DIY water well. How to drill a water well with your own hands. How to determine the water level in a well













The high cost of drilling services is increasingly forcing owners of private farmsteads to look for simple and affordable ways to extract drinking water on their own. It is quite possible to drill a well on your own, but to do this you need to have practical skills and experience, first become familiar with the intricacies of this, by the way, hard work, and prepare a minimum set of equipment. Below are simplified methods for excavating and arranging a source. So, how to drill a well with your own hands, and what you need for this - read, study photos, get inspired and decide whether to do the work yourself or entrust the process to specialists.

The well will ensure an adequate supply of water Source burenie-m.ru

Types of wells

Before you begin, you need to select the appropriate type of well. Depending on how deep the water layer lies, there are three main types of penetrations::

  • Abyssinian well.
  • Filter well.

Now let’s look at the features of each development. The Abyssinian well is a simplified version of drilling that can be drilled almost anywhere. A significant disadvantage of such a well is the relatively low quality of water. More often it is used for watering or other similar needs. This water is not suitable for human consumption or can only be used after multi-level purification. This is due to the fact that waters lying at shallow depths are fed by sediments and contain harmful impurities.

Regardless of the type of well, a pump is required Source Abyssinianwell.rf

To prepare an Abyssinian well, which is often called a needle well, driving technology is more often used, which cannot be used for work on other types of penetrations. If you have the necessary equipment and assistants, the work on making such a well can be completed within one day.

Before drilling a well with your own hands, it is recommended to calculate in advance exactly how much water is needed. For example, if you need to provide a house, a bathhouse, or other outbuildings, it is better to opt for a filter well - its flow rate is sufficient, and drilling such a hole is relatively simple. The depth of the water layers in this case is from 20 to 30 meters.

Artesian springs are called the best option - they do not silt, since the water is contained in rock cracks, does not contain harmful impurities, does not require filtration and is completely drinkable. Its only drawback is the depth of the water, which can range from 30 to 100 meters or more. Probably, almost everyone is now thinking about how to drill a well under water with their own hands, given such a significant depth. Unfortunately, no way, this type of well is given here only as an example; it is impossible to get to artesian waters using artisanal methods.

Source stroybur33.rf

Homemade methods

For drilling, specialists use specialized drilling rigs that allow them to reach waters located at significant depths in just a few hours. However, even in the absence of special practical skills and expensive equipment, it is quite possible to provide your home and farmstead with sufficiently clean drinking water.

Of course, this is possible if you approach the issue with sense, feeling, and alignment. So, how to drill a water well with your own hands - let’s try to consider the issue in detail. There are several basic handicraft methods, which can be dealt with if you have the skills. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

You should choose the most suitable method Source solnstroy.ru

Shock-rope method

To drill using the percussion-rope method, you should prepare in advance the tool required in this case - a bailer, which is a piece of pipe with a sharp edge and a valve. Creating a tunnel using this method takes a lot of time, but with its help it is quite possible to make a shaft 30 meters deep or more. Below is a detailed instructions on how to make a water well with your own hands using the above method:

  • To simplify the work, it is first recommended to make a small hole using a regular household drill.
  • A tripod equipped with a block is placed above the hole prepared in the above-mentioned manner.
  • Using a block, a cable is installed, additionally equipped with a bailer.
  • A bailer is dropped into the one prepared using a garden drill, having previously set it to a height of at least 1.5 meters. The process of drilling a well in this case is based on the following principle: the pointed edge of the bailer loosens the soil, which is captured using a valve.
  • Before the device is pulled out of the shaft, it is necessary to make several strong blows; this measure will help to capture as much soil as possible and somewhat speed up the work process.
  • As the depth of the mine increases, it is necessary to lower the casing into it, which will prevent possible destruction of the walls of the well.

Source stroy-podskazka.ru

Before making a 10-meter water well with your own hands using a bailer, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with a number of useful tips. One of the most important: in the process of making a penetration, it is necessary to go through the first layer and go deeper to obtain water from the second aquifer. Despite the fact that the overall operating life will be significantly increased, this measure will provide much cleaner water.

The percussion drilling method also allows the use of a device similar to a bailer, namely a driving glass. Unlike the first option, this device is not equipped with a valve. This is due to the fact that the glass is used primarily for drilling a well on viscous soils, for example, when passing through loamy soils, which are naturally held in the container without the need for a valve device.

Before drilling a water well yourself, it is recommended to prepare the two devices presented above. Their integrated use will significantly speed up the process of passing the mine, regardless of the type of soil.

Necessary tools, including a driving glass Source studfiles.net

The rotary method should not be considered as a makeshift method, since its use involves the use of specialized equipment. However, before drilling a well, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with this technique.

The rotary method is more often used by professional drillers when work is planned on rocks. To use it in practice, you need a drilling rig equipped with a rotor. It is almost impossible to produce such equipment in artisanal conditions.

The process of passing through the shaft is carried out by means of a drill, the rotation of which occurs as a result of the operation of the motor. In this case, the rotor itself acts as a driving moment, rotating a tool located in the deep layers of the mine. In addition to the drilling rig itself, the method requires the use of additional tools for flushing the penetration.

Source mircyber.ru

Video description

For a clear overview of rotary well drilling, watch the video:

Drilling a needle hole

If the question is how to drill a well for water, which is supposed to be used for drinking, but after cleaning, it is better to choose an Abyssinian well. If layers of water are located in close proximity to the surface, you can make such a well using simple available tools in just a few hours.

The drilling process is carried out according to the following algorithm:

  • First of all, it is necessary to drill a hole in the soil layers, the diameter of which should not exceed 8 cm. Drilling must be carried out until the quicksand passes. For this, narrow screws are used, which need to be expanded as needed.
  • Next, a labor is installed in the finished shaft, additionally equipped with a pointed tip.
  • Using a pipe, the soil is driven in until it reaches the aquifer.

Source vodaklep.ru

Installation of a hose when using a needle well is not required; the pipe itself acts as such. It is important to take into account that the pipe extension must be carried out in small sections, the optimal length of each of which is 1 - 1.5 meters.

At the cut points, it is necessary to connect the segments using sealant and winding. The advantage of the Abyssinian well is its small size, as well as the possibility of using a surface pump. If necessary, you can use this method of water extraction even in the cellar.

Auger drilling

As the name suggests, drilling a well using the auger method requires the use of the same tool - an auger. The above device is presented in the form of a rod, which is equipped with a working tool that has an external resemblance to a screw. During the work, it may additionally be necessary to use a chisel. The need for it may arise when passing through hard rocks, for example.

Source p0.zoon.ru

The principle of operation of the auger is simple: using blades, the device is screwed into the ground, and also allows you to remove waste rock from the mine. When drilling, it is recommended to follow this algorithm:

  • The entire process of passing through the shaft is carried out through drilling, that is, performing rotational movements with the auger. This must be done manually.
  • As the mine progresses, it is necessary to periodically remove the spent soil to the surface.
  • During the work process, it is necessary to periodically, in this case - as necessary, build up new parts of the device using a threaded connection.
  • To prevent the collapse of the well walls, the use of casing pipes is mandatory. The well should be equipped with their help from the very beginning of work until its complete completion.
  • The process must be carried out until the water layer is affected. After this, you need to completely go through it and go deeper with the help of a screw further to a distance not exceeding 50 cm.
  • Once completed, the drilling device should be removed and the casing should be installed so that its end is located in the center of the aquifer.
  • After completing all stages of work, it is necessary to install a filter, a pump, and also pump the well.

Using an auger you can drill a shaft no more than 30 meters deep Source media2.24aul.ru

The use of an auger is recommended if the question is how to drill a 20-meter water well yourself. However, when selecting a method, it is important to take into account such a criterion as the composition of the soil. For example, for drilling loose and rocky formations, it is best to use the percussion method.

Video description

How to carry out auger drilling in this video:

For those who are serious about creating a well on their own, the following tips and recommendations will be useful:

  • To ensure that the water is always clean and fresh, it is recommended to equip the well in such a way as to ensure air circulation.
  • Before using water from a well for daily needs, it is recommended that it be analyzed. As a rule, when the water quality is low, it is necessary to select a suitable filter.
  • And finally, you should take water for analysis of composition and domestic needs no earlier than a few days after completion of work, otherwise the results may be unreliable.

Source tagbur.ru

Conclusion

The drilling process can hardly be called a simple job that anyone can do. It is necessary to have not only a number of special tools, but also practical skills and knowledge. That is why in most cases, for example, when aquifers are deep, it is recommended to refuse to carry out the work yourself and turn to specialists who will complete the task with the highest quality and in the shortest possible time.

A well-maintained well in a dacha is an almost obligatory condition for a comfortable stay, since centralized water supply outside the city is not always organized. However, drilling work is expensive, and the expected result is not guaranteed to site owners. The desire to save money and manage the process prompts many summer residents to start drilling a well on their own. It is difficult to accomplish this task, but it is quite possible.

Is the water deep in your area?

First, you need to decide on the type of well, finding out how deep the aquifer lies in a particular area. There are several possibilities for this:

  • hydrological maps;
  • exploration drilling;
  • survey of neighbors.

