well problem

Ericjeeper

I saw a similar condition at our local volunteer fire dept.. and the cause we finally found.. was a coupling was loose.. water was actually filling a void around the pipe.then finally coming back into the pipe.. bringing in mud.and sediment.
I am no expert, just stating what I ran into.. Might try looking at the pitless adapter if it has one.. and make sure it is snug and all fittings are secure. Just my two cents.

tony_11

well problem

You guys know everything so may I ask a question aboiut my well? well is 13 years old. about 6 years ago my pipes froze and the well kept pumping mud for a few days. It did clear up on its own after not being used a while. Peridically I would get a brownish sediment which cleared up. A few weeks ago I had perfect water and a few hours later brownish thick water. The well guy said to keep it pumping and disconnected the water so it bypassed the house. It is now 3 weeks. water has run continuously for a week and then another week. there seems to be plenty of water. He dug another 50 feet and the problem is still there. After it is shut off for a few hours the water is cloudy like u would have if you had milk in a glass and then put water in it. But if you keep ther water running more than 30 minbutes it getrs brownish with sediment again. Driller is pushing for a new well. we are in NY state with douught conditions. springs are running dry. Shoul I wait on this till it rains or should I consider a new well. He wants to drill about 30 feet from the old one. Any help is appreciated. If i keep the water out of the house how will this affect my heating system and aqua coil once I need to heat.

Floyd_14

Great point....

a hole in the pipe below the water line will not make noise and it is hard to tell if you have one. Sometimes the hiole will not even show up unless you pressureize the pipe. Air will not show up because it is below the water line. Make sure that you don't have a check valve in the piping between the pressure tank and the well pump and see if it holds pressure when you shut the pump down.
How close to the bottom of the well is the pump???? make sure that you actually drop a weighted rope down and check the depth. I have seen many well drillers exagerate the depth of the well, they get paid by the ft. :-)
If the pump is too close to the bottom it keeps things stirred up down there....
Another thing that you can try is to throttle the pump back with a ball valve... many pumps are at least 10 GPM, which is way more than you need... cut it back to maybe 2-3 GPM and see what happens. The pump will run a bit longer but the amps are less so the net usage isn't much different.
Don't know for sure, but here in upstate Pa. you could come up with a dry hole 30 ft. from the other one, or even hit the same vein of water and still have the same problem.
Get a Dowser to come out and find another vein of water for you to drill into. I am baiased to the Dowsers that use a fruit tree crotch find water it seems to work best and I have never yet had a dry hole, and have found water where the rods have failed.

Good luck at figuring out the mystery!!!

Floyd

EJW

Well pump

Tony, this could be caused by a new vein opening up into your well. A earth tremmer can cause this to happen. It could be a hole in the pipe, do you get lots of air through the system after being off for a while? If it is a bad vein and its near the top you can drill to china and still have the same problem. If its been in there 16 years and is just starting to give you problems, then the pump being to close to the bottom isn't your problem. If the pump is oversized for your well, don't throttle it with a ballvalve. Do it the right way and change the pump. EJW

Steve Ebels_3

What exactly froze

Did the pump freeze or just the pipes running to the house from the pump? I'm assuming from your post that the well is outside and you have underground pipe running to your house. Correct?

If this is the case, I would suspect that the pipe has a hole in it or has broken underground allowing dirt and sediment to come in with the water.

Please furnish a few more details about how your system is set up.

Ron Schroeder_3

Floyd, which fruit wood is best?

When learning to dowse, which fruit wood is best to start with? Can you provide a short chart of various species of tree and rating them as to the relative difficulty in assisting a novice in mastering the skills needed to find water or whatever else? I am trying to find the easisest way to master and then teach the art.

Floyd_14

Any fruit tree...

Those with a pit seem to work the best... I usually use a wild cherry stick as it is easy to find in most any fence row in this area.
I usually use the stick and then chuck it as the wood has to be green for it to work. It is eaasier for me just to find a new stick when I need it, rather than try to save one.
You must grasp the y of the stick tightly with your wrists facing up, thumbs outward. You also have to believe that you can do it, the mind is a powerful thing and if you don't believe in it, it won't happen. I learned by holding hands with another fellow to learn the "feel" of it. It still is an amazing thing for me.... to feel the power of the stick turning in my hands as I try my best to hold it out straight. It will literally peel the bark off in your hands.
Enjoy!!! and have fun with it.

Floyd

Ron Schroeder

Brown water

If the brown or red water is iron, you can try to clean the well with bleach. Bleach will precipitate the iron, so the water will be worse until you flush it out. Calcium chloride (90%+ pure pool shock) powder is the best stuff because it sinks to the bottom before it dissolves. Mix it about 50 to 100 PPM and do not use until it is back below 2 PPM. This takes days to flush out so patients.

tony_11

update on well

well guys thanks for all your input. I had the driller go down another 75 feet or so and the water was still cloudy whitish. Then I lifted the pump up a few feet at a time till I hit clear water which was about 25 feet up from where he had it. Was clear over a week and I ran it every 2 hours for about 5 minutes. This is a weekend place. I asked the well guy to leave it at that level and to cut off the extra tubing. He claims he did so. He also put in a new submersible pump coz he didn't think the old one would work ok. I did not mind this because we pumped water steady for about 2 weeks and the pump was 14 years old. He hooked all back to the house and it is now 5 days later and the water is cloudy whitish the same as befoe. The brown stuff seems to be gone. We are in a drought bad one here in the southern tier of NY. My feeling is to let it go till the spring and hope for the best. I probably can use this water for everything except drinking. Is there anything else I can do? I don't trust this well guy at all and don't know if I can believe him. I was unable to be there when he did the work. Is there a possibility that I should call a plumber to check this all out?

jeff_51

what part of the southern tier you in

I used to live out Jamestown way, just curious

tony_11

I live near deposit ny at the beginning of broome county,a few miles off the Pa. border.