Well issues

[Guest]

So am I reading this right.  Your well has no screen and is feeding from the bottom of an open ended casing?  Or  is the screen at the very bottom of your casing?  Unless there was a significant geological change as a result of that earth quake I dont see how all this additional material suddenly appears if the casing and screen was intact and the gravel pack was done right.  Also  Do you know if your pump  end had stainless steel or thermoplastic impellers?  Thermoplastic are common these days as they are resistant to becoming clogged with iron,   but they wear very quickly if there is sand present.   

[Guest]

Sorry for your troubles. $30k for something I take for granted.
Good luck.

[Guest]

Driller said back in the 60's 70's they didn't require them to put in screens so it's an open casing.  As to the extra material it was a result of them sticking the pipe below the casing and attempting the blow out in my opinion and cavatated outside the casing with the suction effect drawing the material  from around and above up into the casing.  Part of him selling me on the blowout was him reassuring me how they carefully probe to avoid going beyond the bottom and optimally hold back from the material they are attempting to blow out.  basically stir the bottom to suspend a given amount of material and ten increase airflow to jettison it out the top.  But watching the wife and kid---they had no clue where they were in the column.  

[Guest]

@Akvike said:
Driller said back in the 60's 70's they didn't require them to put in screens so it's an open casing.  As to the extra material it was a result of them sticking the pipe below the casing and attempting the blow out in my opinion and cavatated outside the casing with the suction effect drawing the material  from around and above up into the casing.  Part of him selling me on the blowout was him reassuring me how they carefully probe to avoid going beyond the bottom and optimally hold back from the material they are attempting to blow out.  basically stir the bottom to suspend a given amount of material and ten increase airflow to jettison it out the top.  But watching the wife and kid---they had no clue where they were in the column.  

that was what I was fearing.   they should have marked the footage on their hose or drop pipe so they knew how far into the well they were and adjusted the pressure up once they were into the area of the casing.   if you wanted to try something (it wont be cheap either)  but you could look into a storage tank,  have your well pump feed into the water storage tank on a flow low enough to keep it from sucking/stirring up the silt and stuff.  a device called a dole valve could be installed or just have a valve that you can throttle down the gallons to decrease the amount of action in the well.  This will also help the low producing aspect of the well although it would be good to  have a "run dry" device on the motor leads to kill the power to the pump if it detected that the pump was infact sucking air.

then have another pump that is fed by your storage tank handle your domestic water needs.  I dont know what a storage tank would cost up there or if you have the room for it in a heated area of your house,  but I would recommend the tank be big enough to handle a days worth of water needs for your family,  that way you shouldnt have to find youself waiting for the slowed well pump to refill the tank.  I can help you with a lot of this stuff but the tank I am sure would be cost prohibitive for me to ship to you... but its alaska,  i am sure poly water tanks arent hard to come by up there.

[Guest]

unfortunately that isn't real feasible for a number of reasons--limited space in garage ---would have to upgrade to a larger heater and a backup generator since we experience power outages regularly in the winter that can last 24 hours or more--walls would have to be opened up to plumb any kind of a tie-in since garage and basement are on cement slab. Additionally if he leaves 17 of material in pipe i seriously doubt it won't silt up over time.

[Guest]

@Akvike said:
unfortunately that isn't real feasible for a number of reasons--limited space in garage ---would have to upgrade to a larger heater and a backup generator since we experience power outages regularly in the winter that can last 24 hours or more--walls would have to be opened up to plumb any kind of a tie-in since garage and basement are on cement slab. Additionally if he leaves 17 of material in pipe i seriously doubt it won't silt up over time.

i suspect that over time that silt would get stirred up occasionally and end up getting pumped out unless your whole formation is screwed.  since your problem started after the earthquake and prior to your current well guys efforts I have to wonder what happened down there to create the issue.   I wonder if a well driller could re develope your well by pumping that sucker really hard for a few days and try and clean up the silt from the adjacent gravel and rock?  i know even here in the midwest that earthquakes can cause issues.  I have heard from plenty of old timers that say that geological events as far away as the west coast has affected their water quality and well production capabilities... being at ground zero has to do some major shit.  best of luck,  but I dont know that I would be spending that 21K just yet unless there are no more water professionals in the area to consult.

[Guest]

folks well is in that 350’ range. Grandpa was to cheap to case the last 20’. Theyve been having all kinds of water issues lately but the dairy uses alot of water. 

Down here in Tn they run city water everywhere even down little goat paths in the middle of nowhere. We are very much in the small minority that have a well. We only have to go down 40’ here. No well truck needed here to pull the pump. Just grab on and lift it out. 

Cant imagine having 20’ of sediment in your well and all the BS that would cause. Even the way you describe how it got there seems hard to picture. Hopefully theyre able to get it figured out for you but if youre going to drop $5k a year battling the well maybe its time to bite the $20k bullet and put in city water.  

[Guest]

@Waterboy said:
Thanks for this post!  Exactly what you look for when you go to a Minnesota Vikings fan site. lol   Wells are definitely a deep subject.

Ive asked some weird questions here. Obviously there was enough expertise here to carry on a conversation so it worked. 

With all the Viking news flooding the airewaves what else would you suggest gets talked about?