Question About Wells - Help! (washer, tank, drain, sink)

[NH2008]

We've just undergone weeks of prep to get our new well - drilling, hydrofracking, etc. They were finally able to test the water and they're getting ready to schedule an appt to hook us up, but when I Googled the results I got concerned that we won't have enough water to meet our needs. They drilled 500 feet down & hydrofracked to get 2 gallons per minute, which every online site says is not enough for a family of four with dishwasher, laundry, baths, etc.

The sales rep says this isn't really related to water pressure and that we don't need a different pump. We don't have any type of in-ground sprinklers now but I'd certainly consider getting them. He said this was fine and basically "yeah yeah'd" me.

I'm concerned about what we're getting into and if we're going to need a holding tank or a different pump or something else, I'd really like to take care of it while the gaping hole in our yard is still there and before we get it hooked up! Any advice or insight would be appreciated.

(The current well is the original, shallow, hand-dug well and it's contaminated, so using it long-term is not an option.)

[jthibodeau]

Well, it seems you hired a rotary hammer well driller (as opposed to cable tool). Yes, 2 gallon a min. + reserve of 750 gallons is darn near a minimum acceptable quantity for a lending institution......but it passes. The well driller even had to have his hole Hydrofracted (Injection of water under high pressure) to order to produce minimum standards. Unless he had this expensive equipment, he had to hire out the job. Or did you have to pay additional?

At 500 feet, you already into a larger pump (3/4 to 1 horse power pump as opposed to 1/2 horse). I'm not sure what your referring to when you mention a special pump.

Your well contains 1.5 gallons of water per foot. Deduct the distance down to the water level. Also deduct the distance from the bottom of the well to the submersible well pump. This should be 10 to 15 feet from the bottom of the well......Unless they only install 400 feet of well line and wire, that is. If you can, you may want to keep an eye on that also. Anyway, lets say you have 450 feet of usable water X 1.5 = 675 gallons.

The pump controls are adjacent to your expansion tank (small Blue tank). Normal setting are somewhere around 5 to 6 gallons per minute.....hey, I normally get paid for this......675 divided by 6 = 112.5 minutes + 112.5 X 2 = 225 divided by 6.....anyway, gives you another 40 minutes of so. 112 + 40 = 152 minutes or about 2 1/2 hours of full water usage before you run out.

It should work for you (kinda) but, don't let the sprinklers run too long!

And, the most important thing to have done (do I have to say it twice?) is have a "low pressure cut-off switch" installed (I wonder if the sales rep is going to mention this!). This little item will save your pump if you do run out of water. Without this little unit, you pump will continue to try to pressurize the system and will eventually burn up. This is when most people find out how expensive it is to replace a pump installed in a 500 foot hole.

There is a tremendous difference in the two drilling systems. I know it's too late for you, NH2008, but for others, do your home work and don't just consider "price per foot".

[BF66389]

A semi related question...

Does the town or anyone keep a record of well depth and flow for existing wells?

[jthibodeau]

All New Hampshire well driller are required to report the conditions of a new well to the State.

[NH2008]

No, I don't know that it was necessarily that kind of drill...I spoke with them again this morning and was told that since the well is 500 ft deep there are 750 gallons stored and that means we do meet the standards for 5 gallon/minute for 4 hours...very confusing...

[Delaneyland]

It should not be confusing at all, especially the way JTH explained it. The drilled well, assuming it is 6 inch, holds 1 1/2 gallon per foot. Look at it as a holding tank underground. Once the water coming in the well hits its static level, you've got that much water in the well waiting to be used and as you draw water out, the 2 gpm entering the well will replace what you use. Frankly, 2 gpm for a fracked well sounds pretty low to me, usually after hydrofracking the water flow increases considerably. I wouldn't be the least bit concerned with a 500' well with a 2 gpm flow.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by BF66389

A semi related question...

Does the town or anyone keep a record of well depth and flow for existing wells?

Yes!! Your local health department. I can get most. I need state, country, township and section. Road and cross roads is also helpful. If you care to PM me I will look.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by Delaneyland

It should not be confusing at all, especially the way JTH explained it. The drilled well, assuming it is 6 inch, holds 1 1/2 gallon per foot. Look at it as a holding tank underground. Once the water coming in the well hits its static level, you've got that much water in the well waiting to be used and as you draw water out, the 2 gpm entering the well will replace what you use. Frankly, 2 gpm for a fracked well sounds pretty low to me, usually after hydrofracking the water flow increases considerably. I wouldn't be the least bit concerned with a 500' well with a 2 gpm flow.

I would call it a "dry hole".

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by jthibodeau

All New Hampshire well driller are required to report the conditions of a new well to the State.

In Michigan we have 60 days. I do it by computer the day it is hook-ed up.

[jthibodeau]

I would like to ad a couple of more items.....

Running water from your kitchen sink or shower will not tax your system at 5 or 6 gallon per min. faucets normally are fed via a 3/8 inch line so flow will be reduced when in use (not to mention flow restrictors.). However, your garden hose on "full blast" may hit near that mark. In truth, with simply minding your use, you shouldn't experience much trouble.

I recommended the low pressure cut-off switch because, at times, problems can occur when your not "minding the store" so to speak. As an example, your the last one in the house and your heading out the door to do a little shopping. But, before you jump into the car, you need to visit the bathroom. You flush and away you go......except the stopped didn't seal right and the toilet continues to run for the length of time to sufficiently drain your well. I'd just hate to see you have to replace your well pump when a simple switch will save it.

Do you really have 750 gallons? 5 gal/min for 4 hours? You have to do the math.

At least here in NH, There are basically two types of well drilling rigs. (Discounting point driven wells and other types of water supplies)

Rotary Hammer and cable tool. It easy to distinguish between the two. The rotary is a pretty good sized rig (most new and shiny) and sounds like a loud motor continuously running with compressed air blowing the drilling out the top of the bore hole. The cable tool is usually a much smaller truck and the sound is the rhythmical bang.......bang.......bang. They remove the drilled rock with a "baler" (long empty pipe with a foot valve at the bottom...tend to suck the "drillings" out). These units are getting harder and harder to find due to the rotary being much much faster and "cheaper per foot".

A cable tool will cut 25 or more feet per day depending on the ledge (a week to produce a well). The Rotary can drill hundreds of feet per day (1 to 2 day to produce a well). But the secrete is how the "drillings" are evacuated from the hole.

Think of it this way....blowing pressure down a hold tends to block many slow running veins (water supply) where drawing the water into the baler creates a negative pressure tending to pull the debris out of the veins.

I'm sure others may disagree with my opinions. However, I always tend to recommend a cable tool in my area. Just to be fair, I'll say that the cable tool is not always the best method for certain areas and Rotary Hammer certainly do have a place in the industry. It's you who have to make up your mind with you personal situation.

Class dismissed.....