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The basis of the entire living world is water, so ancient people always settled near bodies of water - rivers and lakes. The modern world is more densely populated and it is not always possible to find a suitable site for a house or cottage on the shore of a reservoir. It would be good if the site has a central water supply, but this does not always happen. It is in such cases that the need to drill a water well arises. After all, even if you can bring water in cans for your own use, it still won’t be enough to water the plantings.
Modern technologies make it possible to drill in a short time using self-propelled drilling rigs, but this pleasure is not cheap, which is why amateur gardeners’ interest in DIY well construction without equipment. Moreover, if you have basic skills in using a tool, and every gardener probably has this skill, drilling a well with your own hands will not be difficult, of course, when the aquifer itself lies not far from the earth’s surface. Drilling on your own is not only a job, but also the satisfaction of your ambitions.
General information about hydraulic drilling
Hydrogeologists designate three aquifer intervals - depths from the surface of 12 meters, 13–50 meters and over 51 meters. Obviously, drilling a well with your own hands is only possible within the first aquifer level. And with the use of special devices and in light soil, you can manually master the second level, but the third is accessible only to self-propelled hydraulic drilling units. To drill with such a rig, you need to take a training course and become a professional.
Horizon 0–12
At the horizons of the highest level, water intake structures are usually carried out in the form "Abyssinian well"- name after the area in Ethiopia, which became the founder of the method of extracting water from the depths. Drilling wells for water in the upper layer is fraught with the fact that the perched water often has a brown tint, since it includes contaminants brought from the earth's surface. You can use such industrial water for irrigation, but it is advisable to drill a well deeper, until there is clean water. The output of the upper level well does not exceed 25 cubic meters per day; this water intake has a number of advantages:
- the design is simple and there are no installation difficulties;
- inexpensive materials are used, which results in low cost of work;
- no water use permit required;
- absence of excess salts in the water intake;
- You can drill a well in limited space.
Disadvantages of this type of water intake already indicated above: this is the proximity of the surface with all its negatives. And also the fact that not every soil will allow you to break through it with your own hands and without special equipment to 10 meters.
Horizon 13–50
To extract from this horizon, under certain conditions, you can drill a well underwater with your own hands. This is a level of medium depth and often consists mainly of sand, which is why water wells at this level are also called sandy. The water here is crystal clear, but getting to it using homemade equipment will require a lot of work. Using a sand well, it is possible to provide water intake with a capacity of 20 cubic meters per day. If the soils at the construction site of the water intake allow drilling wells for water, then the advantages of such designs are:
Towards unfavorable moments operation of sand wells may include the need to ensure their constant flow rate, although, depending on the conditions of use, this may turn out to be a plus. Depending on the quality of the extracted resource, it may be necessary to install filters to absorb unwanted chemical compounds.
Horizon 51–200
At this depth artesian waters lie, that is, they are enclosed among water-resistant rocks and compressed by their pressure. Surface pollution cannot penetrate this horizon. Wells for water from this level are called artesian and often, under the influence of pressure from mountain layers, they gush.
It is obvious that drilling water wells of such length is only feasible using special equipment and subject to compliance with the technology of work, since the aquifer is under pressure. Nevertheless, in some areas it is necessary to draw water from such deep horizons simply because there is no water in the upper layers. Important advantages of such water intakes, in addition to high quality, are the ability to provide water to several water use facilities at once and the optional installation of a water pump.
To use artesian water, you will need to obtain a permit for special water use and attract a professional team with the appropriate equipment, and this costs a lot of money. In addition, this water will need to be softened, because it contains many dissolved minerals.
Having formed a certain opinion about the general ideas about the types of water wells, you can become more familiar with the technology of their construction. Wells available for independent installation of water intake structures are:
- “Abyssinian well” up to 12 meters deep.
- Sandy - up to 50 meters.
"Abyssinian Well"
Having selected a place to lay the excavation, you need to make a half-meter deepening in the ground measuring 1x1 meter in plan. To drill a well manually use garden auger in the form of an auger with a diameter of 56–82 mm. As the tool penetrates the soil, the drill string, made from pipe sections, is expanded until the drill reaches the aquifer. This technology for drilling water wells was borrowed from professional drillers; their sequence of operations is approximately the same.