The first, as well as consultations with a hydrological engineer, can be obtained from the relevant departments. Exploratory drilling work is resorted to only as a last resort, since it is an expensive pleasure. Most often, site owners simply ask their neighbors, who are already happy owners of an existing water well or well, about the characteristics of the property.

A little about the types of water wells

Based on the results of assessing the depth of the aquifer, dacha owners will have to choose from three options:

  • the water lies close, at a depth of up to 12 meters -;
  • an aquifer no deeper than 50 meters - a well “for sand”;
  • the water is very deep, up to 200 meters - a well “for limestone”.

An aquifer lying close to the surface is rare. The lucky owners of such a site can make a needle well, which will take only one day or even a few hours to create. The technology for creating an Abyssinian well is that the soil is pierced with a rather thin pipe: only 1-1.5 inches. A cone-shaped pipe is installed at the end of the pipe, which facilitates penetration through the thickness of the soil. A suction pump is mounted on top. However, little water comes from the Abyssinian well, so it may be necessary to construct another water source of this type. The compact shape of the Abyssinian well allows you to drill such a well even in the basement of a house.

A “limestone” well, i.e. an artesian one, is also not common. This option is good because it allows you to get a large amount of very clean water. But it is almost impossible to successfully drill such a well on your own; you will need to attract a team with professional drilling equipment. In addition, artesian water sources must be licensed by the relevant authorities. Please note that if there is a layer of artesian water under the dacha plot, it makes sense to discuss with your neighbors a joint payment for the brigade’s services, since such a well can easily provide water consumption for several households at the same time.

To create an Abyssinian well, a thin one and a half inch pipe with a filter tip is driven into the ground. Compact dimensions and simple technology make it possible to install such a well in the basement of a house or make an additional source of water in a summer cottage

Most often, water lies on the horizon within a depth of fifty meters. Such a well can be completed even by novice drillers using one of the methods developed for such situations. What? Read on.

Which drilling method should I choose?

For such large-scale drilling work, you will need a special installation that you can make yourself. The type of installation depends on the selected drilling method:

  • shock-rope;
  • screw;
  • rotary.

To make a unit capable of creating a narrow well several tens of meters deep, in addition to conventional tools, you will need a drill, an angle grinder and a welding machine. Inexperienced craftsmen are advised to acquire skills in working with these complex devices. Although creating a homemade drilling rig will require a lot of time and effort, the device can be used effectively in the future, for example, when installing a pile foundation. Some craftsmen with such an installation started their own business installing water wells in neighboring dachas.

Option #1 - shock-rope installation

A working tool of this design is a rather heavy cartridge and a bailer mounted on a cable. The cable with the load is suspended vertically on a special frame. The soil is broken up using a chuck and removed with a bailer until the depth of the pit reaches the aquifer. The weight of the cartridge must be at least 80 kg. Such devices are now practically not used manually; operations are performed using a rotary motor, which raises and lowers the rope with a load.

To create a cable-percussion drilling rig, you will need a bailer and a chuck with sharpened edges, as well as a cable, a frame on which the load will be attached, and a motor to control the cable

It is recommended to sharpen the lower edge of the chuck and also attach several sharp triangular elements to it to increase efficiency. First, a hole of a suitable diameter is made in the ground using a regular garden drill, and then work begins with a chuck and bailer. Impact-rope drilling is quite effective on both light and clay soils.

An interesting version of this installation is presented in the video:

Option #2 - auger drilling rig

When this device operates, the soil is removed using a special drill, which is made from a 100 mm steel pipe. A couple of turns of a screw with a diameter of approximately 200 mm are welded to its lower end. Two inclined steel knives are installed along the edges of the auger. A removable handle, also made from a piece of steel pipe, is mounted on top.

To make a drill, several turns of metal with sharpened edges are welded to a metal pipe. As the wellbore deepens, the pipe is extended to the required length

As the structure deepens into the ground, the main pipe is extended using a threaded connection or coupling. The device is secured using a tripod tower made of wood or metal. To remove a fairly heavy pipe from a pit, it is recommended to use a winch with an electric motor.

Here is an example of auger drilling work with simultaneous casing:

Option #3 - rotary drilling rig

This is the most complex, but also the most reliable installation option for drilling wells. You can make only the frame for such a device yourself, and it is recommended to purchase other elements, such as a drill rod, swivel, blade drill, motor pump and gear motor, from a reliable manufacturer. Using such a setup, you can carry out flushing drilling, impact drilling, rotary drilling, etc. The ability to supply a solution that erodes the soil and facilitates its excavation increases the speed of drilling work several times.

Example of work:

Please note that if one of your neighbors already has experience in drilling a well on their own, it makes sense to inquire about the possibility of borrowing ready-made drilling equipment.

Procedure for drilling a sand well

Like any important matter, drilling a well should begin with drawing up a project diagram. First you need to choose a suitable location for the well. It should be located quite close to the house and as far as possible from sources of potential pollution: septic tanks, places where livestock and poultry are kept, bathhouses, the banks of a reservoir, etc. It is necessary to take into account not only existing objects, but also those that are still planned to be built on the site, since moving the well to a new location will be, to put it mildly, problematic.

Once the plan has been drawn up, it is time to begin executing it. To do this you need:

  1. Apply markings for future work.
  2. Dig a hole according to the markings, which will contain the drilling tool (bailer, auger, drill, etc.).
  3. Install drilling equipment.
  4. Carry out drilling in accordance with the selected technology.
  5. Lower the filter column into the pit, which is a structure consisting of a filter, a sump and a pipe.
  6. Fill the space between the outer walls of the casing pipe and the soil with sand or crushed stone.
  7. Seal the top of the pipe and use a pump to pump water into it to flush the filter.
  8. Pump water from the well using a bailer or auger pump.
  9. After the water is clear, lower the submersible pump into the well using a safety rope.
  10. Connect a hose or water pipe to the pump.
  11. Install a valve on the pipe that regulates the water supply.
  12. Waterproof the part of the casing pipe protruding above the surface.
  13. Equip the wellhead with a caisson and weld it to the head.
  14. Lay the water pipes leading to the house in the trenches provided for them.
  15. Cover the caisson with soil and a concrete blind area.

This is a general procedure; depending on conditions, necessary changes may be made to it.

A properly constructed caisson prevents well equipment from getting wet or freezing. Industrial models of caissons made of durable plastic are very easy to install

Review of popular beginner mistakes

As you know, the soil is heterogeneous and consists of different layers. To successfully drill a well through them, it is recommended to use various drilling methods:

  • sandy horizons are best overcome using a spoon drill with simultaneous flushing with drilling fluid or ordinary water;
  • For drilling hard sand, it is recommended to use a chisel;
  • on quicksand it is considered the most effective to use;
  • for drilling clay, it is better to use a coil; a bailer or spoon drill is also suitable;
  • hard rocks are drilled in two stages: first, they are chiselled with a chisel, then the soil is excavated;
  • pebble and gravel layers are also passed through the alternate use of a chisel and a bailer;
  • In most cases, supplying water to the pit facilitates and speeds up drilling.

It should be remembered that the dimensions of the hole should be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the casing. When choosing, it is also necessary to take into account that the minimum clearance between the inner wall of the pipe and the pump should be at least 5 mm, optimally 10 mm.

The condition of the soil indicates that the drillers have reached the aquifer. If wet soil appears from the well, it means water is close. Soon after this, the drilling tool will move noticeably easier than before, when the drill hits the aquifer. Work should continue until drilling becomes difficult again, i.e., until the waterproof layer is reached. Only after this can drilling be stopped.

The submersible pump for a country well must be lowered to the correct depth. If the device is located too high, water will not flow in sufficient volume, and if the device is too low, it will quickly become covered with sand.

It happens that a recently drilled well suddenly stops functioning. This may indicate low quality of work performed. Both beginners and professionals often make a number of mistakes while drilling. Here are the most common of them:

  1. Over-drilling, i.e. drilling to excessive depth, as a result of which the pipe “slipped through” the aquifer. To correct the situation, you should either raise the existing pipe to the required level, or insert a new pipe of a smaller diameter inside the pipe, and remove the old one completely or partially.
  2. Incomplete installation of the casing pipe into the hole, as a result of which the required well flow rate is not achieved. This occurs due to the soil collapsing into the shaft during the excavation of the drilling tool. The soil should be removed with a bailer (washing will not help) and the pipe should be settled.
  3. Underdrill, i.e. the pipe is not cut to an insufficient depth. The well is drilled to the correct depth and a new one equipped with a filter is inserted into the existing casing.
  4. The pump is lowered too low, as a result the well is silted with sand. The pump is removed, the sand is selected with a bailer, the pump is installed correctly.

To install the submersible pump correctly, it should be lowered to a minimum depth. Then slowly immerse, checking the condition of the water every 20-50 cm. When sand comes out, the wrong position has been reached, the pump must be raised to the level at which clean water flowed.

You can drill a water well yourself. We need to choose a place for drilling, determine the approximate depth and, based on this, choose how we will drill - manually, with an auger or using the percussion-rope method. You can also drill an Abyssinian well yourself.

