Drilling A Mains / Solar Water (10cm / ~4" or 15cm / ~6") Well (Bore)

Discussion in 'Off Grid Living' started by Asia-Off-Grid, Jan 6, 2017.


  1. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    Not sure if I ever mentioned this before on this forum. But, at one point in time, I figured I would probably never drill a well / bore at the farm, due to the possibility of Arsenic being in the water table. (Arsenic is commonly found, naturally occurring in the groundwater some areas of Cambodia.) Fortunately, we found a well nearby and were able to have that water tested. While very high in nitrates, something like 3000 ppm, it was negative for Arsenic.

    So, we figured we go with one well - possibly two, if we could get them sorted at a decent enough price.

    Our first bid has come in at $1,000. This is for 1 - 10cm (~4") well / bore, drilled to a depth of 30m to 50m. This includes a complete installation, well pump, wiring, piping, electrical wiring, valves, casing (of course), and connected to the power source. (Not sure if it includes a pressure tank, though. I will have to query the well man regarding that.)

    When asked about a larger diameter well, they quoted $3,000 USD for a 15cm (~6") well. (We decided to stop there, and not ask if they offered any larger sizes. I didn't want the boss to suffer a heart attack, after all.)

    She did, however, inquire about drilling a second well, but not including the pump, wiring, piping, etc. We would build it into a solar well and add the solar panels, pump, and controller. Still, they wanted $800 USD! A bit way high, me thinks. (We wanted a daytime only bore that would run from 9am to 6pm, daily.)
     
  2. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    Better prices than around here for sure!
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
  3. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    I'm jealous. Paid twenty grand for mine - but that's down to 750 ft with a solar pump.
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  4. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Go with the 6 inch casing. That way, if push comes to shove, you can drop a larger pump downhole. It'll be more than a little interesting to know how the drawdown and recharge testing goes.
     
  5. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    I moderate on a pumps and well forum, I don't drill, but I do all my own pump and storage/pressure tank. The "EXPERTS" will tell you that with a 4" well you risk crud, sand ect locking the 4" (3.5") pump in the casing, and always go with a 6" well. They also tell you not to use a safety rope as they have seen more of those drop down the well and cause real problems pulling the pump and they will tell you that you will need to pull the pump, average lifetime for the new pumps (not Berkeley and others) is about 7 years, cheap pumps last just beyond the warranty period. The forum name is pumpandtanks, do not go to the terrylove forum, they have shysters there trying to sell you their product. I have no association other than being a spam deleter at P&T.

    Rancher
     
  6. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    As an ex certified well driller, I put in hundreds of wells, from 1" to 10". I only encountered 2 that were locked in a 4" casing, one by sand when the riser pipe ruptured causing the well to run continuously for a week and drawing it down to the point of pulling sand into the screen. Had to abandon that one. The other was caused by the lead wires burning off and jamming beside the pump. We got that one out eventually. Biggest problem was always a well with too much pump and not enough water, pumping too hard and drawing down the aquifer. I agree on not using a safety rope as they almost always rot off. But if sand and crud are building up in the casing above the pump, something is bad wrong with the installation.
     
    chelloveck, azrancher and Caveman Jim like this.
  7. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    Would love to. But, I have a total project budget to spend for building the house and putting into the farm. A couple of years down the road, if this pump proves not to be everything we need for years to come, I can always drill another well at that time.

    This driller does something that is out-of-sync with most services here. They sign a contract and guarantee water before being paid. A buddy they drilled for here, they sank 3 holes before getting "good water" at 45 meters, on his land. Besides, $1,000 USD is a reasonable amount to put into this, to see where it will go.

    Thanks for the information. I will register at pumpandtanks. I have sent you a PM, as well.

    In that part of the province, there are few, if any powered wells / bores anywhere near us. There is one hand pumped well within a couple / few hundred meters. So, the draw on the aquifer shouldn't be too heavy, I'm thinking.

