skyhightree1
Well-known member
How deep is everyones well for there house? I am having a well dug for my house and I think I want mine to be around 200 feet deep.
Wells
- Thread starter skyhightree1
- Start date
plumber_greg
Well-known member
I have been a plumber for 25 years. The depth of a well varies from state to state, county to county, section to section , and quarter section to quarter section. In my county alone, I know of wells from 10' deep to 580' deep. The key is a test hole, because no one knows what's underground. We're in a glacial till, same as you, so If your well driller won't do a test hole, find one that will and fire the one that won't. Plumber gs
One well is 75', one 43' and one flowing well is 20'. Neighbour's wells are 60', 15', 48', 26'.
Would like to dig a new flowing well next year. My willow branch tells me it's 15 feet.
You should find yourself a good witcher and find your water before you drill. If you can find a continually soft spot/area on the surface, you might witch a flow. :cowboy:
Would like to dig a new flowing well next year. My willow branch tells me it's 15 feet.
You should find yourself a good witcher and find your water before you drill. If you can find a continually soft spot/area on the surface, you might witch a flow. :cowboy:
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
plumber_greg":213w3ea5 said:
What is a test hole?
plumber_greg
Well-known member
Test hole is a small exploratary auger that tells them what is down there. It is cheaper than to bore or drill a well. Water witchers with a willow branch tell nothing more than someone's opinion on wether they would spend money. I could tell stories all day about witchers. I know all the myths and stories about someone who is an expert witcher, and they simply are only educated guessers. Test holes are the only sure option. gsStocker Steve":2h1e0cyq said:
You must be a well driller by profession. I am a witcher and you sound like every well driller I ever met. :cowboy:
Ours is about 125' I think, had the pump out last fall and still can't remember. Wife's parents' is 35' and serves 2 houses. Know of some around here 400'+. We live on top of a hill, I was expecting a doozie. Just about peed myself when they hit water at 65'.
stocky
Well-known member
At the creek bottom house the well was 50 feet and was about 40 years old, had to drill a new one and it is 380 feet. The one at the house on the ridge is 680 feet and it is about 45 years old. The water level has dropped alot and will be drilling a new one on the ridge in the next few years
plumber_greg
Well-known member
Nah, I am a plumber that fools with a lot of wells. My intention is not to insult anyone, but the trouble with witchers is that you don't know what is gonna' be downhole except water. Oceans of water directly over a dry band of sand, I've seen this, will actually run out when the two are drilled into at the same time. Hitting water at 4' or 400' means nothing if there is not enough there. When you witch a well, do you pay for the drilling if the spot is no good? Do you pay if they develope the well and the water is not fit to use or not enough to run a house or farm? I know the answer and don't blame you, that's why the investment in a test hole, in glacial till soils, is the only smart thing to do. In someplace like Fla., water tables are about five feet and everywhere, then a witcher will be 100% accurate. gsAaron":1e9vp6af said:
Angus Cowman
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2008
- Messages
- 7,157
- City & State/Province
- the Great State of Mental Distress ( Florida)
The days of drilling shallow wells is over in Missouri they have to be over 100ft because the state law now is they have to be cased either 80 or 100 ft
most wells around me run from 225 to 360 ft but know of a few that are over 600ft
Like Greg said can vary from 1/4 secion to 1/4 section
most wells around me run from 225 to 360 ft but know of a few that are over 600ft
Like Greg said can vary from 1/4 secion to 1/4 section
LaneFarms
Well-known member
If I remember correctly my 2" well only had 42' of casing. Our water table is generally within 10' of the surface.
TexasBred
Well-known member
plumber_greg":12jprlyx said:
Heck Greg...I thought drilling a well WAS a test well all the way to water or "dry hole". :lol2: :lol2:
Looking at your well depths in the south, it makes sense why you hit a lot of dry holes. Very few dry holes in this part of the world. Some quarter sections are so close to the water table that they can have a couple hundred springs on them. As far as witching, you can generally get a sense for volume of water by the strength of the pull on the willow. Witch enough wells and you'll understand the difference. If the branch doesn't torque the heck out of your arms, it's probably not worth drilling. :cowboy:
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Here we have different levels of water sand. Sometimes water is better in the higher sands and other times it is better in the deeper sands. I had one drilled back in December. Limestone ran down 195 feet. We had them drill to 570 feet through two water layers to get to a deep layer.
Drillers around here plot grids on maps. You can go look at the maps in their office and see what's surrounds you. Here where the house is, they use black tacks to signify the sulfur. There is some degree of sulfur at every level. Where the farm is, everything is blue from 350 feet on down.
Drillers around here plot grids on maps. You can go look at the maps in their office and see what's surrounds you. Here where the house is, they use black tacks to signify the sulfur. There is some degree of sulfur at every level. Where the farm is, everything is blue from 350 feet on down.
OP
OP
skyhightree1
Well-known member
thanks all yea I dont know if the well guys around here do test holes and if so how deep is the hole
Bama
Well-known member
My well is 90 feet, 26 gph for 6 hours in a drought year. I hit water at 44 feet. I don't drink it, as it is high in magnesium. I just water the cows from it. Funny ya'll mention witchers. I have a story about them as well. I work with a guy that overheard me saying I was gonna dig a well. He pestered the crap out of me until I agreed to let him come over and witch my well. My wife had lost the diamond out of her ring. He said they could douse this and find it as well.