How deep is drinking water?

This is the main question that a homeowner asks when organizing the water supply of a home. An accurate answer to this can only be given by geological exploration of the dacha plot, carried out in recent years. To make sure of this, it is worth studying the layout of aquifers in the thickness of the earth.

As you can see, the water is located at different horizons, between which lie impenetrable rocks - dense loam, limestone and clay. To determine the appropriate layer, we suggest deciphering the presented diagram a little:

  1. Closest to the surface lies the water that enters the ground due to precipitation - the so-called perched water. In some places it starts from a depth of 0.4-0.8 m and continues up to 20 m. As a rule, this is dirty and poorly filtered water containing harmful impurities.
  2. At depths of up to 30 m there are cleaner groundwater, whose reserves are also fed by precipitation. Most home wells are dug precisely to this horizon (its upper limit can be located at a distance of 5-8 m from the surface). Before consumption, this water must be filtered.
  3. Underground water accumulations located in the sand layer have undergone good natural filtration and are suitable for drinking water supply. If you want to make a well with your own hands, you will need to reach this horizon.
  4. The purest water is located in limestone voids at a depth of 80-100 m, which is unattainable using artisanal drilling methods. Since artesian water is under pressure, after drilling a well, the flow independently rises to ground level, or even splashes out.

Note. The boundaries of perched water and groundwater are indicated very arbitrarily; their depth may vary depending on the terrain and other factors.

Location of the source of autonomous water supply

When we have figured out between which layers a suitable horizon is located, we need to determine the location for the future source of water supply. We will not talk about dubious options such as dowsing with a frame or a slingshot made of vines, but will give a number of simple tips:

  • find out everything about your neighbors' wells and boreholes: their depth, water quality and location;
  • retreat as far as possible from sources of pollution - septic tanks, street toilets and barnyards;
  • Please note: wells are not drilled at higher elevations; for this it is better to choose a lowland.

In any case, you need to be patient. It is likely that you will not be able to obtain drinking water the first time and will need to make several attempts.

Choosing a location for a well

The location where the well should be located must be chosen for reasons of its greater efficiency. The type of well, the location of the storage well, the pipes of the filter well, the location for irrigation and will require quite a lot of space depend on this choice.

The existence of a shallow aquifer is indicated by the following signs:

  1. Weeds and flowers that love high humidity were localized in one specific place.
  2. There is a large concentration of mosquitoes and midges in this place.
  3. In such an area, fog occurs in the evening and in the morning. In winter, thawed patches appear.
  4. Cats love to rest in this place.

All signs of the presence of a shallow aquifer are indirect, folk. A more accurate result would be a geological survey.

Experts will determine how far from the surface there are deep waters. This, in turn, will solve the problem of choosing a drilling method.

Types of water intake workings and soils

Before starting drilling work, you should study the composition of the soil on the site in order to at least roughly imagine your future well.

Depending on the characteristics of the aquifer, three types of wells are distinguished:

  • Abyssinian well;
  • filter well;
  • artesian well.

The Abyssinian well (or needle well) can be installed almost everywhere. They break it where the aquifer lies relatively close to the surface and is confined to sand.

To drill it, they use driving technology, which is not suitable for constructing other types of wells. All work can usually be completed within one business day.

This diagram allows you to study the design features of various wells in order to better understand their drilling technology and choose the appropriate method (click to enlarge).

But the flow rate of such wells is small. To provide the house and site with enough water, sometimes it makes sense to make two such wells on the site. The compact dimensions of the equipment make it possible to install such a well directly in the basement without any problems.

Filter wells, which are also called “sand” wells, are created on soils where the aquifer lies relatively shallow - up to 35 meters.

These are usually sandy soils that lend themselves well to drilling. The depth of the filter well usually varies between 20-30 meters.

This diagram clearly shows the structure of a filter well. A filter must be installed at the bottom of the water to prevent sand and silt from entering the water.

In a good situation, the work will take two to three days. The filter well needs good maintenance, since the constant presence of sand and silt particles in the water can cause siltation or sandiness.

The typical lifespan of such a well can be 10-20 years. The period may be longer or shorter depending on the quality of well drilling and its further maintenance.

Artesian wells, also known as limestone wells, are the most reliable, since the aquifer is confined to bedrock deposits. Numerous cracks in the rock contain water.

Such a well is usually not at risk of silting, and the flow rate can reach approximately 100 cubic meters per hour. But the depth to which drilling is to be carried out usually turns out to be more than respectable - from 20 to 120 meters.

  • A well 10 - 15 m deep can be drilled without the involvement of drillers and equipment, using simple drilling tools.
  • Sedimentary, non-cohesive and plastic rocks can be drilled manually without any problems. The first includes sands of different sizes, crushed stone, gruss, gravel, the second - loams with sandy loams.
  • Mechanization of manual drilling can significantly increase the pace of drilling operations. Motors and lifting devices will speed up the process.
  • To drill soils that differ in physical and mechanical properties, different projectiles and technologies will be required. Most often, to construct one excavation, several drilling methods are used in the complex Do-it-yourself shallow well drilling.

Of course, drilling such wells is more difficult, and the work will take much more time and materials. A professional team can complete the work in 5-10 days. But if we drill a well on the site with our own hands, it may take several weeks, or even a month or two.

But the effort is worth it, because artesian wells can last for half a century, or even more, without problems. And the flow rate of such a well makes it possible to supply water not only to one house, but also to a small village. Only manual drilling methods are not suitable for constructing such a mine.

The physical and mechanical properties of soils are also of great importance when choosing a drilling method.

During the work, you may need to go through a variety of layers, for example:

  • wet sand, which can be drilled relatively easily by almost any method;
  • water-saturated sand, which can only be removed from the trunk using a bailer;
  • coarse rocks (gravel and pebble deposits with sand and clay aggregates), which are drilled with a bailer or a glass, depending on the aggregate;
  • quicksand, which is fine sand supersaturated with water; it can only be scooped out with a bailer;
  • loam, i.e. sand with abundant inclusions of clay, plastic soil that can be easily drilled with an auger or core glass;
  • clay, plastic rock, which can be drilled with an auger or glass.

How do you find out what soils lie beneath the surface and at what depth is the aquifer? Of course, you can order geological studies of the soil, but this procedure is not free of charge.

Almost everyone chooses a simpler and cheaper option - asking neighbors who have already drilled a well or built a well. The water level in your future water source will be approximately the same depth.

Drilling a new well a short distance from an existing structure may not follow exactly the same scenario, but it will most likely be very similar.

Drilling wells in a suburban area

So, if you decide to independently construct a well on your site, you need to decide on its type (Abyssinian or “sand”) and find the optimal place for drilling operations.

The search for the most promising areas in terms of the proximity of aquifers was described in detail in the article about digging wells. However, it should be clearly understood that no one can guarantee an exact hit on the aquifer. Sandy water carriers can “walk” quite significantly in height, and most often everything is determined experimentally. It is not uncommon for neighbors to have an Abyssinian well at a depth of 8–10 meters, but when similar ones are drilled in seemingly immediate proximity, the depths turn out to be somewhat different, and sometimes the aquifer is not detected at all. You have to make several “punctures” to find the most acceptable option.

Drilling methods

Before starting work related to drilling a well with your own hands, you should decide what type of drilling rig you will use. Today the following are in demand:

Shock-rope

The design contains a heavy load (cartridge) complete with a specialized tool (bailer). These two elements are suspended from the frame on a strong cable. The average weight of a cartridge is eighty kilograms. Strong teeth, which have a triangular shape, must be installed on its lower part. They are attached using a welding machine. The operating principle is based on lifting and dropping the cartridge onto the ground. This loosens the soil. Next, the “broken” soil should be removed using a bailer.

Before starting the work process, you should make a small well. The right drill will do the job perfectly. It is important to know that raising and lowering the chuck can be done manually. Experts recommend giving preference to a rotary motor. As for the quality of the soil, it should be light. Less commonly, this method can be used on a clay surface.

Screw

The design that will be used for this type of drilling can be compared in terms of external characteristics with a standard drill that is used for garden work. The only, but very important characteristic feature is power capacity. The screw installation is made using a pipe whose diameter is one hundred millimeters. Screw-shaped parts are attached to it using welding elements.

The diameter of the turns is on average two hundred millimeters. In order to make one turn, you need to use a round sheet. Make a cut on it, bend the edges in opposite directions. As the drill sinks into the ground, its handle (bar) will have to be constantly lengthened and built up.

It is important to pay attention to the fact that after approximately 50-70 centimeters of immersion of the drill into the ground, it will have to be removed. This is due to the fact that soil accumulates on the screws, which significantly complicates the drilling process. A winch attached to a tripod will help you pull out the drill. The tool is brought into working condition using a specialized handle, which is made from a pipe.

Rotary

The type of soil drilling under consideration stands out among others for its complexity. However, today this method is the most universal and effective. The soil is crushed using a crown. It is attached to a pipe, which is regularly extended. The drill bit can be made in various forms.