A sign of reaching the aquifer is wet sand extracted by a drill from the excavation. The usual depth is 4–8 meters, and this is normal for a pump installed on the surface, but drawing water from a depth of more than 10 meters entails installing a submersible pump, which complicates the design of the water intake well.
Upon reaching the required depth, the drill is removed from the excavation in the opposite way and immersed into it the so-called igloo. This is a piece of pipe with a cone-shaped tip, which facilitates the entry of the structure into the excavation. It is equipped with a filter 80 cm long in the form of slits (2.5 cm) with an interval of 2 cm, the slotted section is wrapped with wire and stainless mesh. The entire structure of the cone and filter must be made of homogeneous metal and held together with tin solder. The homogeneity of the metal will reduce corrosion processes on the working body.
The needle, as well as pieces of pipe with threaded connections for drilling, can be purchased in the retail chain. Before drilling a well with your own hands, the needle is inserted into the wellhead so that there is a liner at least 20 centimeters long above the surface. The next rod (piece of pipe) is screwed to it and the structure is driven into the well. Thus, gradually increasing the pipe steel, the structure is completely submerged to the aquifer, and the space between the outer diameter of the pipe and the walls of the excavation is filled with soil and compacted.
Now all that's left is pump the water intake with a manual or electric pump until clean water comes out. Next, the mouth of the excavation is concreted and water supply is supplied to it. This water intake does not require special care. If its efficiency decreases, you can clean the filter by pumping water under pressure into the well.
Sand well
Do-it-yourself hydrodrilling of water wells in some sandy ones is not much different from drilling Abyssinian ones. First you need to prepare the work site and clear it of foreign objects. Then it is issued mouth part in the form of a meter deepening to prevent soil from entering the mine shaft. A tripod with a winch is placed above the wellhead to lift the pipe string from the well.
The working body for drilling is an auger drill, which is turned by two people using removable handles. You can make a drill for a well with your own hands from an ice drill, or you can just buy it. It is important to prevent the well from moving away from the vertical, so the drilling stage should be taken with full responsibility.
During the drilling process, the workings should be periodically cleared of drill slag by lifting the drill bit. If it is difficult to rotate the drill string at a significant depth, you can add water into the excavation to facilitate the work. To prevent the walls of the well from being destroyed during the drilling process, they are lined with pipes of a larger diameter than the working tool. Casing is also carried out as the drill string is built up. Polymer pipes with coupling or threaded connections are used for casing. At the bottom-hole section of the casing pipe, holes and slots are made for water penetration; they are located 50 cm from the end of the pipe.
Drilling stops, when the drill bit goes 0.5 m deep into the aquifer. Then the space near the casing is filled with gravel or small crushed stone, the well bore is cleared of mud, after which a submersible electric pump is placed in the bore at a distance of 1 meter from the bottom. Next is concreting the mouth and connecting the water supply.
Now, having familiarized yourself with how to drill a water well yourself, you can assess your strengths and make a decision. In this case, it is necessary to ask neighbors how deep the aquifer is in their areas. Having decided to drill a water intake yourself, you should adhere to general safety requirements in order to avoid injury. And after drilling is completed, analyze the extracted water in a specialized laboratory.
No country house can exist without normal water supply. Carry water with you when visiting a dacha in weekend days? This option is not even considered, since it is unlikely to be enough even for household needs. Constantly annoying your neighbors with requests to replenish their water supply? This is only possible for the time being - there is a limit to every human patience... A source of water will be all the more necessary if long-term or even permanent residence is planned in a country house, and there is a desire to grow some flowers or crops on the adjacent plot. The solutions are to connect to the centralized water supply system (in most cases this is simply impossible or is associated with too large financial costs), or to equip a source of autonomous water supply on your territory.
Video: surface well development
All these issues will definitely be discussed in a separate publication on our construction portal.
Any country house must be provided with water, which can be used not only for watering the area, but also for cooking, cleaning the house, and washing. However, not everywhere it is possible to connect to a centralized water supply system, but this problem can be solved independently. Do-it-yourself water well from A to Z, video at 30 m and how to drill it without using special equipment - those aspects are discussed in detail in the article.
Do-it-yourself water well drilling, video
Drilling a well on a site is a huge and labor-intensive process, too expensive and labor-intensive. Such a statement is wrong. These works can be done with your own hands. This approach allows you to save on renting expensive equipment. The house will be provided with clean and cheap water around the clock thanks to a well.