The day before he came he said he was gonna bring the president of the South East dousing Assoc. They had me hand sketch a drawing of my place. When they arrived they had a print of where everything was. The diamond was in the back yard and I had a stream running under my house. Where they had the diamond located was in the backyard where I had removed 9 feet of dirt to dig my basement. I knew she had lost the diamond in the front yard while mowing prier to me moving this dirt. I told them the diamond couldn’t be in the back yard. It just ain’t no way she could have lost it 9 feet underground. He double checked it and said that’s where it was. To please them I got a shovel and dug down, no we didn’t find it. Their reply was well it had been there at one time, I must have moved it with the dirt. They still could not produce it when I ask, “well where is it now”.
Now for the really weird part. Remember that stream they said I had running under my house? This was not a good thing they said. Evil spirits follow these streams and reside in your house. (Told Ya’ll it was getting weird) I said, “Well it ain’t nothing I can do about it”. His reply was “I can”. He said they could move the underground stream with a rod. They ask where I wanted the water to go. My reply, “ugh, dugh, ugh, send it to my neighbor he may need some water. He said he had it moved and everything would be all right now. (As opposed to not all right before?) I kinda thought if he could move a underground stream, moving above ground streams or even rivers would be no problem. Just think of the potential here, lots of money to be made. Heck there would be no more floods or dry areas anywhere.
He said I would hit water at 65 feet and it would be more than I could ever draw out. I hit water at 44 feet, but I can draw it out if I pump solid for 6 hours. That still leaves me with plenty of water. As far as the witching they used metal rods. They said they were better than a peach limb. I’m a person of facts. I can see where the rods could find disturbances in magnetic fields. They will turn if you walk over a underground pipeline. I just don’t think you can determine the depth, quantity, or quality of water. I don’t think you can find a diamond by dousing on a grid. I ask them why no douser had found the missing girl in Aruba. They couldn’t give me an answer. So until I read in the paper the headlines, Physic Wins Lottery Again or Douser Finds Treasure Trove Again I will remain skeptic and rely on facts and science.
BAMA
The day before he came he said he was gonna bring the president of the South East dousing Assoc. They had me hand sketch a drawing of my place. When they arrived they had a print of where everything was. The diamond was in the back yard and I had a stream running under my house. Where they had the diamond located was in the backyard where I had removed 9 feet of dirt to dig my basement. I knew she had lost the diamond in the front yard while mowing prier to me moving this dirt. I told them the diamond couldn’t be in the back yard. It just ain’t no way she could have lost it 9 feet underground. He double checked it and said that’s where it was. To please them I got a shovel and dug down, no we didn’t find it. Their reply was well it had been there at one time, I must have moved it with the dirt. They still could not produce it when I ask, “well where is it now”.
Now for the really weird part. Remember that stream they said I had running under my house? This was not a good thing they said. Evil spirits follow these streams and reside in your house. (Told Ya’ll it was getting weird) I said, “Well it ain’t nothing I can do about it”. His reply was “I can”. He said they could move the underground stream with a rod. They ask where I wanted the water to go. My reply, “ugh, dugh, ugh, send it to my neighbor he may need some water. He said he had it moved and everything would be all right now. (As opposed to not all right before?) I kinda thought if he could move a underground stream, moving above ground streams or even rivers would be no problem. Just think of the potential here, lots of money to be made. Heck there would be no more floods or dry areas anywhere.
He said I would hit water at 65 feet and it would be more than I could ever draw out. I hit water at 44 feet, but I can draw it out if I pump solid for 6 hours. That still leaves me with plenty of water. As far as the witching they used metal rods. They said they were better than a peach limb. I’m a person of facts. I can see where the rods could find disturbances in magnetic fields. They will turn if you walk over a underground pipeline. I just don’t think you can determine the depth, quantity, or quality of water. I don’t think you can find a diamond by dousing on a grid. I ask them why no douser had found the missing girl in Aruba. They couldn’t give me an answer. So until I read in the paper the headlines, Physic Wins Lottery Again or Douser Finds Treasure Trove Again I will remain skeptic and rely on facts and science.
BAMA
lavacarancher
Well-known member
skyhightree1":1ncf8xj3 said:
Been said before above but drilling around my part of Texas is $20/FT. Drilling is drilling - don't matter if it a "test" well. Water tables are all over the place in depth. A water well driller that's been in the business in your area for any length of time will know where the good water tables (sands) are.
On my place I have two wells, one for the house and one big well for the stock ponds. For the house the first water sand is at about 90 feet but the well is around 200 feet. The borehole cuts through three good water sands and they are all connected together with casing perforations. So when all is said and done I have nearly 100 foot column of water above the pump with a 4" casing size. I have never ran out of water. I am in the Gulf Coast Aquifer.
The second well is a 50 GPM well and it is nearly 300' deep but cuts 5 water bearing sands and is in a 5" casing and has a 5 hp submersible pump. It takes about two weeks of continuous running to fill one pond and about another week to fill the other one. I have never ran out of water on it either.
So look in the phone book for water well drillers in your area. Tell them what you want to do with the water - like connect to a house with 1/2 acre yard and a garden - or what ever. Most residential water wells are 5 GPM or less and will take care of everything I mentioned above.
One more thing, stay away from a jet pump - in my opinion. I've had both and in my experience the submersible pumps are hands down more dependable. They cost a little more but when you run out of water and you have to prime a jet pump at three O'clock in the morning and it's 20 degrees you'll remember this.
