Anyone hand dug a well?

[J man]

Why go to all that work when it is already wired into the breaker Panel of the House?!

Just shut off the items you do not need at the Breaker Panel...

That would depend on the type of generator, I am guessing. Mine does not get wired into the house, what ever I want to run while the power is out has to be plugged into it. My pump gets plugged in at the well house, I was assuming he had a newer well that would be wired to the box. I am not an electrician so I am sure there are better ways to do it.

 

[J man]

I don't. You can buy a diverter that sends the first few minutes of rain away from your barrel, that way the roof gets washed before you start catching water, but I just hit the tank with bleach every so often and filter the water I drink, no big deal. I've had my water tested for biologicals and it comes back cleaner than local municipal supply does.

I forgot about the diverting pipe. but a filter in the gutter still would not be a bad idea.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

If collecting rain water from the roof, watch out for space debris Educator's Guide to Micrometeorites.....could be an alien virus up there.

 

[jeremy]

That would depend on the type of generator, I am guessing.

No not really, just the intelligence and sense of the person running the Generator..

Mine does not get wired into the house, what ever I want to run while the power is out has to be plugged into it. My pump gets plugged in at the well house, I was assuming he had a newer well that would be wired to the box. I am not an electrician so I am sure there are better ways to do it.

Much easier to hook the Generator into the House and just turn off/on the Circuits as needed from the Comfort of the house. Not to mention Extension Cords are far more prone to failures.

 

[Kmcinnes]

The water pump is hooked into my generator transfer switch, so short term would not be a concern, I'm thinking long term, if fuel is not available than I'm Out of luck, so basically speaking just as a back up system.

 

[warhawk77]

I was planning on getting a old style hand pump.

One of these
http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Industrial-Hand-Press-Pump/dp/B0000AX09P

Again not the best option but for $40 it is a great backup

 

[BlueDog]

You may check 'Hydrogeology of Allen County; A Geologic and Ground-Water Atlas' for water-table information.

Clay till soil in Fort Wayne area tends to be pretty hard to get through without a drill rig, so you don't see many driven wells.

 

[J man]

The water pump is hooked into my generator transfer switch, so short term would not be a concern, I'm thinking long term, if fuel is not available than I'm Out of luck, so basically speaking just as a back up system.

Ever thought of getting a solar panel with a battery or two to power it long term?

 

[Kmcinnes]

Ever thought of getting a solar panel with a battery or two to power it long term?

I was looking at that today with a friend of mine who is an electrician, just have to figure out what we need and cost? Cost is going to be a big key.

 

[J man]

If you are just looking to run the well in a Emergency situation, I would not thing it would have to be that big of a set up.

 

[jeremy]

Most well pumps run right around the 3kW Power Consumption Range with Start up Surges in the 3.6kW Range...

Take a pretty decent Solar set up to run that for any kind of duration...

 

[Kmcinnes]

Most well pumps run right around the 3kW Power Consumption Range with Start up Surges in the 3.6kW Range...

Take a pretty decent Solar set up to run that for any kind of duration...

Thats percisly what we were talking about, and the intial upfront cost doesnt seem to be worth it compared to an old manual hand pump well because we actually have to well pumps that would need power at least for short term, then we could go to one.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Thats percisly what we were talking about, and the intial upfront cost doesnt seem to be worth it compared to an old manual hand pump well because we actually have to well pumps that would need power at least for short term, then we could go to one.

Every think about a gasoline powered pump...for emergency use?

 

[Kmcinnes]

Every think about a gasoline powered pump...for emergency use?

We have a generator and the pump is set up to run through it, but in a long term shtf situation gasoline may not be readily available and we don't want to have to rely on modern convinces to survive.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

We have a generator and the pump is set up to run through it, but in a long term shtf situation gasoline may not be readily available and we don't want to have to rely on modern convinces to survive.

Point taken, but even without gasoline you can run a small engine on corn squeezins....we plan to use our garden tiller long after gasoline is gone.

 

[tobi]

How clean is water from a sump crock? It looks crystal clear (compared to the pond across the street), but I am concerned about the chemicals I use around the house (fertilizer, insecticide). I believe it is filtered by the soil - maybe not as good as well water since there is stone/sand against the foundation. What would I have to do to make it drinkable?

 

[joseywales7450]

I am an environmental scientist and get in some geology work. Like some people have said, it depends on where your water table is and that fluctuates throughout the year depending on dry/wet seasons. Also, it depends on what types of lithology there is in your region. I.e. clay, silt, sands, gravels. I've overseen the installation of monitoring wells that are only 2" in diameter and depending on the hydraulic pressure in the ground and the lithology, a 2" well will supply all your needs of water consumption needs or it will regenerate water at an incredibly slow rate. Like I said, it all depends on the water table, hydraulics, and lithology.

 

[mr.steve]

I currently have a hand driven 2" well about 23' deep. I use a gas powered utility pump for convenience and can swap to a hand pump in about a minute.
The lithology here is sand then gravel/clay. I've been using it for about 9 years now and send a sample up to South bend every few years. This works with my constitution - your mileage may vary