This directly depends on what type of soil surface the work will take place on. Rotary drilling is carried out using the impact and rotary methods on the ground simultaneously. In addition, the rotary structure is endowed with the function of supplying water and clay solution into the drilled well. This allows the soil to be eroded, which leads to rapid immersion of the tool.

The main thing is to remember that before drilling work begins, you need to correctly determine the location. The cesspool, pens with livestock, and other farmland should be located at a great distance from the well. If this cannot be done, then a distance of at least thirty meters must be maintained. It is natural to assume that it is preferable to drill a well as close as possible to a residential building (house). The ideal distance for this would be three meters.

How to drill an Abyssinian well

For a small house with low water consumption, an Abyssinian well may be sufficient, which will fully satisfy both domestic and agricultural needs.

This technology began to be used at the beginning of the 19th century, and received its name because this was the method used to ensure water supply for British military expeditions in East Africa. Even in the hot semi-desert conditions of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), this method proved its effectiveness.

The essence of the technology is to drill a narrow (usually up to 2 inches in diameter) well to a shallow depth - about 7÷15 meters, then drive a pipe into it with a special tip and a filter at the end.
Such a device is often also called a needle.
The needle filter itself is also a pipe, but with numerous drilled holes, which are covered with a thin stainless steel galloon mesh. The lower part of the “needle” ends with a welded metal conical tip, which indicates that the casing pipe is driven into the drilled well, tightly inserted into the ground in such a way that the mesh part falls precisely on the thickness of the sandy water carrier.
At the upper end of the “needle” a thread is cut for a coupling connection with the overlying section.
To assemble the entire length of the casing pipe, pipe sections are used (galvanized or, of course, better, AISI 304 stainless steel, especially if the water will be used for food use).
You can currently purchase ready-made kits for Abyssinian wells, which include the “needle” itself and the required number of pipe sections (usually 1.5 or 2 m long) with their coupling system - threaded couplings with diameters of 1, 1¼ or 1½ inches.
As you can see, such a kit does not require a large diameter well, so auger drilling technology is used.
The optimal solution is to use a compact drilling rig. It represents a reliable metal base for installation above the drilling point, one or more vertical guides along which the platform moves progressively up and down.
A power unit is installed on this platform - an electric motor with a gearbox, to which the drill rods will be connected. The power block can be removed if necessary, and then the lifting platform can be used to pull the drill out of the ground after drilling is completed.
The platform is lifted upward using a winch - cable or chain, manual, or, as shown in this illustration, electrified.
The platform goes down under its own weight - the weight force from the power unit and the drilling sections connected to it for digging soil is quite enough.
Some drilling rigs are equipped with a wheeled trolley, which makes it extremely easy to move equipment around the site and even allows you to roll it indoors.
The illustration shows a set of drill rods.
The lower one is equipped with a drill head with welded carbide cutters.
Typically, rods with a diameter of 48 mm are used for Abyssinian wells (drills with a diameter of up to 80 mm are less commonly used).
The rods are equipped with a connecting part at the ends.
It could be a spline connection, a hexagon type floor...
...which, after inserting the rods into one another, is fixed with a metal pin through aligned through holes.
However, there are kits equipped with a threaded connection for drill rods.
So, the machine is installed at the selected point, inserted horizontally and vertically (for this they often have adjustable supports).
The power unit is connected to the electrical network (or to a generator, if the work is carried out in the field).
The first rod with the drilling head is installed and fixed in the gearbox chuck.
Drilling begins - under the weight of the platform, the rotating drill gradually sinks into the ground, and its auger configuration, acting on the “Archimedes screw” principle, lifts the selected soil outward to the surface. It is by the condition of the selected rock that an experienced craftsman will judge the presence of an aquifer.
After the first section of the drill has sunk into the ground to such an extent that about 200 mm remains outside, the power drive is stopped.
Using a drift and hammer, remove the pin securing the section in the gearbox cartridge.
Then, using a winch, the platform with the power unit is raised up to a height that will allow the drill to be extended.
The standard length of one section is a meter. This is very convenient in the sense that the depth of the excavation is easily monitored.
Based on the number of connected sections (more precisely, it will probably be the number of remaining sections), a clear picture immediately emerges.
The next drilling section is first joined and fixed with a pin to the one already immersed in the ground.
Then the platform with the drive is carefully lowered down using a winch, so that the shank of the new section fits into the gearbox chuck, and the holes for the pin coincide.
The next step is to fix the connection - insert the pin and hammer it until it stops.
After this, drilling can be resumed.
A similar operation is repeated every time the next drill stay is immersed in the ground, that is, after every meter of penetration.
First, after the layer of fertile soil, as a rule, there is a clay layer.
But gradually the composition and even the color of the soil lifted by the auger begins to change.
The humidity of the raised sludge increases, and coarse sand particles are clearly visible in it.
To prevent the soil extracted by the auger from accumulating around the well being drilled and interfering with work, it is regularly removed to the side.
For these purposes, you can use a regular metal ladle.
As you go deeper into the ground, signs of the proximity of an aquifer become more and more clear.
The auger is already lifting the pasty wet mass.
This dirt is also constantly scooped out with a ladle.
This is not a water bearer yet, but it is clearly close. So you can start preparing the casing pipe in parallel.
Assembling a casing pipe from individual sections is practically no different from ordinary plumbing operations.
The threaded part is coated with sealing paste...
...winding is done with flax tow, and then the pipes are screwed together through ordinary couplings using two gas wrenches.
The assembled pipe with a “needle” filter at the end awaits completion of drilling operations.
By this point, it is already generally clear how long the casing pipe will be needed.
True, when assembling it, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that it will have to be lifted vertically by the effort of a couple of workers - if the length of the assembled “lash” is too long, this will not be so easy to do, especially since there is a risk of deformation or even creasing.
That is, it is necessary to observe the measure. Experienced craftsmen already know how long a pipe they will be able to lift and lower into the well.
Meanwhile, the drill reached the depth from which the auger lifts almost liquid, spreading sand (in this example it was 11 meters). The master decides that the middle of the aquifer has been reached and the drilling operation can be stopped.
Deeper digging may be required, but they usually do not go below 10-12, maximum 15 meters, since lifting water from great depths in an Abyssinian well will be extremely difficult - a self-priming pump simply cannot cope with this, and pumping water manually is very tedious and unproductive activity.
The power block can be removed from the machine, and the winch-lifted platform can be used to pull out drill rods.
For this purpose, a special bracket is used, which is placed on the turns of the auger.
As each section is pulled out, they are disconnected and put aside. This continues until the last one, equipped with a drill head, is removed.
At this point, the drilling operations are completed - the machine, in principle, will no longer be needed for further work.
The critical operation of inserting the casing into the drilled well begins.
To do this, it is lifted vertically and inserted with a needle into the mouth of the well.
Then, carefully, “with four hands,” they lower it down as far as possible.
Usually, with a well-drilled well and cleared of sludge, the casing pipe enters quite easily, almost along its entire length.
If the depth of the well exceeds the length of the pre-installed pipe, then the assembly is carried out sequentially, attaching successive sections to the part already immersed in the well. To do this, special locking devices are used to prevent the pipe from “diving” down on its own.
If the pipe can no longer be lowered manually, they resort to plugging it. Usually this is always practiced in the last one and a half to two meters of the dive.
How to drive pipes into a well? There are several approaches.
In one case, a special headstock is used - a heavy cylinder placed on the pipe. It can be muffled - then the blows will fall on the top of the pipe with the coupling installed on it. There is a danger of damaging the threaded part.
The grandmother may also be through. Then a headstock is installed on the pipe walls in the right place using a collet connection - the blow falls on it.
The second method is to install a rod inside the pipe - a strong metal rod that will rest at the very bottom of the needle, and through which the impact force will be transmitted. As the pipes grow, so does this rod.
After the required depth is reached, the rod is removed from the pipe cavity.
After the entire “needle” column is completely driven in, they proceed to pumping the well.
This is most conveniently done using a surface self-priming pump.
A short hose is screwed onto the threaded section of the end of the casing pipe protruding from the ground for connection to the pump.
In order for the well to “work” normally, it first needs to be filled with water.
That is, the sleeve from the casing pipe is first screwed to the outlet pipe of the pump.
A short hose is also attached to the suction pipe of the pump, which is lowered into a bucket of clean water.
Turn on the power to the pump - water is pumped from the bucket into the well.
Then the sleeves are unscrewed from the pipes and swapped.
The one that comes from the well pipe is screwed to the suction pipe of the pump.
The second, free sleeve is screwed to the outlet, pressure pipe.
The pump is turned on - and then the most painful seconds of the entire process of working on the well begin: whether it is “alive” or not.
Yes, let's go!
First, the pump “pulled out” clean water, which was poured into the siege pipe.
Then the power of the flow begins to increase, but the water becomes more turbid.
The main thing is that the well is functioning and gives a good flow rate!
And you shouldn’t be afraid of the turbidity of the water - around the “needle” filter in a sandy environment there are many tiny silt and clay inclusions. The mesh does not stop them, and at first they end up in the water flow.
It’s okay, you just need to let the well “work”, and the entire area around the filter will be washed out - only clean sand will remain there.
To do this, the pump can be temporarily turned off so that the hose screwed to the pressure pipe can be extended with a long hose. There is a lot of water to be spilled for “swinging”, and it is better to do this in a place where it will not interfere.
Now the pump is turned on again, and you can see how the water flow gradually brightens.
You won't have to wait very long. At first, it is clear that the water stream will be cloudy, but it will become more transparent before your eyes.
And after 10-15 minutes, as a rule, a clean stream emerges from the hose, that is, the water is suitable for any household and household needs.
By the way, it’s time to take advantage of the moment and put it in order, wash all the tools and equipment from adhering dirt with a stream of water
Next, the well is “tied up”, and in this case they act differently, depending on the location and purpose of the well.
For example, they install water pipes connected to a “summer” or permanently located indoor pumping station.
If the well is intended for garden needs, you can simply install a manual column, but it is still more convenient to provide a tee wiring, which will allow you to use both the pump and the column.
In any case, with a successful combination of circumstances, a well-made Abyssinian well can last even several decades, while producing from 10 to 40 liters of water per minute - quite enough to normally supply an average-sized house.

