Home Repair (alt.home.repair) For all homeowners and DIYers with many experienced tradesmen. Solve your toughest home fix-it problems.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.

How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.

Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?

  #2   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
dpb dpb is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 12,595
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.

How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.

Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?


Can't imagine sand going "tink"...

There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.

Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).

--


  #3   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 66
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

There are "sand separators" for pumps that have to live in sandy
areas. I had one on my first house, very VERY cheap insurance.

On Jun 18, 1:26 pm, Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.

How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.

Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?



  #4   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Sweeet. I will look for one of these. The water depth in my well is
about 10 feet, but it drops to about 7 feet in the summer, and I don't
know how much more it drops with the pump running. Towards the end of
last summer, it started to suck air so I'm guessing the water level
dropped right down to the foot valve at that time. I can raise the
intake tube some, but at the risk of running dry towards the end of
summer.

On Jun 18, 11:03 am, Andrew Duane wrote:
There are "sand separators" for pumps that have to live in sandy
areas. I had one on my first house, very VERY cheap insurance.


  #5   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

HomerS wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:42:14 -0700, Ook wrote:

Sweeet. I will look for one of these. The water depth in my well is
about 10 feet, but it drops to about 7 feet in the summer, and I don't
know how much more it drops with the pump running. Towards the end of
last summer, it started to suck air so I'm guessing the water level
dropped right down to the foot valve at that time. I can raise the
intake tube some, but at the risk of running dry towards the end of
summer.

On Jun 18, 11:03 am, Andrew Duane wrote:
There are "sand separators" for pumps that have to live in sandy
areas. I had one on my first house, very VERY cheap insurance.


Water tables are dropping just about everywhere. You may need to
choke down the rate you are pumping from the well.

I'm thinking the sand filter you install at the bottom of the well
will help, but you probably also need to crank down the flow rate.



Most of the time I'm only running 3 sprinklers at once, so I don't have
that much of a load on it. However, my pump is a new 3/4 horse pump, and
I imagine that it's at max flow when it's filling the pressure tank
sigh. I'll go for the sand filter and see how that works - but do they
make them for narrow well pipes? My well is a 2" pipe that goes about 20
feet into the ground. My inlet tube is a ~15 foot 1" pipe (because I
can't get a 1 1/4 foot valve to fit into the pipe, so I had to drop it
down to 1"), and I think the muck level is at about 17 feet or so. I
took a sounding last week, and I think it was water at 7 feet, bottom
mud at 17 feet. I'm guessing that the narrow pipe aggravates the sand
sucking problem. I wish I could pump out the mud and gunk at the bottom


  #6   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:42:14 -0700, Ook wrote:

Sweeet. I will look for one of these. The water depth in my well is
about 10 feet, but it drops to about 7 feet in the summer, and I don't
know how much more it drops with the pump running. Towards the end of
last summer, it started to suck air so I'm guessing the water level
dropped right down to the foot valve at that time. I can raise the
intake tube some, but at the risk of running dry towards the end of
summer.

On Jun 18, 11:03 am, Andrew Duane wrote:
There are "sand separators" for pumps that have to live in sandy
areas. I had one on my first house, very VERY cheap insurance.


Water tables are dropping just about everywhere. You may need to
choke down the rate you are pumping from the well.

I'm thinking the sand filter you install at the bottom of the well
will help, but you probably also need to crank down the flow rate.


  #7   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.


How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.


Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?


Can't imagine sand going "tink"...

There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.

Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).

--


Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?

  #8   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
dpb dpb is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 12,595
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?

Can't imagine sand going "tink"...

There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.

Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).

--


Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?


No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.

--


  #9   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...


There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.


Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).


--


Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?


No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.

--


I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.

Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.

  #10   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
dpb dpb is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 12,595
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...
There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.
Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).
--
Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?

No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.

--


I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.

Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.


As high as possible consonant w/ water level would be ideal...

As for cleaning out the hole and lowering well -- both are possible
probably but what it would entail for a given well is obviously very
dependent on what the situation really is. A well service company would
be the obvious, and probably easiest solution...

--




  #11   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,746
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

dpb wrote:

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...
There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.
Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).
--
Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?
No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.

--


I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.

Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.


As high as possible consonant w/ water level would be ideal...

As for cleaning out the hole and lowering well -- both are possible
probably but what it would entail for a given well is obviously very
dependent on what the situation really is. A well service company would
be the obvious, and probably easiest solution...

--


Since it appears he has a jet pump setup, not a submersible, and the
well is quite shallow I'd suggest the easiest way to clean much at the
bottom would be to rent a trash pump for the weekend. Get it with enough
suction hose to reach the bottom and an intake strainer and of course
enough discharge hose to get the discharge out of your way.

ust jamming the intake hose to the bottom and moving it up and down
ought to stir up the crap which a trash pump will happily slurp up
without damage. The intake strainer will keep out bigger stuff that
could clog the hose.
  #12   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

On Jun 19, 12:25 pm, "Pete C." wrote:
dpb wrote:

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...
There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.
Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).
--
Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?
No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.