Water well drilling kit
A sand well with a depth of 30 meters is one of the popular types and can last more than 10-13 years. The well must be periodically cleaned, which significantly extends the period of uninterrupted operation. The design of a sand well consists of a pipe that is lowered into the shaft. A special coarse stainless steel filter is installed at the bottom. A well is drilled using an auger method. The water level must be checked for the content of chemical and organic substances. Sometimes an aquifer may contain water that needs to be thoroughly cleaned before it can be drunk.
Many owners of country houses decide to use a gas drill when drilling. This device greatly facilitates manual labor, and time costs are significantly reduced. An electric or gas drill reaches high speeds by rotating and quickly brings soil to the surface.
Do-it-yourself water well: principle of operation, diagram
Water intake wells of any diameter operate according to general principles. After drilling with a gas drill or manually, a casing pipe is installed, which will restrain the soil masses from crumbling, thereby protecting the water from pollution. The pipe can be metal, plastic, asbestos. Its lower part must be perforated for the unhindered flow of water into the water intake channel.
Dacha water supply scheme
For better filtration, a space is left at the very bottom of the channel, which will serve as a sump. All coarse, heavy particles will settle to the bottom rather than reach the surface. To further clean the liquid from sand and silt, a coarse filter, which is a fine mesh, is installed in the perforated part of the pipe. It will cut off the suction of coarse particles by the pump.
To prevent water from flowing back through the channel when the engine is turned off, valves are additionally installed. The power of the electric pump is selected individually, depending on the distance of the house from the well and its depth. For greater convenience, it is better to fully automate the water supply process. This is achieved by installing special equipment, sensors and pressure gauges to monitor the pressure in the system. At the final stage, the pipe system itself is insulated.
You can make a water well yourself at home or use appropriate mechanisms for this. If you decide to do without special electrical or gas equipment, you need to prepare the following tools, namely: 
- metal drill of the required diameter;
- collapsible drilling rig;
- a sufficient number of rods;
- mechanical or electric winch;
- casing.
Drilling a well with a hand drill to a depth of 30 meters is a rather tedious task that requires a sufficient amount of time. Using a drill and rods, the installation is assembled, and as it deepens, new sections are added. Drilling proceeds clockwise. The drill is rotated manually by 2-3 assistants. Experienced craftsmen pour water into the well to soften the soil. The drill must be taken out periodically to extract soil masses. Doing this without a drilling rig is problematic and difficult. Using a winch greatly simplifies this event.
The drilling cycle is repeated step by step. After reaching the aquifer, it must be passed completely until the drill hits the impermeable layer. This well arrangement is more preferable. Thanks to this scheme, water will flow faster into the water intake. The first portions of liquid are always dirty, but after prolonged rinsing, clean water begins to flow. If this does not happen, experts recommend going deeper a couple of meters.
For pumping water, it is better to use one equipped with filters. It is also possible to extract water using a hand pump, but the depth of the well makes this process difficult. It is much easier to automate the supply of water to the surface. In this case, the well is connected to the water supply system for uninterrupted supply in the house. Some owners of suburban areas make water storage. This can be a plastic or metal container of the required volume. Water is supplied to the house directly from the settling barrel. Water enters the container itself automatically after the level drops. If you equip the container with a float, then turning on the pump to collect water can be automated.
Video on how to make a water well with your own hands using the manual method:
Do-it-yourself water well drilling from A to Z, 30 m video is of interest to many owners of country houses. Having a source of clean water, you can not only provide the area with irrigation, which will significantly increase the yield of garden crops. Water from a well is the most inexpensive way to organize uninterrupted water supply to your dacha, which will increase the level of comfort during your vacation.
Drilling a water well may be necessary for owners of areas where there is no running water or a well, or the water in which is not suitable for drinking.
The owners have to choose between an uncomfortable life without water and drilling a well. You will learn how to properly drill a well and get drinking water yourself from this article.
Drilling technology
A water well is a serious hydraulic engineering facility, the efficiency and service life of which depend on the design and adherence to technology.
The first thing you need to do when drilling a hole in the ground for water is to determine the location of the future water source. Drilling begins after the site is laid out.
Space is needed not only for the well itself, but also for the drilling rig and additional mechanisms, so there must be access to the future well. It is necessary to provide a place for draining technical water.