By the way, compact drilling rigs make it possible to install Abyssinian wells even indoors, including in the residential part of a country house. A clear confirmation of this is the video below.

Drilling a well manually

To perform the work, you need the drill itself, a drilling rig, a winch, rods and casing pipes. A drilling tower is necessary when digging a deep well; with the help of this design, the drill with rods is immersed and lifted.

The easiest way to drill a water well is rotary, which is done by rotating the drill

When drilling shallow wells, the drill string can be removed manually, without using a tower at all. Drill rods can be made of pipes; the products are connected using keys or threads. The lowest rod is additionally equipped with a drill.

The cutting attachments are made of 3 mm sheet steel. When sharpening the edges of the attachments, it should be taken into account that when the drill mechanism rotates, they should cut into the soil clockwise.

Drilling technology, familiar to most owners of personal plots, is also applicable for constructing a water well

The tower is installed above the drilling site; its height should exceed the height of the drill rod in order to facilitate the removal of the rod when lifting. Then a guide recess for the drill is dug onto two bayonets of the shovel. The first turns of rotation of the drill can be completed by one person, but as the pipe sinks, additional assistance will be required. If the drill does not come out the first time, you should turn it counterclockwise and try again.

As the drill goes deeper, it becomes more difficult to rotate the pipe. Softening the soil with water will help make the work easier. As the drill moves downwards, every half a meter the drilling structure should be brought to the surface and freed from the soil. The drilling cycle is repeated again. At the stage when the tool handle is level with the ground, the structure is extended with an additional elbow.

Since lifting and cleaning the drill takes a significant part of the time, you should make maximum use of the design's capabilities, capturing and extracting to the surface the maximum possible portion of the soil layer.

When working on loose soils, additional casing pipes should be installed in the well to prevent soil from falling off the walls of the hole and blocking the well.

Drilling continues until it enters the aquifer, which is easily determined by the condition of the soil being removed. Passing the aquifer, the drill dives even deeper until it reaches the next aquifer - the aquifer. Immersion to the level of the waterproof layer will ensure maximum water flow into the well. It is important to note that manual drilling is only applicable for diving to the first aquifer, the depth of which does not exceed 10-20 meters.

To pump out dirty water, you can use a hand pump or a submersible pump. After two or three buckets of dirty water, the aquifer is washed out and clean water usually appears. If this does not happen, the well should be deepened another 1-2 meters.

You can also use a manual drilling method, based on the use of a conventional drill and hydraulic pump:

Auger drilling

With this technology, a well is drilled using a special drill - an auger. This is a steel pipe with blades welded in a spiral. When rotating, the projectile sinks into the ground. After it has gone to its full depth, it is taken out and the soil remaining on the blades is poured out. The auger is lowered into the well again, with a pipe growing on top, and excavation continues. So, taking out the shell over and over again and shaking off the soil, they drill a well. The pipes at the ends can be threaded or connected using studs.

This is what the auger looks like

The disadvantage of this method is that it is not suitable for all types of soil. Normally, soft or medium-hard rocks are drilled. If a stony or rocky layer is encountered, the work will be ineffective - the auger is powerless here. In loose soils, there will be blockages, which is also problematic.

Quite powerful installations use this technology, but there are even hand-held auger drills. It is very difficult to work with them, but it is possible. There is a simple device that makes auger drilling of water wells with your own hands easier - this is a tripod with a collar and a block fixed at the top. With the help of a cable, a winch and a block, it is easier to remove the drill bit, and this must be done often.

Manual Auger Drilling Rig

Motorized drilling rigs are more convenient, and not necessarily purchased ones. There are interesting homemade products. In any case, it is a frame with a movably mounted motor that drives the drill. An example of such an installation is in the following video. The auger drill is not used for water wells, but the essence of the installation itself and the operating principle do not change.

With the small size of the auger and rods that increase the length (up to 1.5 m), this method of drilling water wells can also be used inside a house, cottage, or bathhouse. The main thing is that the soils are suitable.

Shock-rope method

To drill using the percussion-rope method, you should prepare in advance the tool required in this case - a bailer, which is a piece of pipe with a sharp edge and a valve. Creating a tunnel using this method takes a lot of time, but with its help it is quite possible to make a shaft 30 meters deep or more. Below are detailed instructions on how to make a water well with your own hands using the above method:

  • To simplify the work, it is first recommended to make a small hole using a regular household drill.
  • A tripod equipped with a block is placed above the hole prepared in the above-mentioned manner.
  • Using a block, a cable is installed, additionally equipped with a bailer.
  • A bailer is dropped into the one prepared using a garden drill, having previously set it to a height of at least 1.5 meters. The process of drilling a well in this case is based on the following principle: the pointed edge of the bailer loosens the soil, which is captured using a valve.
  • Before the device is pulled out of the shaft, it is necessary to make several strong blows; this measure will help to capture as much soil as possible and somewhat speed up the work process.
  • As the depth of the mine increases, it is necessary to lower the casing into it, which will prevent possible destruction of the walls of the well.


Drilling with bailer

Before making a 10-meter water well with your own hands using a bailer, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with a number of useful tips. One of the most important: in the process of making a penetration, it is necessary to go through the first layer and go deeper to obtain water from the second aquifer. Despite the fact that the overall operating life will be significantly increased, this measure will provide much cleaner water.

The percussion drilling method also allows the use of a device similar to a bailer, namely a driving glass. Unlike the first option, this device is not equipped with a valve. This is due to the fact that the glass is used primarily for drilling a well on viscous soils, for example, when passing through loamy soils, which are naturally held in the container without the need for a valve device.

Before drilling a water well yourself, it is recommended to prepare the two devices presented above. Their integrated use will significantly speed up the process of passing the mine, regardless of the type of soil.


Necessary tools, including a driving glass

Casing and filter

All the technologies for self-drilling water wells described above have common features. After the well has reached the aquifer (water appears in large quantities in the rock), they continue to drill for some time, going 1-2 meters deep into the aquifer. The entire drill assembly is then disassembled and casing is installed inside the well.

The casing needs to be dealt with. Select the diameter depending on the size of the well you drilled and the type of pump you plan to use. You must carefully consider the choice of material. For some time, asbestos pipes were used for casing. But they are very harmful - a strong carcinogen. You should not use galvanized pipes either - zinc is not removed from the body and accumulates. And poisoning with it has very bad consequences.

There is not such a large choice left - pipes made of steel and stainless steel, as well as plastic pipes - HDPE and PVC. Stainless steel is an almost ideal option, except for the price and complexity of welding. To prevent the seam from rusting, welding in an argon environment is necessary, but this is not easy. Although, special electrodes for welding stainless steel can help to some extent.

In recent years, plastic pipes have become increasingly popular. PVC and HDPE are cheap and cheerful, but to install them, the well must be perfectly level. Another point is that plastic does not withstand loads very well. Therefore, they can be used at a shallow depth - up to 15 meters. In any case, it is not worth installing sewer pipes for the well; it is better to find water pipes, although they are more expensive: their walls are of different thicknesses, so the investment will be worth it.

Steel pipes definitely won’t crumple and will last a long time, but they also have a significant drawback: they rust. However, of the options described above, metal is the optimal one if you can’t afford stainless steel.

In order for water to flow into the casing pipe, a filter is made in its lower part, which is immersed in the aquifer. Holes are made in the pipe. There are two options. The first is with a large diameter drill, in four rows in a checkerboard pattern. The second is to cut longitudinal slits with a grinder (size 1.5-2.5 mm).

A wire (3-4 mm in diameter) is wound on top of the pipe, and a mesh with a very fine mesh is attached on top of it. It is best to use stainless steel. In this case, it will be possible to wash the filter from deposits using washing solutions, and the wire and mesh can be welded to the pipe.

If you use any other metal, the filter will fail after a while. Ferrous metal rusts, the rest is destroyed due to electrolytic corrosion.

How to equip a broken well

Punching/drilling a well is not enough. We still need to raise the water, but this is a completely different story. Read how to get water from a well to your house here. If you want to make the water supply constant, with normal pressure, so that you can connect household appliances, you will need a pumping station.