--


I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.


Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.


As high as possible consonant w/ water level would be ideal...


As for cleaning out the hole and lowering well -- both are possible
probably but what it would entail for a given well is obviously very
dependent on what the situation really is. A well service company would
be the obvious, and probably easiest solution...



Yah. Maybe time to make a few phone calls....


Since it appears he has a jet pump setup, not a submersible, and the
well is quite shallow I'd suggest the easiest way to clean much at the
bottom would be to rent a trash pump for the weekend. Get it with enough
suction hose to reach the bottom and an intake strainer and of course
enough discharge hose to get the discharge out of your way.

ust jamming the intake hose to the bottom and moving it up and down
ought to stir up the crap which a trash pump will happily slurp up
without damage. The intake strainer will keep out bigger stuff that
could clog the hose.


Can these pumps suck up stuff from 20 feet down in the bottom of a
hole, with 10 feet of water in the hole?

  #13   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
dpb dpb is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 12,595
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 12:25 pm, "Pete C." wrote:
dpb wrote:

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...
There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.
Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).
--
Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?
No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.
--
I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.
Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.
As high as possible consonant w/ water level would be ideal...
As for cleaning out the hole and lowering well -- both are possible
probably but what it would entail for a given well is obviously very
dependent on what the situation really is. A well service company would
be the obvious, and probably easiest solution...



Yah. Maybe time to make a few phone calls....


Since it appears he has a jet pump setup, not a submersible, and the
well is quite shallow I'd suggest the easiest way to clean much at the
bottom would be to rent a trash pump for the weekend. Get it with enough
suction hose to reach the bottom and an intake strainer and of course
enough discharge hose to get the discharge out of your way.

ust jamming the intake hose to the bottom and moving it up and down
ought to stir up the crap which a trash pump will happily slurp up
without damage. The intake strainer will keep out bigger stuff that
could clog the hose.


Can these pumps suck up stuff from 20 feet down in the bottom of a
hole, with 10 feet of water in the hole?


Yeah, I keep forgetting there are places that have water tables of less
than 200-ft!

Surely could, but it'll be pumping water full-bore, too. While it
_might_ work and clean out the hole, not knowing what the conditions are
I'd be concerned you could just pump indefinitely and never solve the
problem as more "stuff" gets pulled in and you simply create a larger
hole. All depends on what is actually at the bottom of the casing which
I have no clue nor any way to find out. What makes me cautious is that
if you had rock or a good gravel formation it wouldn't have silted up
this way. Locals should be able to provide guidance which was why I
suggested them. Maybe this is a course of action they would recommend,
maybe not.

--


  #14   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,746
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

dpb wrote:

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 12:25 pm, "Pete C." wrote:
dpb wrote:

Ook wrote:
On Jun 19, 9:35 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
On Jun 18, 10:57 am, dpb wrote:
Ook wrote:
I believe I have the intake for my well too close to the bottom. I
raised it, but apparently not far enough. It use to run nice and
quiet, but when I opened the outlet wide open, it seems to have sucked
up some sand. I can hear it going tink, tink, tink, as the pump runs.
It's not a lot, just enough that I can hear it.
How bad is this? My old pump always made that sound, and I didn't
realize it was sand until I took it apart and found the sand in it.
Can I run a bit and clean it when I get around to it? Or should I stop
and flush the sand out *now*? I have a screen on my foot valve, so
nothing bigger can get in, but it won't stop sand.
Lastly, are there any inline screens available? The foot valve has a
screen that has a small area, but it's a flat metal screen that won't
stop sand. I'd like to have a bigger and better screen that will
actually stop sand without restricting water flow. I can put it inline
somewhere so that I can service it as necessary. Any recommendations?
Can't imagine sand going "tink"...
There are sand filters for the purpose that go on the inlet but ideally
you can get to a water level that doesn't have sand. Of course,
over-pumping a well's capacity can lift sand/silt, too, where a slower
pumping rate will not.
Much sand will, as another said, certainly shorten a pump's life (by
impeller wear, mostly).
--
Maybe it's rocks - but the screen on the foot valve limits the size of
rocks that can get through to about 1/8 inch or so. I'd like to
replace it with a bigger and finer screen so not even rocks that small
can get through. I'll pull the drain plug tonight and see what comes
out. Could it be cavitating? Would that make a tink tink tink sound
like a small rock(s) going through the pump?
No, cavitation doesn't "tink". If it's intermittent I guess you could
pick up some small gravel pieces, but if the inlet is so close to solid
as that it's definitely too close.
--
I'm going to pull the intake up a few feet and see how it works. When
I bought the house, the previous owner had installed a 1 1/4 pipe with
no screen at all. The pump had a lot of sand and small rocks inside of
it because of this. There is a fine line between having the inlet too
close to the bottom, and having it so high the well runs dry in the
summer.
Is there any feasable way to extend the depth of a well by a couple of
feet? The original well pipe is 20 feet long, but it was replaced many
years ago, and today the bottom of the well is at 17 feet. I'm
guessing there is 3 feet or more of mud, sand, and gunk at the bottom
of the well - is there any way to pump this out? I tried it once, but
all I did was suck up a ton of sand and rocks into the pump, and
ruined the impeller. doh.
As high as possible consonant w/ water level would be ideal...
As for cleaning out the hole and lowering well -- both are possible
probably but what it would entail for a given well is obviously very
dependent on what the situation really is. A well service company would
be the obvious, and probably easiest solution...