Approximately, to drill a shaft under water, you will need a flat area measuring 40 - 50 square meters.
In order for water transport equipment and a drilling rig to enter it, the width of the entrance gate must be at least 3 meters. No electrical wires should pass over the drilling site.
According to building codes:
- the trunk cannot be drilled closer than 3 meters from the house;
- nothing can be built over it;
- there must be access for equipment.
The technology for drilling a well under water involves three types of work.
Rock destruction - destruction by various mechanisms is most often used.
In industry, rock is destroyed mechanically, thermally or explosively, but when drilling underwater wells in individual areas, the latter two technologies are not used.
Excavation - Mechanical and hydraulic methods can be used for this work.
With the hydraulic method, soil is lifted from a well to the surface using a liquid under pressure: water or a water-clay solution. In the mechanical method, special equipment is used: drills, augers, bailers.
Strengthening the walls - it’s not enough to drill a hole in the ground. To prevent its walls from crumbling, it will be necessary to arrange the trunk.
To secure the walls, a metal casing pipe made of black steel, electric-welded or solid, is inserted into the hole.
Pipe sections can be connected by threaded connections or by welding. If it is expected that the water from the well will be drunk, then a galvanized pipe cannot be used.
The ideal option for pipes through which artesian water will pass is stainless steel, but this material is too expensive.
Nowadays, the most common way to construct underwater wells is using double casing technology, when a liner made of a plastic pipe made of HDPE or PVC is inserted into the main metal column.
This allows you to significantly increase the service life of the well.
Four ways to drill a water well yourself
The choice of drilling method depends on technical and financial capabilities, as well as on the desired technical characteristics of the future hydraulic facility.
The auger method is suitable when you need to drill a shallow well on a site. Drilling is carried out by an auger, the blades of which simultaneously destroy the soil and carry it upward.
An auger is a device that resembles a corkscrew in shape and mechanism of action. Its blades can be welded at right angles - in this case they enter the soil also at right angles and crush it before feeding it to the surface.
In this case, part of the soil may spill to the bottom and will require additional extraction to the surface.
A more progressive drilling method is when the blades are welded to the axis at an angle. Such an auger enters the soil and removes it without crushing or spilling.
Core method - for drilling, a special tool is used in the form of a tube with a nozzle at the end, which is a core column with cutters made of hard metal.
The method is suitable if you have to drill hard rocky rocks. In this case, the soil is first broken up with a chisel and then raised to the surface using a crown.
The tube rotates, sludge is filled into it and brought to the surface. A completely clogged tube is removed and cleared of rock by hitting it with a heavy sledgehammer.
When drilling a well using the core method, it is necessary to supply water with a suspension of clay into the hole - this protects the walls of the well from crumbling.
The impact-rope method involves first breaking up the soil with a heavy tool and then removing it using a cutting and gripping device located at the end of the pipe.
This device is called a bailer. A two-meter-high tripod is placed above the site of the future well. A block is installed on it, through which a cable with a bailer attached to it is passed.
If it is planned to construct a well less than 10 meters long, then the construction of a tripod is not necessary.
But in any case, if you drill a hole with your own hands, then this device will facilitate the process, since when working with a tripod you do not need to exert a lot of physical force.
Impact-rotary - in this case, drilling is accelerated due to the fact that the installation simultaneously performs impact and reverse advance.
The method is considered the most productive method of drilling channels under water in rocky soil.
Drilling a water well with an ice drill
If you need to drill a shallow well for water with your own hands in an area with soft soil at minimal cost, then you can take a regular ice drill.
During the drilling process, the tool is extended with homemade rods. Ice drill knives replace the auger, and the rods can be made by hand from steel tubes with a diameter of 2.5 centimeters.
An ice drill is used to drill through ice and frozen ground during winter fishing or mountaineering. A fishing ice auger is suitable for drilling the earth.
An ice auger is a lightweight tool with sharp knives. It has the right angle of attack, thanks to which the knives easily bite into the ground.
It is quite possible for them to dig a shallow well for water or a hole for pillars on the site. The ice drill picks up dry soil well, but gets stuck in wet soil. It is not suitable for drilling clay.