For seasonal water supply at the dacha, you can get by with a more modest set:

  • vibration pump;
  • check valve, which is installed in front of the pump;
  • water container;
  • watering hose;
  • taps, etc.

Please note that the check valve is installed in front of the pump, and not at the end of the hose immersed in the well. It’s just that this same hose won’t break when it freezes. Another advantage of such a device is that it is easier to dismantle for the winter.

Another piece of advice: the well needs to be covered with something. In permanent residences, a caisson is made - a concrete or plastic bunker that is located below the freezing depth. All equipment is placed in it. When using water only periodically, a caisson is too expensive. But something needs to be done to close the well. Firstly, some living creatures may fall into it, which will not make you happy. Secondly, “good” neighbors may drop something. A more budget-friendly solution is to build a well-type house. An even cheaper option is to dig a pit, cover it with a board, and make a board cover. Key point: the whole thing must be locked.

Video

In practice, I personally have not tried this method, but I cited an article from a friend of mine who does this for money.

I think this will be interesting to you, and I personally will try this method in the summer. Might come in handy in the future. The principle is quite simple. I made an animated picture showing how this should happen. Now let's see: first you need to buy 2 pumps, two barrels, hoses and pipes. Several 6-meter bars and of course pipe couplings. Using a shovel, dig a hole approximately 1 meter x 1 meter and 60 cm deep. The pipes should be approximately 2 meters long (longer is possible). Threads must be cut at both ends of the pipes. Later, when the pipe goes into the ground, a second pipe is screwed to it using a sleeve, and so on until you go deep to the desired depth.

The first pipe has teeth on one side that can be made with a grinder, and the second side of the pipe has a thread. First, you screw an adapter onto it with an end part for your hose. I was recommended to cut pipes 4-6 meters long. This way there is less hassle with unscrewing the adapter, and the weight of the structure becomes greater, which allows the pipe to cut into the ground more quickly. So, first things first. First, we make a tripod out of timber and place it over the dug hole. At the top of the tripod we attach a roller through which we pass the rope. It is better to secure the tripod by connecting the three legs at the bottom and in the middle with the same beam. A little further from the tripod we drive a wooden or metal pin into the ground. It’s even better to make a drum like for raising water from a well. We attach one end of the rope to it. We tie the other one to the pipe.

We insert the pipe with the connected fitting into the hole. Next we move on to the barrels. Next to the pit, one barrel is placed on the ground, the second on a platform made from available materials at the height of the upper level of the first barrel. We drill a hole at the bottom of the upper barrel and insert a pipe with a tap there. We fill the top barrel with dry grass, which serves as a kind of filter, and place a mesh on top obliquely. The mesh will clean out large fractions of soil that got in with the water, then this soil will simply fall down. The grass filters small parts of the soil and flows from the upper barrel to the lower one.

There is a pump in the bottom barrel that takes water and delivers it under pressure into your pipe. The water comes out from the bottom of the pipe and washes away the soil. This cloudy suspension ends up in your hole. The second soil pump pumps muddy water into the upper barrel. In this case, a small part of the soil gets into the barrel with water. The main part of it begins to grow out of the hole before our eyes. After some time, you remove it with a shovel.

Thus, the pipe itself is buried, and the soil is thrown up like a geyser. You just need to throw away the soil and watch the level of the washed-out soil.

THE FOLLOWING METHOD IS PERSONALLY TESTED BY ME.

I don’t use a casing pipe, drill, headstock, bailer, etc. for this... The pipe for such a well, in my opinion, is needed 5-10 cm, and no more: it completely ensures an uninterrupted supply of water using a household high-performance pump. The method is as simple as twice two. At the same time, you do not pay the drillers, and at the beginning of 2007 this costs approximately 30-45 thousand rubles. Digging a well also costs a lot. Without the cost of the rings, you will pay approximately a thousand American tugriks. And if you are not a rich person and the few bucks you save is a significant amount of your family budget, then this topic is definitely for you.

First you need to stock up on pipes. I recommend pipes with a diameter of approximately 5 cm. The length of the pipes should be approximately 1.5 - 2 meters. Take 8 pieces just in case. Cut threads at the ends of the pipes and buy bushings so that you can connect the pipes with bushings. Buy also a steel rod. Its length should be 2-2.5 meters. The rod also has threads at the ends and connecting sleeves of its own diameter. You will also need to make a steel cone, the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the pipe. We weld a piece of pipe with cut longitudinal slots to it. These cracks should subsequently be wrapped with mesh. They are a filter. You can weld strips of hard steel to the cone (for example, pieces of a sharpened flat file), but only so that upon impact, these strips create a slight rotation in the direction of twisting the pipes. Next we do the following:

The pipe is clogged (and thereby a well is formed) using your composite rod, consisting of two pieces of steel rod dia. 20-30 mm. and 2.5 m long, with threads at the ends. This rod is lowered inside the pipe (filter) and rests against a cone welded to the filter. Together with a partner, having installed the filter vertically along a plumb line, we take the bar with our hands, lift it up and sharply lower it - in short, we hit it. The impact of the rod falls on the cone. When the filter is deep, tow soaked in paint is wound onto its threaded part, then a coupling is screwed in, and the next piece of pipe 2 ... 2.5 m long is screwed into it. If the rod is short, extend it and hit it again. Having driven to a depth of 3-6 meters, we check whether there is water in the well. We take a bucket of water and pour it into the pipe (do not pull out the rod). If the water is standing in the pipe; does not go away, which means we have not reached the aquifer. We beat another meter, check again by pouring water. Aquifers come in layers, so, in my opinion, it is more rational to drill a well into the second aquifer, or at least to the bottom of the first layer. And the layer can be up to 10 meters thick.

It is not always reasonable to test the aquifer by pouring water into a pipe. In some cases, the water goes into the sand layer. After all, I can’t check which layer I’ve reached. If the water is slowly leaving, then we are theoretically at the beginning of the aquifer; we break through another 0.5-1 m, fill with water. Now the water should quickly go into the pipe - we have reached the aquifer. We start to pull out the bar, but it doesn’t move, it’s jammed. Don’t be upset, take a hammer and hit the bar, but not from above, but from the side from the top. With these impacts you create vibration, and the soil that has entered the pipe through the filter mesh is “liquefied” and the rod is released. Having pulled out the rod, we screw the fitting with the pump onto the well. Can be manual or electric. After pumping out two or three buckets of muddy water, clear water usually comes out.

It is advisable to pump out a couple of two hundred liter barrels. You will be convinced of the quantity of water and its quality. Then we pour clean water into the pan and boil it, and then taste it to see what quality it is. If it is bad, then after boiling it becomes reddish or cloudy, and sediment will fall to the bottom. Then you will have to deepen the well another meter. Not to be confused with limewater sediment if it comes through limestone rock.

It also happens: after a few years, the water in the well disappears (the electric pump does not “take” it, but the manual pump pumps very slowly). This is a sign of a clogged filter. Many people flush wells with various solutions. I argue that this has little effect in practice; such flushing only poisons the aquifer. It is easier and more reliable to pull the filter out of the ground, but this is not always possible. This happens quite rarely with a competent approach to the matter, and in this case you have to use a truck crane or a jack. In this case, you need to lower the rod into the well and hit the cone a dozen times, then apply the listed mechanisms. After 10-20 cm, the rise stops again; you need to hit it again, and after 2 hours you will pull out the filter. As a rule, it turns out to be covered with a black oily coating. Fill up with water, pour over the filter and scrub it over the mesh with a metal brush. For better cleaning, pour in “silite”, which will remove rust from everything. Gradually the plaque is washed off.

Check the pipes too: sometimes rust makes small fistulas in them. Because of this, the integrity is compromised and the well may not work (due to air leaks or soil getting into fistulas). It is better, of course, to replace the pipes with new ones. And again you can drive them in the same place where the well was before.

This method has been tested in practice. Hundreds of wells have been drilled using this method. All are still working today. Some were driven to a depth of more than 20 meters, into artesian layers of water.

You can drill a water well on your property, despite the seeming enormity of this process, on your own, i.e. manually. To do this, you will need a metal auger, the so-called coil, for which a fishing ice ax is quite suitable. This method of drilling a water well is the cheapest possible.

Necessary tools and materials for drilling a water well:

The main tool that will be used is an auger with extension arms; in the absence of a special one, you can safely use a fishing drill. For better process efficiency, it is recommended to weld reinforced cutters onto the cutting edges of the drill. For this purpose, you can use a couple of files, which can be sharpened with an ordinary grinder. And of course the pipes for the elbows, the diameter of which is 25 mm.

You will also need a shovel, a cart for removing the selected soil, a pump and a hose for “swinging” the well, a barrel or a high table on which you will need to stand and sift out the gravel.

Preparing the pipe for lowering into the well

Before lowering pipes into a well, they must be properly prepared. This is an important point, because the drilled section tightens very quickly and the pipes must be lowered immediately after removing the drill. Pipes can be purchased at specialized construction stores; thick-walled polyethylene pipes are best suited.