    I may be wrong here. But, it is my understanding he will drill down another 10 to 20 meters, after hitting good water?
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  8. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    QUESTION: I assume I will need a pressure / bladder tank attached to this system?
     
  9. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    He will drill until the cuttings change, indicating he is in different material and at the bottom of the water bearing material.
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  10. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    That just makes Pump Cycling a non-issue, and helps with keeping a better Pressure Difference... Don't forget the Check Valve, before the Air Bladder Pressure Tank, in the Supply Line....
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  11. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Yes, you should. If nothing else, it'll save a lot of wear and tear on the pump and the rest of your system, if it is a closed pressure system.
    You can get by without a pressure tank if you use a gravity system, pump to an overhead tank and let it drain into your house system. SWMBO may not be too happy about a dribble shower---

    As tempstar says, the cuttings change tells a lot. If the water bearing strata is thick enough, there's no need to go all the way thru. One reason for going well below the expected pump level is to provide a sump for sand and other stuff that flushes into the well bore to settle rather than getting into the pump to do nasty things.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  12. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    Brother, if it saves 1,000 Khr / ~$.25¢ US, she is for it. :D

    ============================================================

    EDIT: She just walked in and reminded me that, he also stated in his contract, he gives us a 1 year guarantee on having water from that well. Never pumping dry / sand, I suppose?
     
    Cruisin Sloth likes this.
  13. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    Do you fellas know a decent whole house type filter I should buy, to put on this system? Say something that filters the most bacteria, etc., possible?

    If I am not mistaken, the smaller stuff you can filter out, the better off you are. You can then use an ultra-violet light to kill the rest of the bacteria that may be waterborne at that point?
     
    Cruisin Sloth likes this.
  14. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    First thoughts from here is wait for the water tests. You may not need a filter at all.

    In any case, the water tests will tell you what else you might need besides a filter. As a general, but not absolute rule, there will be no significant bugs to need disinfection UNLESS there is high organic loading in the water.
     
    chelloveck and Asia-Off-Grid like this.
  15. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    Been a while now. But, I do remember nitrates being around 3000.
     
  16. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    There should be a check valve in the submersible pump, I'm not sure what you are saying about pump cycling, that will happen with a bladder tank or regular tank if they get water logged, or in case of the bladder tank the bladder leaks, do not buy a cycle stop valve.

    As ghrit says, you may not need a filter at all, get the water tested, and if it makes your XYL happy filter the drinking water only. Most well guys cringe when you say whole house filter because to do that you need to filter it into another pressure tank or live with just a dribble.
    If you want to go that way I have used a guy on Ebay that has been in business more than 10 years, I first bought an RO system from him to filter my 1,300 gallons of solar water, we then started to use that into a float operated 35 gallon pickle barrel with a hose bib, ... wife was paying $0.25/gallon for water for the dogs!!! I have also bought a RO + UV system from him, both have 3 pre-filters, two are sediment and one carbon, the UV system has a post UV filter (I don't know why). The RO system will cost about $120, the RO+UV system with cost you $180.
    The RO+UV not installed yet...

    Rancher
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  17. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Pump cycling will happen anyway AND as you say. The idea is to keep it from short cycling and overheating the windings and slapping the contactor in and out. A bit of engineering or looking things up will tell how big a pressure tank will be good for the anticipated water demand.
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  18. Asia-Off-Grid

    Asia-Off-Grid RIP 11-8-2018

    The reason I say "whole house" is due to using the water for all livestock.
     
  19. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Hm. Now you are going to have to think about a dual system one with a gravity tank and one for the house. You do not need a pressure feed for the livestock tanks.
     
    Asia-Off-Grid likes this.
  20. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    Paul, can you get one of those large black/green poly tanks, I pump from my well into a 3,000 gallon storage tank and then pump from there using a cheap jet pump, or a booster pump into the bladder tank, then you could gravity feed from the storage tank to the animal watering tanks, no need to filter the cows/chickens water...

    Rancher
     
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