Welcome! Please use the navigational links to explore our website.
PartsASAP LogoCompany Logo (800) 853-2651

Shop Now

   Allis Chalmers Case Farmall IH Ford 8N,9N,2N Ford
   Ferguson John Deere Massey Ferguson Minn. Moline Oliver

Attention Forum Users: On the 28th of December 2023 at 9:00am Central Time, we will be taking the forums down for maintenance while we prepare the new forums for your use. Please click here for more information.

Tool Talk Discussion Forum

O/T water well problem

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register
Author 
mech187

06-26-2006 21:51:33




Report to Moderator

Hey guys,
I need your expertise with a well problem. The well is only about a year and a half old. It started off about 100 ft deep, but it has been air jetted twice due to lots of sand/silt in it. I have a whole house filter that is the largest one that Atwoods sells that uses a 30 micron filter cartridge that looks like a big skein (sp) of yarn. The problem is that the filter is not stopping the silt. Sure, there is some in the housing when I change the filter cartridge, but the other day after a very heavy rain, there was dirty water coming out of the faucets. And that filter cartridge had only been in 3 or 4 days. The silt is tan in color and the consistency of toothpaste when it deposits at the bottom of the filter housing. The other day I was draining the hot water tank and ran some into a bucket. Looked dirty, but after 5-10 minutes, the water cleared out and the silt settled to the bottom. Looks like sand is in it too. You guys know any way to stop the dirty water and all the sand/silt at the filter instead of having it pumped through the softener, water heater, washer, toilet water closets etc? I have seen 20 micron filters, but not lately. Don"t know if that would be small enough or not.

[Log in to Reply]   [No Email]
msb

06-28-2006 17:06:26




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
A rotary rig I'll bet? Sounds like the casing wasn't properly grouted in.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Dale in WV

06-28-2006 08:46:17




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
Couple things come to mind - a co-worker had a similar situation with "every time it rains" apparent groundwater contamination. After going through Numerous companies that assured him with guarantee they would give him clean water -- they didn"t charge until it was clear and they all failed. A company outa Winchester, VA ran a test by video, and discovered an inlet of muddy water coming in about fifty feet down. They essentially sealed off that area by inserting some sorta tube down the well, allowing the clear water to come in from the bottom. No more problems for him. Another person had an issue with a form of sediment, not the muddy water. They installed a cylinder on the base of the submersible pump, allowing the water to form some sorta centrifugal action before pulling into the pump. Much as we would do with a dust removal vacuum in the shop, the big pieces fall to the bottom. No more sediment chunks and the filters catch the rest... Good luck on your issue.

dale

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Hermit

06-27-2006 18:27:59




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
I use 5 micron filter carts from Menards. Readily available. No problems.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
rad

06-27-2006 15:43:46




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
We had a similar problem at the farm and used two whole house filters in series. Had a particle filter in first and and a charcol one on the second since the sediment at our place was less than your describe.

This combination worked well except for a couple times a year the little iron eating bacteria were present. These little bugger gave off a nasty hydrogen sulfide smell (rotten eggs). The evential cure was to aerate the water then send it through a water softener. No more rust in the toilets or a bad smell. Life is good.
-rad

s, so my secon

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
buickanddeere

06-27-2006 15:17:12




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
I have to wonder how surface water containing silt, mud and manure is getitng into a 100ft deep well? What sort of casing top, pitless adapter etc is in use right now? Is there a raised concrete pad around the well head to keep surface water form flowing down the outside of the casing? Aound here a dug or bored well is 36" in dia and is sunk below the water table. Drilled wells even through they hit water. They continue on until 15+ ft into the the bedrock. Around here in low spots the driller knows he's the correct depth into the rock. Artisan flow will push the water to or near the top of the casing.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
mech187

06-27-2006 21:31:35




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to buickanddeere, 06-27-2006 15:17:12  
The casing that sticks out of the ground looks like about 6" PVC pipe about 18" above the top of the dirt. No concrete pad. Has a plastic cap with four bolts. Don"t know much about the details, but do remember the well guy saying something about a pitless. I do know that this well was one that was pounded in, not drilled. I was told that could be part of the reason for the silt problem.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Dale(MO)

06-28-2006 14:58:43




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-27-2006 21:31:35  
Take it from someone who ran a cable rig for several years, a rotary rig will drive LOTS of cuttings and silt into every available crevice. A churn drill (cable rig) doesn't have the capability to do so. You pick up and drop the tools, and it grinds and breaks up the rock slowly down the hole. When properly bailed, there won't be enough fine particles to be felt in the hand. You could then pump it out with ease, causing no damage to the pump.