To speed up the work, cutters need to be welded to the edge of the ice drill blades. In addition to the ice drill and rods, you will need casing tubes to secure the hole shaft, a shovel and a cart for loading and removing soil from the site.
How to properly drill a hole in the ground with your own hands using an ice drill?
The work consists of the following stages:
- dig a hole 40–50 centimeters deep with a shovel;
- a drill is placed in the hole and, rotating, it is inserted into the ground according to the rule for tightening the screws;
- Having made 3-4 turns, the tool is pulled out and manually cleared of the ground;
- After drilling the first meter, you need to start forming a channel for water; to do this, a casing pipe is lowered into the hole.
Advice: it is correct when the diameter of the pipe is slightly larger than the ice drill. When constructing a well with your own hands, it is better to use lightweight plastic pipes connected to each other using a threaded connection.
When the tool is completely underground, stop drilling and attach an extension to the drill (using threads, soldering or a steel rod pin).
You need to drill until the top 10 centimeters of the casing remain on the surface. The next segment is fixed on it.
When arranging the walls, periodically check their verticality, leveling them with pieces of wood. Wedges are driven into the gap between the ground and the outer wall of the pipe.
They continue to drill until water appears in the well. After this, the work is stopped, the tool is removed and the filter is installed.
Advice: the gap in the ground near the pipe needs to be filled with crushed stone.
Pipes can be inserted into the hole not during, but after drilling, but in this case the well will have to be freed again from the soil that has spilled down.
Then the pipes are lowered into the barrel one by one and connected to each other after the next section of pipe goes down.
Final works
You drilled a water well with your own hands, but this is only the first stage. Now you need to arrange your hydraulic structure.
The arrangement includes:
- caisson installation;
- starting the pump;
- installation of electrical equipment;
- laying water pipes.
The construction of an artesian well is mandatory, but if there is not enough money, then this can be done a little later.
There is no need for improvement if the decision is made to drill a small well on the site solely for watering the garden and other non-domestic needs.
The arrangement begins with the installation of a caisson. A head is made for the caisson, that is, soil is removed around the upper edge of the casing and the caisson is lowered to a depth of about two meters.
Thus, the hole from which water will flow will be in the center of the caisson. The pipe is hermetically connected to the inner edges of the caisson.
The installation of a caisson is necessary to prevent the well from flooding with groundwater. Without a caisson, the water at the mouth of the hole may freeze in winter.
What is a caisson device? You can make a caisson with your own hands from a piece of ordinary pipe, the diameter of which is approximately one meter.
The thickness of the caisson walls should be about 4 millimeters. The inside of the caisson is coated with an anti-corrosion compound, the outside is insulated from water, and the top must be closed with a lid.
The pipe through which the water rises comes out of the caisson - its upper end is located below the freezing point of the soil.
The well pump must supply water under sufficient pressure. A waterproof cable is mounted to the pump and a metal cable is attached for insurance.
The end of the cable is secured to the head of the casing.
If you wish, you can install automatic control elements yourself so as not to turn on the pump manually.
The pump control panel allows the device to automatically turn on and off depending on the pressure the accumulator is under.
The hydraulic accumulator (membrane tank) protects the pump motor from dry operation and from voltage surges in the electrical network.
Practice shows that drilling a hydraulic well with your own hands is quite labor-intensive, but possible.
If you don’t have the means to hire drilling equipment and have to do everything yourself, then you need to approach the matter responsibly - choose the right drilling option depending on the soil on the site, read the instructions.
But as a result, you will receive high-quality water from a hydraulic facility made by yourself.
An increasing number of people are thinking about drilling a well on their property.
Everyone can quickly make a well at their dacha, independently and correctly, both with a pump and manually.
But this process is complex, as it is often performed using special equipment and requires knowledge and compliance with certain nuances.
There are several reasons for installing a well on your site:
- Own water source at the dacha.
- Independence from utilities.
- Access to water 24/7.
- Pure water without chlorine and heavy metals.
- We drilled it ourselves once and for years.
Let's look at the question of how to drill a well with your own hands in all details: types of drilling, nuances and the drilling process itself for practical implementation.
We are not talking about a well, since this is a different type of well, which does not always justify the investment of time and labor.
There are several ways to quickly and correctly drill with your own hands.
Let's look at them in detail so that you understand not only the essence of drilling, but also the options for choosing a method in relation to your dacha.