Preparation of the pipe consists of drilling perforating holes, approximately at a distance of 0.5-1.0 meters from the bottom end and over a distance of 1.5-2 meters. It is enough to make the holes with a 6 mm drill; if you make them wider, you will need a filter mesh.

Then guide bars are prepared, which are attached to the surface of the pipe. The bars are necessary to center the pipe in the well and provide equal clearance in order to evenly distribute the filter gravel screenings.

Technology for drilling a well manually using an auger

The place where the well will be installed must first be leveled. To begin with, a guide recess for the drill is dug to a depth of 2 shovel bayonets. Having assembled the tool, you can proceed directly to the drilling process itself.

At the initial stage, one person can easily rotate the drill, but as you get deeper, additional help will be needed. The deeper the drill goes, the harder it will be to rotate it, so you can use water to soften the soil. Making two or three full turns, the drill is pulled out and freed from the soil, dumping it into the cart. The sludge is poured away from the work site so that it does not create additional interference.

Thus, they drill until the tool handle drops to the ground. After this, the drill is extended with an additional elbow.

After the handle has been lengthened, naturally the size of the tool no longer allows working with it while standing on the ground. Just for this case, you need a metal barrel or other pedestal, standing on which you can rotate the drill by the handle. Or they use gas pipe wrenches for the handle.

Increasing the bends, drilling continues until entering the aquifer. This moment will be very clearly visible from the condition of the soil being removed. At this phase, it is possible for the tool to be tightened, so you should remove the cuttings in small portions, otherwise it will not be possible to pull out the drill manually. If, nevertheless, the drill is “sucked in”, so that it can no longer be pulled out by hand, you will have to resort to an Archimedean lever, using two logs and a barrel for this, or buy a lever chain winch.

To prevent high water from entering the well, its depth must be greater than the first clay layer. Before lowering the pipe, it is necessary to raise and lower the drilling tool several times, like a piston. This will remove possible obstacles in the way of the pipe and make its descent much easier. After the pipe is completely lowered, the gap should be filled with gravel screenings - this is usually a sand-gravel mixture screened from sand. Without sand, as sand can penetrate inside the well.

How to pump a well

In order to quickly pump the well, it is better to use a powerful centrifugal pump. Such a pump is capable of handling very dense media. Although you can get by with a regular household pump. In order for the vibration pump to work more efficiently, you should periodically lift it and shake the water with the assembled knees to lift heavy particles from the bottom, and then continue pumping water again with a pump with a lower water intake, otherwise the pump with an upper water intake will contribute to silting of the well.

When the well is rocked, the filter gravel screenings will shrink, so it should be added periodically.

The process of rocking the well is quite time-consuming, so you should worry about the drainage channels or try to reach the drainage ditch with a hose.

Once the well is fully pumped, it should be equipped with a pump for everyday use.

Advantages and disadvantages of manual water well drilling

The advantage of manual drilling of wells, in addition to the low cost already mentioned above, is the fact that there is no need to bring bulky special equipment to the site, therefore, your green spaces or landscape design will not be damaged.

Having a relatively shallow depth, such wells are pumped much faster and are less susceptible to tightening.

If there is no electricity, water can be obtained using a hand suction pump.

The main disadvantage of manual drilling is the limited depth. Disadvantages include criticality to soil density and a shortage of specialists ready to undertake repairs if necessary, although this has a lower probability of occurrence than with deep machine wells.

Video on how to drill a well manually with your own hands:

Types of wells

Drilling a well at your dacha is not that difficult. Its price will depend on the depth of the water. A well for sand will be much cheaper than an artesian well and this should also be taken into account.

Well on sand

It is done to a small depth. Therefore, it is quite possible to do all the work yourself and this will significantly reduce the cost of your undertaking. Before starting work, you should find out what quality the water is at shallow depths. To do this, it is best to take a sample from your neighbors and take it for examination and check the quality. We will provide the parameters below.

Suitable for the premises where you live permanently. This water is of higher quality. But the work will cost more. Here it would be better to hire a specialized organization. Moreover, it will be necessary to immediately provide for its cleaning. It is found in calcareous layers and therefore has a high iron content. Immediately provide for proper filtration.

Attention: If you do not live permanently in the country and you only need water for irrigation, then you can safely make such a design

Determining water quality

Water in a well or borehole is considered potable in the following cases:

  • When the water is clear thirty centimeters deep;
  • When nitrate impurities do not exceed 10 mg/l;
  • When one liter of water contains no more than 10 E. coli;
  • When the taste and smell on a five-point scale, water is rated at least three points.

To determine these indicators, water must be subjected to laboratory analysis by the sanitary and epidemiological service.

How to drill a well

Let's analyze this process from a theoretical point of view:

  • The work begins with digging a pit, whose depth and diameter must be at least two meters, or sides one and a half meters. This measure prevents further shedding of the top layer of soil.
  • The pit is strengthened with plank boards. Next, a well is drilled using a core and a drilling rig. The drill string is suspended on a tower at the central point of the future well.
  • The drill string consists of several rods, which are extended during the drilling process using adapter couplings. The drill head is mounted at the end of the column.
  • The tower is assembled from logs, steel pipes, a channel or a corner, which form a tripod, at the top of which a winch is attached.

Attention: If the water is shallow, drilling can be done without a tower. In this case, they use special shortened rods one and a half meters long.

If you cannot do without a tower when drilling, the length of the rods in this case should be at least three meters.

What to drill with

The equipment and drilling method are selected based on the type of soil. The tool used must be made of carbon steel.

We select tools and materials

Drilling is carried out using the following drill heads:

  • For drilling in clay soils, a spiral-shaped drill with a base of 45-85 mm and a blade 258-290 mm long is used.
  • When percussion drilling, a drill bit is used. The drill can have a flat, cross-shaped and other shapes.
  • Drilling in loams, sandy clay or clayey sand is carried out using a spoon drill made in the form of a spoon and having a spiral or longitudinal slot. This drill has a diameter of 70-200 mm and a length of 700 mm and deepens 30-40 cm per pass.
  • Extraction of loose soil is carried out using a bailer drill using the impact method. The bailers are made from a three-meter pipe and have a piston and a regular appearance. The inside of the bailer should have a diameter of 25-96 mm, the outside 95-219 mm, its weight should be 89-225 kg.

Drilling is a cyclic process, periodically accompanied by cleaning the drilling tool from soil. Cleaning is carried out when the drill is completely removed from the ground. Accordingly, the difficulty of removing them from the well depends on the length of the hose.

How to drill a well for water of various depths yourself

Any summer resident cannot work without a constant source of water. After all, it is necessary for everything: watering the garden, your own needs, and any other work. Therefore, the first thing the owners try to solve is the plumbing issue.

There are two ways out of the situation - a centralized water supply or an individual source. But since landholdings are often distant from each other, the first option is not a cheap pleasure. So the summer resident has to drill a well for water himself. This is not an easy task, since much in this matter depends on the type of well construction and, of course, the special drilling technology.

When to drill a well

Those readers who, for some reason, did not have time to acquire their own water source on their country plot in the fall, or they are not happy with the existing water source, and they decided to arrange a water source now.

The right decision: a reasonable owner thinks about this not on May 1, but on March 1. However, it is worth noting that the best time to drill a well is after the end of the season (October, November, even December). March is also a good time: in frosty weather, driving 15-ton equipment onto a site is much easier on hard ground than in warm weather on soft ground. Although drilling a well when it’s warm is easier for both technology and people. Now the snow will begin to melt, and it will be increasingly difficult to drill a well: even three-axle drilling machines get stuck in the snow, and when they start digging, they generally “sit down.”

Among other things, you need to know that some dacha and cottage villages, where shareholders themselves laid roads on their own, simply close entry to any equipment except personal vehicles. Persuade, don't persuade, threaten, pay - it's useless. A decision was made by the general meeting - no drilling rig will move there. In this case, you will have to wait until the end of the flood, and maybe even until the end of May.

And another very important point when drilling a well. The price of drilling a well is not constant within the annual cycle. Pipe complexes roll pipes constantly, in the summer there is demand, in the winter there is no demand. Therefore, the price of pipe products is higher in summer. Serious companies that purchased pipes for the New Year with all their profits can drill for some time using cheaper pipes. The dynamics of prices for fuel and lubricants also affects the overall cost. A good well takes up to one and a half to two tons of gasoline. The lowest prices for drilling are from mid-October to March. At the end of March they begin to grow. For example, to install an artesian well, if we are talking about the Moscow region, you can order the drilling of a water well here.

A shallow well in sand is usually drilled within one daylight hours. A deep well is drilled from two to five days. If you have a drilling rig and it’s been drilling a well for two weeks, you can drive it right away. Artesian wells, in principle, do not matter when to drill, these wells cannot be dug during a flood, it is clear why (they will be shallow with water, and then the water will run out). Wells for sandy horizons too.

For many years I have not been convinced that they are somehow actively filled with water seasonally. If the horizon is normal, it never becomes depleted in summer. Just don’t confuse high water and ground horizons. Verkhodka is a seasonal aquifer that appears after snow melts and stays at the top for some time, and then goes down. And the well is built on a permanent reservoir that never runs out.

