Water Well Helpline

Water Well Helpline FARM HOME Miscellaneous 31-1-14 David Thomas, Dale, N.Y.: A website called Water Well Helpline rates as David's "best buy" (www.fdungan.com/well.htm). "Our well water quit and couldn't be fixed. Having very limited resources, we went on the internet to look for help. We had no knowledge of well drilling, but by following the instructions online we were able to hand drill our own well. We now have more water than we can use." The website describes how to drive a sandpoint well. It involves digging a 5-ft. deep hole at the site you've selected and filling it with water and letting it settle for a week, so that the ground becomes soft, and then driving a pipe into the earth. You'll need a 2-in. drivepoint with screen, several spools of Teflon tape, 2-in. galvanized couplings to attach pipe lengths together, 5-ft. long threaded lengths of 2-in. galvanized Schedule 40 pipe, 2-in. galvanized caps for the pipe, concrete mix, a weight, a foot valve, and 85 ft. of 1/2-in. inside dia., thick-walled, UV-resistant, flexible poly tubing. Thomas drove a well 14 ft. deep. The website claims it's very possible to go 75 to 100 ft. or more, depending on the ground. If you hit a rock, you have to pull the pipe with jacks and start over.

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.