Shock-rope
A special drilling rig breaks the rock, first rising to a height of 2 meters above ground level. The operating principle is reminiscent of the piston stroke in an engine: rise, strike, rise.
When drilling in this way, it is worth constantly pouring water into the well so that the walls do not crumble, and the rock in the well is softened and easily extracted.
When percussion-rope drilling, a tripod 2 meters high is needed, it stands directly above the drilling site. At the top of the tripod there is a block with the help of which the cable with the drill is pulled up and lowered.
You can easily drill up to 20 meters deep in a day. You can do without a tripod yourself, but you will be physically exhausted. Do not listen to such advice from “home-grown” drillers.
Watch the video: the tripod is very easy to assemble, and its role is invaluable.
Impact-rotational
The method is somewhat similar to the one described above.
The difference lies in the nature of the movement of the drill in the well - it does not just strike, but also rotates.
Soil is removed using a special bucket.
If the soil at the dacha is dense, then it is better to use this type of drilling.
Screw
The most common method that uses an auger is a metal rod with a screw thread along its entire length.
The auger has the advantage: it destroys the soil in the well and then brings it to the surface.
Auger drilling is performed in one of 2 ways:
- 1st – the blades are welded to the auger at an angle of 90 degrees. Disadvantage: the soil will still fall off the drill and will have to be removed separately;
- 2nd – the blades are welded at an angle of up to 70 degrees. No soil will get inside the well when extracting the drill, so this method is more profitable. You just need to have the necessary auger.
Please note that in order to drill a well quickly, correctly and without breakdowns, you need to supply water directly into the well itself, as it reduces the temperature of the drill itself and softens the soil in the well.
As a result, you can always pump it out yourself.
Core
This method is performed using a core bit, which looks like an upside-down empty glass with metal teeth.
When rotating and passing through the earth, the bit forms a well of the required diameter. All collected sludge accumulates in the bit and is then carried to the surface along with it and sand.
It is enough to hit the bit correctly with a mallet a couple of times, and it will immediately empty the entire “reserve” of soil from the bottom of the well. If the soil does not go, pick it with a rod. Only a clean drill can be loaded.
When drilling, water is poured into the bit through a pipe, which softens the soil. The core approach is suitable for any soil.
To summarize: of all types of drilling, auger drilling is less effective, although it is easy to do independently.
The auger is suitable for softer rocks; for hard rocks, only the impact-rope method or the impact-rotary method.
Types of wells
There are several types of water wells. Each has its own terms of use.
Well on sand
With a depth of 15 to 30 meters, such a well is drilled using an auger method.
The well in this embodiment is a pipe with a diameter of 10 to 12 cm, at the end of which there is a filter in the form of a perforated pipe wrapped in mesh.
When drilling a well, you need to find a layer of so-called aquifer sand and install a filter. Otherwise, such a layer is called a water lens.
The thicker the lens, the greater the well's flow rate - you will get more water per unit of time. The service life of a well reaches up to 20 years; in winter, the well can be mothballed.
Rarely does a well silt up - in this case, it is enough to clean it with either a powerful compressor or an injector. The last option is preferable.
Advantages of a sand well:
- low cost of drilling;
- drilling takes only 1-2 days, even manually;
- you can drill in hard-to-reach places, in the countryside, with small-sized installations;
- the water is not cloudy - no complex purification system is needed;
- Well licensing and registration are not required.
There are only two disadvantages: low durability compared to artesian, instability of water level and well flow rate. Water runs out quickly and takes a long time to fill.
At the same time, it is rarely cloudy, but is supplemented with sand - therefore a filter is needed. In a summer cottage, muddy water is only suitable for irrigation.
Artesian well
No filter is used during drilling.
Water accumulates in limestone layers, but it is not cloudy: porous limestone contains water and actively filters it, and its flow rate is up to 10 cubic meters per hour, which is a lot.
The service life of such a well can be tens of years!
Another advantage of such a well is that the water will not contain ammonia, microbes, suspended matter, and will not be covered with sand, so even a simple “Malysh” type pump will cope with the task.
Advantages of an artesian well:
- a certain depth (the geological map of the area is well studied);
- huge water yield, the water is rarely cloudy;
- durability - 30-40 years;
- constant water level;
- You can install a powerful pump at your dacha.
