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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Dirty shallow well water
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medic149
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 10:35
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Looking for thoughts and some advice.

Juat bought our off grid cabin that has a shallow well with hand pump. It has a 6" casing with PVC pipe connected to the pump. Told its approximately 30' deep. The water was tested and no bacteria. There is a lot of sand/sediment in the water. The more you pump the worse it gets.

I was able to pump it dry in about 10 minutes and filled my tractor bucket. It restored itself in an hour or so.

I tried to pull the pump and PVC pipe but after a foot or so it seems like a PVC connector or something hits the cap. I haven't removed the cap yet for fear I'll screw something up.

Cheese cloth on the pump shows sand particles.

Any thoughts of what I need to do to try and get clearer water?

I have an Aquarian filter system but don't want to put such dirty water through it and go through filters too quickly.

Thanks

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 11:35
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I would start by pulling the pipe. If theres no sand point on the end or some type of fine screen I would put one on it. I hear some times you just have to keep pumping these things.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 11:48
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My well is 40' and sat dormant for 50 years. It took me a couple years of pumping using various means to get clear water. One thing that helped a lot was dropping a dirty water sump pump (my casing is 8") all the way to the bottom and pump away. I also made a pick of sorts using 3 steel stakes wired to a rope and breaking up the sediment with that. There's a couple of Youtubes on that subject.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 12:31
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Is a 30' or more really considered a shallow well? Thought that was like 23ish feet, the limit that a hand pump can work.
At 30' static water level you would need to go at least 10' deeper for recovery time and volume so thats 40' min. Or is it like 20' with the pipe 30'?
Just curious on well stuff, have been considering doing a self driven sand point.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 14:07
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You could use an air pump for that depth and it will pump the sand out. An air pump is extremely cheap to make you just need an air compressor.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 25 May 2021 15:03
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Quoting: Brettny
You could use an air pump for that depth and it will pump the sand out. An air pump is extremely cheap to make you just need an air compressor.


Oh yeah, that's what I did. Wired 3 stakes around the compressor hose and blasted away.

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