With a persistent cool wind coming from the south and
the tide on its way to a 3.05pm low, Crescent Beach hosted me for another
marvelous afternoon wander.
On both the way out and back on the beach, I was
entertained by the same two little guys (Sanderlings), who were thoroughly
enjoying themselves in the shallows. Later I had one big guy flying low around
me, he seemed very interested in what I was doing …
Last year during late November I got myself involved in a couple of Drilled Water Well tasks, which happened to occur at the very same time …
With Buddy Brett, we installed a new Drilled Deep Well at his daughter’s house, she previously had been using a very unreliable Dug Well, which far too often was running out of water.
The job required bringing in a driller in who successfully struck water at 180'. After the well casing was installed, a 25’ long 4’ deep trench had to be dug from the well to the house, fortunately most of this was done with the help of Brett’s tractor. Once the trench was completed, the pump with the water supply drop pipe was installed, this was closely followed by running the electrics cables and water line to the house, which were then connected to the pump control box and filtration and softener system in the basement of the house.
While all this was going on, Brett was having some issues with his own 90’ drilled well, which was pumping up some really dirty water. As a means of perhaps alleviating the problem, we decided to raise the pump by about 10’, to hopefully be clear of what may have been the newly formed silt level. In the process of doing this, it was also decided to replace the pump and drop pipe.
By the end of both those coinciding tasks, Brett got sparkling clean water and his daughter got an uninterrupted water supply.
With all that well and pump activity, it got me thinking about my own pump, which I believe sits at about 80’ in a 95' drilling. I made enquiries with the previous owner and discovered that the pump is original to the house, making it 28 years old ~ which I am told is exceptional. I have always had a constant fear of it quitting on me when I am all lathered up in the shower, which then would result with an embarrassing tiptoe over to the neighbour’s to rinse off ~ an act that I am sure would cause local alarm, extreme shock and perhaps a little fear. So, with much consideration to all that, I decided come spring time, I would replace my aging pump.
I was very fortunate to have made this decision around the time of the Black Friday sales on Amazon, and managed to secure my Redlion 1/2HP, 240V, 3 wire (it actually has four wires, for some reason the ground wire is not counted) at a 25% discount. Included with the pump is the in-house control box.
As a thoroughbred Scotsman I was very pleased with the deal …
All the stuff for the job ..
Torque Arrestor ~ this prevents the transfer of excessive movement to the drop pipe, from the high torque during the pump start up. It is installed tightly in the 6' diameter steel casing of the well and is placed about 12” above the pump.
Check Valve ~ this prevents water falling back down the drop pipe. Normally they are recommended for wells deeper that 200’, but I decided to add one to my installation. The pump has a check valve incorporated in it, but in the event that it should fail, I am installing one other about 20’ about the pump.
Bronze Barb Adapters ~ for connection between the pump and drop pipe, and for the installation of inline check valve.
Wire Splice Kit and Silicon Tape ~ for joining the pump wiring to the underground wire run from the house. This wiring joint will be underwater, so it requires to be well sealed.
Polypropylene Rope ~ I may replace the existing rope, which is tied to the top of the pump. In the very rare event that the drop pipe disconnects from the pump, it is used to pull up the pump out the well.
Cable ties and Clamps ~ the ties are used for securing the wiring and rope around the drop pipe, and the clamps secure the barb adapters to the drop pipe.
Homemade T Bar ~ this is the handy work of Brett. Via a matching thread, it connects the pitless adapter located about 6’ down the well. The pitless adapter provides a water-tight connection between the drop pipe and the horizontal water line running to the house ~ the task would be impossible without this tool.
Within the basement of the house, there is a little room I call the "Engine Room". It is where the water filtration and softener tanks are located, along with the system pressure tank and pump electrics. The control box is unique only to 230V pumps, it not only starts and stops the pump, but also effectively protects the water pump electrical circuits and hopefully ensures long-term stable operation.
First task was to install the new control box. It was just a matter of disconnecting the wiring, storing the old box as a spare, and then wiring in the new box, preferably to the correct positions ...!!!
Care must be taken with the capacitor on the old control box, I believe they can hold their charge for a long time.
The head of the well with the cap off and wiring exposed
After all
this was done the pump was dropped back into the well, with much care taken to
engage both parts of the pitless adapter. The whole job only took a couple of
hours, but the day did not end there.
It is always expected when a well is disturbed, that the initial flow of water will be dirty. So, with much excitement and enthusiasm, I rushed indoors to the Engine Room, where I closed off the two valves, that would prevent water flowing to the house outlets, filtration and softener tanks. I then ran a short hose from the pressure tank to the floor drain ~ by doing this I would be pumping water directly from the well to the drain and not through the house. The electrics were then switched on, the lever was pulled and with much relief the pump kicked in.
For a short time, I was expecting to see a light brown colour to the water running down the drain, but no, it was a very dark grey and in fact almost black ~ I thought I had struck oil ….
At about 45 litres per minute of pump flow rate, it took about 40 minutes for the water to turn to a brown colour. It then took two hours or more, before the water began to look almost acceptably clear, with only a hint of discolouration.
After a further hour or so, I opened up the valves to the house and after a night for the well to settling down further, the water today is perfectly clear.
As for the totally unexpected grey to almost black colour, I think that came the porous slate rock which starts about 30’ below ground level. I suspect when pulling the old pump out and then dropping the new one in, the torque arrestor with its snug fit within the 6" diameter drilling, created hell for the next 50’ feet or so, and caused me some panic when the pump started up.
Hopefully I will not be doing that job again ....
