Drilling a Well?

[June4th]

I'm interested in drilling a well this year, in order to save on irrigation and secure my own drinking water supply should SHTF. I have town water and sewer now. I searched the topic online but information seemed all over the place.

What are the things I should know? Cost? Any recommendations for a good contractor?

 

[Kaos116]

We are building a house this summer and the little information I have now about wells is...

1. They charge by the foot drilled
2. The deeper they have to go, the bigger the pump needed to get the water out.

That's all I know as of this moment, but I'll be watching this thread with great interest.

 

[farmboy]

i personally know the guys over at r.e. chapman in oakdale. they have been drilling wells for a LONG time and are extremely helpful.

 

[PatMcD]

Most will charge per foot or contract; your choice. Per foot is the way to go if you have a high water table. Any neighboors that have a well you can ask how deep?

 

[SemiAutoSam]

If you are unsure of the kind of pump to get there are tons of sites on the web that can help.

Also if you are set on a 230 V powered pump but do not know if you want a 2 wire or a 3 wire style.

Get the 3 wire as the control box is on the surface and not down on the pump as the 2 wire is.

When and if the control capacitor and or other items in the control box give out you wont have to pull the pump to repair or replace them IF You have a 3wire pump motor.

There are other options as well then just the 230V powered pump but depending on how deep your well is IE at what depth your pump is will determine if you can use those other options.

Like a larger tank on the surface so you dont have to run your pump as often.


Hope this helps.

 

[doobie]

Conservative estimates I've been told are $10k to do an average well.

 

[Marcus in the Darkus]

Basically, there are two types of wells used for residential purposes:

• Rock wells - these wells are drilled into competent rock and are typically at least 100 feet deep. The yield of these wells may be highly variable, depending on how fractured the rock is. Rock wells with low yields often are drilled to much greater depths in an effort to either find a suitably permeable fracture zone, or at least use the well bore for storage. These wells are typically 6" diameter and are completed at the surface with a stell riser, that extends about 10 feet into competent rock, with open borehole from there to the bottom of the well. Thr driller typically charges by the foot to account for his time and bit wear, plus mobilization plus pump installation.
  
• Shallow gravel pack wells (sometimes referred to as "dug wells." THese are drilled in areas where there is a sufficient thickness of saturated sand and gravel. These boreholes are not left open because the hole would collapse; rather, the well is cased with a slotted screen on the bottom with solid riser above the screen to the surface, a gravel pack is placed in the annulus around the screen, and the remainder of the casing is grouted to the surface. Shallow wells are often frowned upon by the local Board of Health, as they are more susceptable to contamination. These wells can often have a much higher yield than rock wells - nearly all public supply wells around here are gravel pack wells.

 

[June4th]

Conservative estimates I've been told are $10k to do an average well.

About the extra amount of taxes we need to pay this year (AMT is a bitch).

 

[Roadblock]

Keep in mind that in a true SHTF there wont be anyone pumping your septic system when its time either.

Most septics though aren't just a "tank" and they (if properly designed) should take them several years to "fill up" with residual solids.

That said, if you normally pump your septic every 2-3 years but you are concerned about its capacity in a survival situation; increasing the frequency is a good idea so that at any given time the amount of residual solids in the tank are reduced.

 

[Mainer]

For your own drinking water supply in a SHTF situation, perhaps a Berkey or other similar filtration system could suffice? It would be a heck of a lot cheaper and any ole water source (rain water, stream, lake) could be a decent source.

But for irrigation (bulk water, consistently available), I'm not sure what you could do in a true TEOTWAWKI -- no electricity, no pump. If you did drill, figure out how you could replace/reuse the 220v pump with one that would/could run off a solar based system. In that type of end of the world situation, I would guess irrigation would be limited to the vegi garden, not acres of fields, per se. With that being said, for irrigation, a manual shallow well pump might generate enough water for the garden? That's a lot hand pumping but certainly on the affordable side provided you've got a high enough water table.

v/r,

-ed

 

[Manomet]

We have a surface (dug) well. The casing is 2' diameter well tiles (concrete pipe sections) that goes down about 25' into a gravel base. The pump is in the house, been here 25 yrs and have not run dry. IF you have the right soil/sub soil a well like this can be installed with a larger back hoe.If we are without power I can slide the lid off my well and drop buckets on a rope or use a different pump, the existing pump will be hooked up to the new gentran panel. We also have a septic system. If your system is properly designed and installed competently by an HONEST contractor it will work for many decades even without pumping as long as you don't pour a bunch of crap ( harsh chemicals, grease, etc.) down the drain. A bit off topic, I have a friend coming this week to tell me about installing photo voltaic panels that will run my entire house. You pay up front and the ENTIRE cost is rebated by uncle and coupe deval, we'll see.

 

[sportycliff]

We have a surface (dug) well. The casing is 2' diameter well tiles (concrete pipe sections) that goes down about 25' into a gravel base. The pump is in the house, been here 25 yrs and have not run dry. IF you have the right soil/sub soil a well like this can be installed with a larger back hoe.If we are without power I can slide the lid off my well and drop buckets on a rope or use a different pump, the existing pump will be hooked up to the new gentran panel. We also have a septic system. If your system is properly designed and installed competently by an HONEST contractor it will work for many decades even without pumping as long as you don't pour a bunch of crap ( harsh chemicals, grease, etc.) down the drain. A bit off topic, I have a friend coming this week to tell me about installing photo voltaic panels that will run my entire house. You pay up front and the ENTIRE cost is rebated by uncle and coupe deval, we'll see.

