Sand Point Well

[MIKE IN lINO III]

I want to put in a Sand Point Well up at the Lake. Does anyone have experience with these? I figure to go about 22' down like the neighbors, they did not install thiers so I can't ask them about it.

I know that I will need a well point, driving caps and non-corrosive pipe. Other equipment that I will bring, sledge hammer, post driver, pipe wrenches, teflon tape and a level.

I did some research on the web and it doesn't seem too difficult.

Am I missing something?

Thanks,

Mike

[Wave Runner]

I've got one of these in my guest cabin and I think you've got most of it. You'll need a pump and expansion tank ( you probably knew that) and plenty of cotton and beer.

Cotton ??? Give it to the neighbors to stuff in their ears to protect from all the cursing you'll be doing...

Beer to calm your nerves when you finally get the job done.

Good luck

[iffwalleyes]

A strong Back .

One other thing 22' should be good but bring a piece of string with some weight split shots work good so that you can drop it down to make sure you have hit water. I would be comfortable if there was at least 5' of water in the bottom of the pipe. I think that we have about 7' at our cabin. Hopefully you have sandy soil around it will make it much easier than driving thought clay. One tip I learned from a plumber was to after you drive a section of pipe hook your wrench one it and twist it tight to make sure the pipe stays tight because it can acutally start to unthread during the driving process and may allow air into the lines making priming the pump a pain in the rear. Good luck and as mentioned the beer would be a good plan especially with the temps they expect this next weekend.

[backlash 1]

Mike

Do you have good insurance to cover your bone cruncher bills? Just kidding (kinda), Been there , done that.

Why take a chance, rent an electric jack hammer, and a well driver attachment. I've done it both ways, and i'm here to tell you, rent the jackhammer!!! You'll be done in an hour. And your back, and your neighbors will thank you.

Also you'll need 2 24" pipe wrenches, and a good stainless steel point, ( not a cheapie ) ,I love teflon tape, but I would'nt use it on well pipe. Get some good pipe dope. This is something you only want to have to do once.

I would want to see at least 6 or 7 ft of water in the pipe for sure when you're finished because the point alone is 4 ft long. Good luck.

[delcecchi]

Thanks for the tip about the jackhammer. Learn something every day. I didn't know such an attachment existed. Someday I may have to replace my point and I wasn't looking forward to pounding and washing. (Some folk around where my cabin is pump water down and out the point to help it go down)

[IFallsRon]

Here's a tip from the research I did looking for information to clean my sand point.

In the location where you want to put the point, dig a hole 2-3 feet down. Fill the hole with water and let soak in. This will soften the path for your sandpoint and make the first few feet less painful.

[Wavey Davey]

Another tip would to be prepared to lift the well pipe back up if needed, in case you hit an an area where you can't drive it down any further, such as a big rock or something.

You may have to move it over a few feet and drive it down again.

Chances are you won't be able to just muscle it up. You will need to clamp on a couple foot section of small pipe to the well pipe at 90 degrees to form a "T". Locate it above the ground so you can use a bottle jack and/or a high lift jack (or whatever kind of jack you have). Use some blocking and use the jack under the cross pipe to lift the well pipe. You may have to relocate the clamped on pipe several times to work the well pipe up.

Hopefully you won't have to do this, but you never know.

Good Luck.

[larryz]

Another thing that I have learned is to make sure that you keep the drive cap tight or you will beat up the threads on the drive cap and/or pipe sections. Rethreading pipe in the ground is not my idea of a fun time.