Sand point well

[lookout]

Not wanting to highjack the previous post on dug wells, i figured i would start a new thread. I'm wondering what sort of experience people have with a sand point well.

At the trapping cabin we are about 30 yards from the lake and maybe 8' above the waterline. It's swampy where we are with lots of black ash and poplar growing. I'm figuring on taking a chance with witching a well.....not sure if it will work for me (or if it works at all), then pounding steel tube down maybe twenty feet with a sand point at the bottom. Any wisdom from someone with experience?

How far can I drag water up with a hand pump?
I have heard that in order to keep it running in the winter you should drill a small hole in the pipe above the standpoint and above a check/foot valve....this allows all your water close to the surface to drain away and not freeze at -40.
Wisdom? Ideas?

[Admin]

No experience with them but you probably can find answers to this on Utube. Is there a reason you can't just run a buried line to the lake and draw water from there?

[lookout]

Power needed to run it....and too much line that will freeze in the winter.

[billfosburgh]

i have driven a lot of shallow wells in our area. a good pitcher pump with good leathers will pump 25 feet or so. my well here is 18ft.
if you drill a hole in the pipe you will suck air & your pump will not prime. pitcher pumps are designed to dain them selves by pulling up on the handle & holding it there for a min. or so, it will drain itself so it wont freeze.
i have a heavy driver so it dont take long to drive one , sometimes getting thru a hard pan is a pain but usually once your thru that its smooth sailin

[nattybumpo13]

What bill said!

There is a theoretical maximum that you can lift water vertically in a cylinder. It's about 33', but 25' is about the max in reality before stuff starts breaking! If you're 8' above the wet area, I'd bet your static water level (in the pipe) is near the same elevation, if it's sand and no impermeable layer in between. Pulling it 8' will be easy.
A couple of tricks:
1) we use generator and electric jackhammer to drive our points. Put an extra threaded coupling on top of your pipe (extra because the jackhammer will render it unusable for joining the next piece of pipe) use a straight chisel bit in the pipe to keep the hammer on center, and pound it down. Easy peasy!
2) Keep a supply of water on hand. When you need more, instead of sucking the air out of the pipe after you wet the leathers on the pitcher pump, just figure out a way to fill the pipe with your stored water faster than it goes down the pipe. As soon as he pipe fills with water, you can start pumping. We use a 1" ball valve under the pump to hold the prime until it gets too cold. Don't forget to replenish your priming water.