Manomet, please keep us updated on this. Program, cost etc...

 

[June4th]

My research indicated 30% federal tax credit and variable amount of MA tax rebate (about 15%) and electricity grid credit for surplus electricity generated:

http://www.masstech.org/RenewableEnergy/commonwealth_solar/index.html

http://www.seia.org/cs/news_detail?pressrelease.id=217

I couldn't find evidence to reclaim the ENTIRE cost of such install, but rather about 50%.

I might install some solar panels this year.

 

[M1911]

Some towns require that you get a permit to have a well drilled (and are not now giving out permits). MA Department of Environmental Protection has rules about how much water per day communities can pump out of the groundwater. Many (most?) communities near Boston that rely on wells are well over the DEP pumping limits during the summer, so they won't let you put in an irrigation well.

 

[terraformer]

My research indicated 30% federal tax credit and variable amount of MA tax rebate (about 15%) and electricity grid credit for surplus electricity generated:

http://www.masstech.org/RenewableEnergy/commonwealth_solar/index.html

http://www.seia.org/cs/news_detail?pressrelease.id=217

I couldn't find evidence to reclaim the ENTIRE cost of such install, but rather about 50%.

I might install some solar panels this year.

Not all of the tax credits that have existed in the past exist today. Call MTC and ask for the most updated info before you pull the trigger.

 

[June4th]

Sorry for the thread drift. I just found out that Solar panels wouldn't work for survival purposes: http://masstech.org/renewableenergy/commonwealth_solar/docs/PVResGuide.pdf

Will my system supply power to me if
the grid goes down?
Grid-connected PV systems are designed to be
inoperable for safety reasons when utility power
is not available. In those instances, electricity
will not be available unless the PV system has
been designed with special batteries and has been
storing extra power. Unfortunately, the cost of
such batteries is too high to make them economical
in most cases.

The ROI isn't too compelling either: a 2KW system costing $10K (post-rebate) will offset about 1/4 of my electricity cost. I spend $2-2.5K annually on electricity (annual savings of $500-600). It means it will take me 20 years to recoup the installation cost.

My wallet tells me it ain't worth it to join the save-the-earth crowd.

 

[n1zfg]

Some towns require that you get a permit to have a well drilled (and are not now giving out permits). MA Department of Environmental Protection has rules about how much water per day communities can pump out of the groundwater. Many (most?) communities near Boston that rely on wells are well over the DEP pumping limits during the summer, so they won't let you put in an irrigation well.

How about a geothermal heat pump system?
Don't they usually drill several wells (three or more) into the yard for it.

 

[M1911]

How about a geothermal heat pump system?
Don't they usually drill several wells (three or more) into the yard for it.

I suspect a geothermal well would pass muster. A water well (whether for drinking or irrigation) draws water out of the ground. DEP's concern is that this lower water level reduces the flow in rivers, particularly during the late summer.

Geothermal wells don't pump water out. In a geothermal heat pump system, you drill a hole in the ground, then stuff into the hole a closed-loop through which coolant is circulated. No water is ever pulled out of the ground, so there is no impact on the groundwater level.

You might still need to get a permit from the town for before your contractor can do the drilling, but I suspect you'd get it without any problem even in a community that would not give you a permit for an irrigation well.

 

[terraformer]

Sorry for the thread drift. I just found out that Solar panels wouldn't work for survival purposes: http://masstech.org/renewableenergy/commonwealth_solar/docs/PVResGuide.pdf



The ROI isn't too compelling either: a 2KW system costing $10K (post-rebate) will offset about 1/4 of my electricity cost. I spend $2-2.5K annually on electricity (annual savings of $500-600). It means it will take me 20 years to recoup the installation cost.

My wallet tells me it ain't worth it to join the save-the-earth crowd.

You can hook up the interconnect differently and still have it work in a SHTF scenario. What they note about the SHTF battery setup is how you would connect it via a transfer switch sans batteries. Check with an electrician but I believe this can all be done to code.

Also, solar's ROI goes up as you add panels. There is a lot of cost in the inverters, wiring, etc that you would do best to try and amortize. I wouldn't put anything less than 5kW on a residential install. But yes, currently Solar ROI is not cost competitive with fossil fuels.

 

[NavyRedneck]

Sorry for the thread drift. I just found out that Solar panels wouldn't work for survival purposes: http://masstech.org/renewableenergy/commonwealth_solar/docs/PVResGuide.pdf



The ROI isn't too compelling either: a 2KW system costing $10K (post-rebate) will offset about 1/4 of my electricity cost. I spend $2-2.5K annually on electricity (annual savings of $500-600). It means it will take me 20 years to recoup the installation cost.

My wallet tells me it ain't worth it to join the save-the-earth crowd.

Don't forget, too, is that solar panels degrade significantly over time. You'd never get 20 years of max power out of those panels even if you got full sun the entire time.

 

[Rock]

How about a geothermal heat pump system?
Don't they usually drill several wells (three or more) into the yard for it.

Most geothermal systems around this area for residential only require one well.