True, there are a number of disadvantages: drilling takes up to 7 days (but don’t do it manually!), it is necessary to purify the water in the well from high concentrations of minerals, and sometimes permitting documentation for drilling is required.
There is also the familiar well and its Abyssinian variation. We do not consider them, because technically they are not drilled, but dug, and the water in them comes from the ground differently.
There is always a risk of contamination from outside in a well.
Do-it-yourself well drilling
The drilling process consists of 3 stages. The description is followed by a detailed video of the process.
Stage 1 – preparatory work:
- We find out from the land committee or from neighbors the depth of the water layer;
- Get ready for machine drilling - it is impractical to work manually in a well at a depth of 20 meters;
- All sources of sewage should be located as far as possible from the place where you will make the well;
- The diameter of the well is always slightly larger than the diameter of the casing pipe - 10-12 cm. Prepare the pipes in advance;
- We dig a guide recess in the selected area: a hole with a diameter and depth of 1.5 m. We strengthen its walls with slate or metal sheets so that it is not covered with sand.
Stage 2 – assembling the tripod for drilling:
- We take 3 metal pipes or very strong timber, the length of the part should be 4-5 meters;
- We place the structure on the ground so that two legs are turned in one direction, and the third in the opposite direction;
- In each leg you need to make a hole for fasteners;
- We fasten the legs in the shape of a triangular pyramid;
- At the top of the tripod we place a block along which the cable will slide freely;
- We install a mechanical winch, which we will use to move the drill manually (an electric one is possible);
- We secure the cable and attach the drill on top.
The tripod is ready.
Stage 3 – drilling:
- We take a tripod with a winch, a driving glass, a rope (cable) and a shock rod;
- We place a tripod, on top of it - a winch with a projectile over the dug hole, directly above the drilling point;
- We lift the glass with a winch above the drilling point and lower it with force. A tool driven into the ground grabs the soil with a glass. When lifted, the sludge remains inside the glass. We take it out - this should be done after each lift;
- We continue to drive the drill into the ground with the impact rod. When it is full, take it out and shake out the soil;
- When passing a certain step, say 1 meter, we immediately insert a casing pipe whose diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the drill itself. It prevents the well from collapsing;
- As soon as the auger lowers to the entire length of the projectile, we attach an additional rod to it;
- When drilling, we constantly check the evenness of the laying of the entire column: if you hear the sounds of the drill hitting the pipe walls, the barrel must be straightened immediately. How to do it: drive wooden wedges between the casing and the wall;
- Once the projectile has passed the aquifer, we do not bury the pipe further. After the water arrives, wait 1 hour, then pump it out with a garden pump and check for cleanliness. Repeat this until the water becomes clear;
- We pumped out the water in the improvised well for the last time - leave the well until tomorrow;
- The next day, we measure the flow rate of the well: we multiply the depth of the well in meters by the pump capacity (cubic meters per hour) and divide the result of the product by the difference between the dynamic and static water levels. Static level is the distance to the surface of the water (we lower the load on a rope into the water and measure along the length of the dry part of the rope), dynamic level is the distance from the surface of the earth to the water, but after pumping it out. If the difference between the two levels is small, then the well’s flow rate is very large. This means that more water comes in per unit of time than the pump is able to pump out in the same unit of time. The pump body always indicates its power - cubic meters per hour;
- If the flow rate is several cubic meters, then cover the bottom of the well: fill a layer of gravel or crushed stone, 20-30 cm wide;
- We fill the entire space between the wall and the casing with gravel and sand;
- We immerse a pump in the well (any pump, even a budget “Kid”, will do a great job) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and attach it to the surface, supply power;
- We connect the hose, disassemble the tripod and winch.
Important point! This point is not indicated in the video, but it is significant: it is better to take the first extracted, already clean water to the laboratory so that a series of tests can be performed on it - it may turn out to be completely unsuitable for drinking and contain traces of heavy metals, pathogenic organisms and an increased amount of minerals.
Conclusion
Now you know how to drill a well with your own hands at your dacha.
Pay attention to the process itself: in the video, all the work is done at home using equipment that can be borrowed from neighbors or rented for a couple of days.
After drilling, using a pump, you can organize water supply to any point on the site, even to your house.
Place a simple submersible “Malysh” in the well and it will easily cope with the supply of water in the required volume.