Drilling auger when drilling a well into a sandy aquifer

Various well options

Before you start drilling, you need to figure out what the depth of the water source is, and, having this information, decide which type of well is most suitable. This determines which work plan you should choose. It is possible to distinguish the following types:

  • Abyssinian well (aquifer at a depth of 3-12 m);
  • well “for sand” (no deeper than 50 m);
  • well “for limestone” (artesian - up to 200 m).

The first two types will not cause any special difficulties compared to the last, since for such a great depth a drilling rig and professional workers will be needed.

Which well to choose? It all depends on the required amount of water consumed. If a small flow rate is required, then choose the first two options, and if you need 10 cubic meters of water per hour, then use the artesian type.

Features of different types

It’s worth starting with the Abyssinian well. Since the depth here is not very great (3-12 m), it is necessary to take into account the location. Care must be taken to place the well as far as possible from potential places where dirt accumulates. That is, there should be no garbage pits or compost nearby, which can pollute the water and make it unusable. There are cases when there are no hard rocks or pebbles in a given area, then there is only one way out - to drill a source directly in the basement of the house. But a number of problems may arise here, since you will have to equip the well with manual columns and a pump in order to be able to extract liquid without unnecessary energy costs.

As noted above, a sand well can be cut to a depth of no more than 50 meters. Before you start drilling, you need to draw up a plan, that is, choose a suitable location. The well should be as far as possible from various sources of pollution. Even a bathhouse or a poultry farm falls under this concept. It is also necessary to take into account future buildings, since it will be almost impossible to move the source.

Getting started on how to cut a regular well

When all the points are taken into account, you can begin to complete the assigned tasks. Follow this algorithm:

Apply markings for future work.
Dig a hole for the tool (auger, drill).
Install drilling tools.
Drill according to the selected technique.
Lower the filter column into the hole. It consists of a filter, a sump and a pipe.
Fill the space between the outer walls of the casing and the soil with sand or crushed stone.
Seal the top of the pipe and pump water into it to flush the filter.
Pump the liquid out of the well using a column or auger pump.
Lower the submersible pump into the well. To do this, use the force of the safety rope

It is important to remember that these actions can be done when the water has already become clean.
Connect the hose (water pipe) and the pump.
Install a valve on the pipe so that in the future you can regulate the liquid level.
Waterproof the top of the casing.
Treat the wellhead with a caisson and weld it to the head.
Lay the water pipes that lead to the house in the trenches provided for them.
Sprinkle the caisson and concrete blind area with soil.

Such a source will last no more than 10-15 years. But it is necessary to periodically check the well to monitor the purity of the liquid.

How to drill an artesian well

The situation is most difficult with an artesian source. Most often it lies in a limestone layer. But sometimes, to confirm his assumptions, a summer resident orders a test well. This type of source can be used to provide water to several areas. Therefore, to save money, it is advisable to negotiate with a couple of neighbors. To cut through it, you will need the following tools:

  • a drill, the components of which are a core pipe, a drill rod, a drill core, and an active part;
  • metal screw;
  • tripod;
  • winch;
  • several pipes with different diameters;
  • valve;
  • caisson;
  • filters;
  • pump.

You don't have to buy all these tools because they can cost a fortune. It is advisable to rent them. The work proceeds according to the following algorithm:

  1. Dig a hole measuring 1.5 m x 1.5 m. Line it with plywood and boards so that it does not crumble.
  2. Place a secure drilling derrick, preferably made of metal or wood, directly above the hole. Then secure the winch at the junction of the supports. This device is used for lifting and lowering equipment.
  3. Select the required pump that will easily fit into the pipe.
  4. Lower the filter column, which consists of a pipe, a sump and a filter. But it’s worth doing this when the required depth has already been achieved. In order to strengthen the pipe, the space near it is filled with sand. At the same time, pump water into the pipe, the upper end of which is sealed.

Next, simply lower the pump, and then a hose or water pipe is needed to remove the water from the depths. Connect them too. To do this, remove the pipe and weld it to the head of the caisson. Next, install a valve that will regulate the level of water flow - and your well is ready.

Drilling

The easiest way is auger, using a drill. For shallow wells, the use of a tower is not required. The entire process is carried out by two or three people, since a lot of force must be applied when rotating the drill.

Before starting work, you need to dig a small hole. This will give the drill direction and help it cut into the ground. The first turns can be done alone, but then you will need an assistant. As soon as the drill is buried to its full length, it is carefully pulled out and cleared of soil.

During drilling, it will have to be constantly removed and cleaned. As necessary, the length of the drill is increased with additional rods.

You need to drill until water appears. A clue will be the appearance of wet soil. However, you should not stop working immediately; usually the first layer of water is ground. It is necessary to drill to the waterproof layer, which will ensure a good flow of water.

After you reach the aquifer, you need to pump out the dirty water with a pump. After pumping out 40 - 50 liters, the well will be cleaned. If the water is still dirty, you can go deeper a couple of meters.

Device

Upon completion of drilling, the well must be equipped. To equip it, you should use casing pipes - asbestos or plastic.

For reliable fastening, pipes must have seating rings. After installation, they are covered with expanded clay or gravel.

Water well - drilling methods

The screw method is the simplest and cheapest method. Based on the use of an auger (screw). The disadvantage of this method is that drilling is only possible in soft and dry soil.

Rotary - produced by a drilling pile, inside of which a special shaft with a bit rotates. The crushed soil is removed by leaching.

The percussion-rope drilling method is the slowest and most labor-intensive. However, it is considered the highest quality. The service life will be more than 50 years. In this case, the well is made using a heavy rock crushing tool. Among the disadvantages, one can note the high cost of the work.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that drilling is best left to professionals. An error during drilling can lead to equipment failure or contamination of the well itself. However, if you have the necessary knowledge and if you have the equipment, you can make a well yourself.

Watch the video: Drilling a well with your own hands in 2 days

What you need to pay special attention to when drilling a well

The conditions for acceptance of work must be clearly stated in the contract: water quality, water quantity and well depth are checked. The customer is required to demonstrate the water flowing from the well. Its quantity can be easily measured using a bucket and a stopwatch on a watch. The water should be visually clear. Some turbidity is acceptable in it, but there should not be sand, grains of sand, say, more than one tablespoon per bottle of water.

The well is measured to the bottom. The customer must determine the depth of the well on site. There are different ways: a weight on a string marked by meter; drilling rods, etc. Unscrupulous teams offer the following: “We drill 20 meters, we’ll write for the company that 15, and you pay us 5 at a different rate.” Therefore, serious companies stipulate in the contract that if the specified well depth does not correspond to the actual depth, no guarantees are provided to the customer.

Drilling a well using the URB 2A2 installation

It happens that a well is drilled, but there is no water. There are two options: it simply doesn’t exist, or the drillers couldn’t get it for some reason. The result was a so-called dry well. Normal companies always warn that there is a danger of getting a “cracker” when the customer did not find out anything and did not interview the neighbors.

Wells are not wells, there will always be water in wells, they work due to a wide bottom, a small layer of sand is enough - there will be water. The well works with side walls, a filter, and you need not half a meter of sand, but 5-7 meters for the well to start working. Such a layer of sand may not be on the site. For example, on 50% of the territory of the Moscow region, sand lies in patches. There is a lens of sand here, and then it ends, and it is not externally marked in any way.

How to deal with this? Work more clearly with neighbors, find out, look for a good geologist, get catalogs and maps. Or drill a well for artesian water, which is available everywhere.

If the team failed. The reasons may be difficult drilling conditions (boulders, large debris, crushed stone, gravel), but more often it is a poor drilling tool, worn-out equipment, or an inexperienced technician. How to deal with this? Don’t try your best to save money, but contact a serious company.

Selecting a location

A well is a capital structure, and the choice of location where it will be located should be approached with special care. There are several nuances that should be taken into account when placing it. After all, the quality of the water will depend on its location.

  1. The place must be accessible so that in case of repairs, equipment can be easily approached or adjusted to the well.
  2. It must be protected from contamination and comply with all sanitary standards.
  3. Before starting work, you must ensure that there are nearby underground water sources.
  4. The well should be located no closer than 4 m from the foundation of the house and at a distance of 20 meters from the septic tank.

Tools

In order to acquire a well on your site, you need a tool such as: a special auger with extension arms. Files sharpened along the edges can be welded onto its edges. This addition will improve the performance of the factory drill.

Video: How to drill a well by hand

In addition you will need:

  • casing pipes (asbestos-cement or plastic);
  • hoses;
  • shovel;
  • trolley for removing soil;
  • drilling rig.

Where to drill a well

A drilled well does not move anywhere - it is not a house, not a garage, not a tent, not a barbecue. There are three immutable rules for choosing a place to drill a well.

First. To make it convenient for drillers to work. There must be a flat or slightly sloping platform approximately 4 by 8-10 meters in rectangular shape, on which a three-axle machine is placed, above which there are no wires (the mast rises 8 meters up), under which there are no communications and which is away from buildings, building foundations, tree roots, the fence is removed by 3 - 4 meters.