : Tractor Supply Company sells the pitcher pump if you have one nearby..

[centervilletn]

I wish i had a shallow well available near my garden..great project!

[Michigansnowpony]

@centervilletn -- And I'm so anal about back-up plans, I have to have two. LOL