I still say you have got mud coming in with the water, and it should be cased out and drilled deeper. My $.02

Dale(MO)

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Midwest redneck

06-27-2006 15:02:04




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
I had the same problem, 6 years ago. The well driller guy drilled a 100' deep well, artesian. The water flowed at 100+ gpm out of a 5" diameter well casing. After 5 months of silt in the water I told the guy that the silt is not going away....He was Pi$$ed. He came out and drilled me a new well 10 feet from the old one (the old one was put in in jan. 2000) he drilled it 120' deep and no silt now, There is an under ground river or something under my land. You may need to have a new well drilled, I tryed a filter, air jetting it and running it for days on end. That silt will mess up your washing machine and you wouldnt want to drink dirt. Since the new well was dug in Sep. 2000 I have had no silt or dirt in the water. Good Luck.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
jdemaris

06-27-2006 14:47:07




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
I know wells and aquifers differ all around the country - so my experience is limited to working on a wells in Central New York, Adirondacks, New York, and the UP in Michigan. If we drilled a well - it's alway drilled deep enough so the pump (assuming you've got a submerged pump) is mounted at least 15 feet off the bottom. If it's mounted any closer to the bottom, you get sand and silt. If you are using a remote jet-pump, then the suction-strainer, deep-well jet, or whatever is sitting in your well - needs to be some distance off the bottom. We had several service calls - in summer when wells started drying out and losing capacity - that we'd drop them down deeper - and that almost always resulted in silt and sand in the water. As far as you mentioning "air jetting", it's not a term I've heard of around here. I worked for a driller and we installed many jet pumps - one piece or convertible - shallow, mid-range or deep, and we also installed "air jets" for non captive storage tanks to keep them from getting water-logged. But, in the context you use it, it's not something I'm familiar with. Also - all the areas I've worked in have water-bearing rock or sand and the water is inherently clear. I assume there are some areas in the country where the ground water has a different nature?

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
mech187

06-27-2006 20:51:58




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to jdemaris, 06-27-2006 14:47:07  
The well I think was originally 105 feet deep here in Wichita, Ks. It is in an old field that is now a development with 5 acre lots. The pump has been pulled up twice and air jetted twice. By air jetted, that means they pulled the tubing and submersible pump completely out of the casing and dropped down about a 5 ft long metal pipe attached to an air hose all the way down to the bottom of the well. Then, they fired up a big, trailer mounted gas powered air compressor and pumped 175 psi air down to the bottom. The operator controls the air in such a way, kind of like rocking a car stuck in the mud, to eventually blow dirty water and silt out the top of the well head. Sometimes as high as 15 - 20 feet. This is supposed to clean out the silt. But like jungle said, but I never thought about since this is my first well, that is going to force the silt right back thru the slits in the casing also, only to run back into the well with gravity.
I wonder if there is a pump that could be attached to a hose lowered to the bottom and just suck out the silt without stirring everthing up?

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
mech187

06-27-2006 20:51:48




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to jdemaris, 06-27-2006 14:47:07  
The well I think was originally 105 feet deep here in Wichita, Ks. It is in an old field that is now a development with 5 acre lots. The pump has been pulled up twice and air jetted twice. By air jetted, that means they pulled the tubing and submersible pump completely out of the casing and dropped down about a 5 ft long metal pipe attached to an air hose all the way down to the bottom of the well. Then, they fired up a big, trailer mounted gas powered air compressor and pumped 175 psi air down to the bottom. The operator controls the air in such a way, kind of like rocking a car stuck in the mud, to eventually blow dirty water and silt out the top of the well head. Sometimes as high as 15 - 20 feet. This is supposed to clean out the silt. But like jungle said, but I never thought about since this is my first well, that is going to force the silt right back thru the slits in the casing also, only to run back into the well with gravity.
I wonder if there is a pump that could be attached to a hose lowered to the bottom and just suck out the silt without stirring everthing up?