Yah. Maybe time to make a few phone calls....


Since it appears he has a jet pump setup, not a submersible, and the
well is quite shallow I'd suggest the easiest way to clean much at the
bottom would be to rent a trash pump for the weekend. Get it with enough
suction hose to reach the bottom and an intake strainer and of course
enough discharge hose to get the discharge out of your way.

ust jamming the intake hose to the bottom and moving it up and down
ought to stir up the crap which a trash pump will happily slurp up
without damage. The intake strainer will keep out bigger stuff that
could clog the hose.


Can these pumps suck up stuff from 20 feet down in the bottom of a
hole, with 10 feet of water in the hole?


Yeah, I keep forgetting there are places that have water tables of less
than 200-ft!

Surely could, but it'll be pumping water full-bore, too. While it
_might_ work and clean out the hole, not knowing what the conditions are
I'd be concerned you could just pump indefinitely and never solve the
problem as more "stuff" gets pulled in and you simply create a larger
hole. All depends on what is actually at the bottom of the casing which
I have no clue nor any way to find out. What makes me cautious is that
if you had rock or a good gravel formation it wouldn't have silted up
this way. Locals should be able to provide guidance which was why I
suggested them. Maybe this is a course of action they would recommend,
maybe not.

--


Seeing the OP's other post about a 2" well casing, it sound's like a
driven well in soft sandy soil. Presumably it has an inlet screen and
point on the end and sand / silt has come in through the deteriorating
screen. Makes me think just driving a new point and casing nearby is the
easiest solution.
  #15   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
dpb dpb is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 12,595
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

Pete C. wrote:
....

Seeing the OP's other post about a 2" well casing, it sound's like a
driven well in soft sandy soil. Presumably it has an inlet screen and
point on the end and sand / silt has come in through the deteriorating
screen. Makes me think just driving a new point and casing nearby is the
easiest solution.


I missed that -- Sounds like maybe you're right. That's a type of well
I've no experience in and like said, hard to imagine (even though I know
it is so ) of water being so shallow...

--



  #16   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?

I missed that -- Sounds like maybe you're right. That's a type of well
I've no experience in and like said, hard to imagine (even though I know
it is so ) of water being so shallow...

--


When we bought the house, we noticed a sump pump in the basement. I
thought that was odd. The following winter was especially wet, and the
water table rose so high the basement started to take on water. It got
about a foot deep before I realized the sump was unplugged. We got it
plugged in, and we pumped water for almost a week before the water
level subsided. Water was pouring in from every crack and seem along
the floor! Oh, here are some pics. They aren't very spectacular, by
the time I got home the water was down to a few inches.

http://zootal.no-ip.info/stuff/2006/...ood/index.html

I talked to some of the old timers around here, and they all tell
about how this happens every ten years. Last spring, after the rain,
the water in my well was at about 7 feet, where right now it's at
about 10 feet. I'll be taking soundings throughout the summer to see
how it drops. We are close to a couple of rivers, and I believe the
aquifer is quite large. We pump and pump and pump with no noticeable
effect, as do the farmers and neighbors. But we are on old river
bottom, so the foundation is on rock and fairly solid, otherwise the
entire city would sink into the mud lol.

  #17   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
Ook Ook is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Sand in pump - how bad is this?


Seeing the OP's other post about a 2" well casing, it sound's like a
driven well in soft sandy soil. Presumably it has an inlet screen and
point on the end and sand / silt has come in through the deteriorating
screen. Makes me think just driving a new point and casing nearby is the
easiest solution.


Close. It is a driven well, but when they got it ~20 feet down, they
dropped a stick of dynamite into the bottom to "make a cavity for
water to collect". I have no idea what is really down there, as that
was 40-50 years ago. It's an old well, but an old fellow a few doors
down was here when they drilled it. Our valley used to be river
bottom, so there is sand and river rocks. It can be quite a task just
to drive a pipe 20 feet into the ground because of the rocks.

Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is it safe to reuse pool filter's sand for sand box? [email protected] Home Repair 27 April 17th 19 09:24 AM
When to use sharp sand and when to use "soft" sand? Dave UK diy 25 August 17th 17 05:44 AM
Changing Sand in Your Sand Pool Filter Your Local Pool Guy Home Repair 6 September 18th 08 02:31 AM
Block paving question. Sand or sand/cement for the gaps? Tim Downie UK diy 17 June 6th 07 09:28 PM
Changing Sand in Your Sand Pool Filter Your Local Pool Guy Home Ownership 1 January 4th 07 04:51 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:09 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 DIYbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about DIY & home improvement"