If
you've bought a home in the country with a well for a water source,
you should know a few things about wells and well pumps. Here are
three facts about the water well on your rural property.
1.
How Do You Access Your Water?
To
reach the water under your property, workers used one of several
methods. The type of access used depends on the type of installed
well, the water source for the well, and the depth of the water
source.
Dug/Bored
Well
Installers
create a dug, or bored, well by digging with shovels or a backhoe.
Dug wells are shallow wells that are typically between 10 and 30 feet
deep.
The
inner surface of a dug well has materials that may include:
Stones
Bricks
Tiles
Dug,
or bored, wells are often large in diameter.
Driven
Well
Installers
create a driven well by driving long sections of pipe into the
ground. Driven wells tend to be no deeper than 50 feet, but some
wells go deeper in areas where the ground is softer.
The
entire depth of a driven well has a tubular structure around it to
limit contamination of the well. Both dug and driven wells use water
close to the surface of the ground, so these two types of wells
should be located in areas where rain drains away from the well site.
The
casing for a driven well has one of the following materials:
Carbon
steel
Plastic
Stainless
steel
The
casing helps bring water in and keeps soil out.
Drilled
Well
Installers
create a drilled well using machinery that may include a rotary
driller or a percussion-type tool. Drilled wells are typically deep
wells with depths in the hundreds to thousands of feet. Drilled wells
have continuous casing from ground to depth and are the least likely
wells to have contamination from surface runoff and other materials.
2.
How
Do You Pump Your Water to Your Home?
After
your well is dug, driven, or drilled, installers put in your well
pump. Well pumps pull water up from the water source and deliver the
flow into your home.
Installers
usually put a pressure tank close to the well pump for household
water storage between pump cycles. When water comes out of the
pressure tank for a shower or dishwashing, the pump refills the tank
so water is always available.
When
you have a shallow to moderately deep well (no deeper than around 110
feet), you use a jet pump. Jet pumps are available in shallow and
deep-well versions for all types of wells. Jet pumps are close to the
well above the ground, so they're easy to maintain and repair.
If
your well is deep, you may have a submersible pump to provide water
to your home. Submersible well pumps are inside the well, so you need
to pull them up out of the well for repairs.
However,
submersible pumps are not subject to freezing since they're well
under the frost line. Jet pumps, however, must have protection from
winter cold so they don't freeze and burst.
3.
How
Do You Order the Right New Pump?
When
your well was created, the person in charge of the work noted the
details about your well, including its recharge rate and yield.
Knowing the specifics of your well capacity helped the pump installer
select the correct size and type of well pump for the household.
However,
the old pump may not be powerful enough for your household needs. If
your water pressure is too low or your water is a funny color,
contact a well-pump repair specialist to install a brand-new pump.
Your
residential well specialist has experience installing wells and well
pumps in all types of situations. They can advise you on the best
brand, size, and type of well pump to order for replacement.
Schedule installation
of your new well pump in North Carolina
by contacting Action Well & Pump today. We can also refresh an
old well on your property, repair your malfunctioning well pump, or
replace a burst well pump.