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Dale(MO)

06-27-2006 21:19:30




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-27-2006 20:51:48  
I am in East Central MO, and I drilled for a few years. I ran a cable rig, but have worked tophead rotaries, too. This "air jetting" is new to me, too. I can only see that they will blow the mud back into the crevices that the water flows through, only to be caught by the pump. It would make a lot more sense to go in with a bailer and bail the crud out. There should be NO slits in the casing - the casing has to be sealed. The casing is set into bedrock, to keep any surface water from entering the well, and the water table. I'm very familiar with the Wichita/Wellington area, just not their water table. But, what you describe in your water, is MUD. It could be from the casing leaking, or it could be that it is in the vein with the water. The problem is that it will get no better - only worse - and no filter in the world will ever end the problem.

If you were in my area, I would pull the casing, drill and ream below the present depth, re-case it, and drill to the next good water. You might try pumping open-discharge until it clears up, but you're going to take a chance on ruining your pump up if it is coming into your well that bad.

Talk to your neighbors (if you have any close) and see what their wells are like, and who they would recommend.

Good luck, and keep us posted,
Dale(MO)

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Hurryin_Hoosier

06-27-2006 13:57:59




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
Other than addressing the problem at the well, you could run two filters in a series. Keep the 30 micron filter to catch the larger particles, then follow it up with a 5 micron pleated filter in a "whole house" filter housing. The yarn filter catches the stuff that would clog the pleated filter and the pleated one catches what the yarn one misses.

The whole house housings are around $25-$30 for a good one and the pleated 5 micron filters go for a couple bucks apiece at the major home centers / lumberyards. Take the advice of someone who uses these filters, spend the couple extra bucks on the filter housing that has the built-in bypass valve - makes changing the filter a whole lot easier.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
TomCNY

06-27-2006 12:16:41




Report to Moderator
 Re: O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
My 18-year old well is about 53 feet deep. When we bought the house 10 years ago, it had not been lived in for some time and we would get cloudy water after a period of heavy rain. I was told by a well drilling professional that we should pump the well until it ran clear. He even suggested pouring a bottle of Clorox down the well and pumping until the smell disappeared. I'll confess that although I did pump the well until it ran clear on a couple of occasions, I never did try the clorox. HOWEVER, I have a Culligan filter with a 5 micron cartridge on the line entering the house. It collects silt in the filter housing like that which you described. The cartridge is supposed to be changed every 2 months, but I generally get to it every four months, and we don't see dirty water in the toilets or sinks. We buy the filters at Sears. Tom

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
jungle

06-27-2006 00:03:37




Report to Moderator
 OK here is what Re:O/T water well problem in reply to mech187, 06-26-2006 21:51:33  
OK here is what I done. The problem was silt in the well like yours but a different cause. You well is very new is why there is so much silt, my problem was the well is very old.
I have a very good drilled well, 65 ft. But there is an old dug well 14" concrete casing. I found the bottom at about 30 ft and about 8 ft water and recovered very slow. I wanted to use the old well to irrigate with it. By probing I found that it was much deeper. So I made a lash up deal to suck out silt I used a semi trash pump to suck out the silt. The pump is a 4in with 10hp engine 14000 gph at 0 head. So big volume of water. I to 2 1.5 in plastic pipes clamped them together sent them down the well one pipe was a sucker and one was tapped into the punp outlet so that I had a jet to knock the silt loose. The other pipe sucked it up. I bled of 1/2 of the outlet to the ground. It took a couple of days work to get it clened out but I found the true bottom at 60 ft. Now from pump irrigation water for sometime now the water is clear as glass. My be a little harder for your well but I would just run another pipe down put a good sized pump on it and just pump the well hard to clear it out. Just air blasting will not remove the junk, that only forces the stuff back into the ground where when the water flows it will carry all that lose stuf back. Your house dosent pump enough to carry the junk out fast enough. Pumping for years may never do that with a small pump.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Bill ini TN

06-27-2006 08:36:52




Report to Moderator
 Re: OK here is what Re:O/T water well problem in reply to jungle, 06-27-2006 00:03:37  
I think you need to keep drilling..... .and case to solid rock..... You need a stream that comes through the rock so you don't have such a silt problem.....

Just my opinion.....good luck!



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
[Options]  [Printer Friendly]  [Posting Help]  [Return to Forum]   [Log in to Reply]

Hop to:


TRACTOR PARTS TRACTOR MANUALS
We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]

Home  |  Forums


Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy