Question about deep well water

The water out of my own well is not suitable for drinking anymore, it has to many metals in it and should be drilled deeper.

I know plenty of well locations around here that were abandoned 12 years ago when the city took the land. (they wanted to give the land back to the farmers, but turned out they didn't want it, so although all the houses are gone, the wells are still there, covered up) The one that used to belong to my grandparents for example is 200 m deep and has drinkable water.

Question I have is: how do I get the water up without using electricity? Are there manual pumps suitable for this depth?

a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Bison Deep Well Pumps
There is a data sheet that you can fill out to see which pump will work for you(at the site)

For what purpose?
What kind of volume?
Filling a bucket, or running a house?

That pump above is good for filling buckets, but would also make a good backup and can be used simultaneously with a solar pump.
Google solar deep well pumps for a fully functional system.
They aren't real expensive and will allow showers, toilets, sinks and hoses etc
The panels, batteries and pump are usually a complete set, so you don't need a solar system first, but could be easily added to house solar grid down the road.

a reply to: butcherguy

Thanks for the link,
it doesn't specifically say how deep they will work.

We tried a hand pump on a shallow well once and couldn't get water up with it

Someone posted a pump that you put inline with an existing well. So when the power goes out it’s already tapped to hand pump in an emergency. I need to get one soon, I’ve been procrastinating too long.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
For what purpose?
What kind of volume?
Filling a bucket, or running a house?

That pump above is good for filling buckets.
Google solar deep well pumps for a functional system.

For filling a bucket, a bottle,.... anything. The wells are to far from my own house to hook it up.
So it's just for emergency use and part of my prepping plan.
I know where the wells are, not how to get water out of them, lol.... and I'm no technician either

a reply to: 38181

I know the procrastinating thing... should've just had my own well drilled deeper years ago when it was still affordable. Can't spare the money right now. So when the electricity goes out and there is no water coming from the tap anymore, I'll be dependent on those other wells. I was hoping to find a pump that is easy to install, meaning, easy for someone who knows nothing about these things at all!

a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Yeah, your probably not going to be able to do a mobile setup for what you want.
At minimum you'll be carrying a 1000' of waterline.
Not impossible. I'd prob try it..lol
I'd still prob go solar if it was me. Those hand pumps aren't exactly portable.
Idk..sounds like a good challenge.

From what I've read, pumping up water from more then 50m deep, manually, would take to much physical strength. There used to be mobile pumps with a horizontal wheel instead of a lever but I can't find one of these.
Same for solar pumps, seems like the well is to deep for them.

challenge indeed

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2
Same for solar pumps, seems like the well is to deep for them.

A traditional windmill is technically solar.

Won't be cheap, but with basic care these are proven to last a century.

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Yeah, your probably not going to be able to do a mobile setup for what you want.
At minimum you'll be carrying a 1000' of waterline.
Not impossible. I'd prob try it..lol
I'd still prob go solar if it was me. Those hand pumps aren't exactly portable.
Idk..sounds like a good challenge.

Some places don't have much sun, I wonder if a person could do a windmill like in the old days.
Ah someone already mentions it I see!

a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Have you considered persevering with your own well?

Filtering it properly is probably much cheaper in the long run and bear in mind that using the water regularly may reduce the metal content over time due to a build up from non use over time.

Try an experiment by testing the first batch for impurities, then keep records over time to see where it may end up baseline from regular use.

Just an idea.

a reply to: SeaWorthy
a reply to: gb540

I've looked into small windmills to power batteries, but I doubt if the affordable ones are strong enough work a deep well water pumps.

The more I look into this stuff the more I realize that all of it requires a bit more then basic technical knowledge... Don"t think I could even get it to work!

originally posted by: nerbot
a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Have you considered persevering with your own well?

Filtering it properly is probably much cheaper in the long run and bear in mind that using the water regularly may reduce the metal content over time due to a build up from non use over time.

Try an experiment by testing the first batch for impurities, then keep records over time to see where it may end up baseline from regular use.

Just an idea.

we had the water tested by the tropical institute, they said our own well should be at least 150m deep to get drinkable water in this area. We used the well water to flush the toilet for a while and it turned completely red due to the metals in the water. To much for a water filter to fix.

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2

originally posted by: nerbot
a reply to: KindraLabelle2

Have you considered persevering with your own well?

Filtering it properly is probably much cheaper in the long run and bear in mind that using the water regularly may reduce the metal content over time due to a build up from non use over time.

Try an experiment by testing the first batch for impurities, then keep records over time to see where it may end up baseline from regular use.

Just an idea.

we had the water tested by the tropical institute, they said our own well should be at least 150m deep to get drinkable water in this area. We used the well water to flush the toilet for a while and it turned completely red due to the metals in the water. To much for a water filter to fix.

If you still have it functional, you can hook up a Reverse Osmosis kit for drinking water. GE makes a under sink one for houses, holds two gallons in the holding tank and constantly makes RO water. I have one and it works great.
www.geappliances.com...

a reply to: 38181

Thanks,
I'll look into that

a reply to: KindraLabelle2

If you're just mitigating for metals your best bet is probably processing the water from the existing well. 200m is beyond the range of reasonable manual extraction.

If you intend to use a deep well it would likely be easiest to do a solar system with a pressurized tank or vault cistern on the surface. If you don't have any elevation changes and there is no threat of freezing above ground then tanks are fairly cheap, but plenty of them are rated for 3-6th of soil cover. If there's sufficient elevation change you could also make it a gravity system to the home.

The idea is that you don't want your well pump operating on demand for that depth and solar is intermittent, so a pressure tank uses a bladder to keep the system pressurized in the absence of power. It then fills when pressure drops a certain threshold and power is available.

The cost of running 200m of water line and electric isn't cheap either and at that depth you need special equipment to lower the whole rig down below the static water depth.

Depending on the contaminants present a salt system may be enough to remove what you need removed and would be significantly cheaper than using the old wells.

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2
Too much for a water filter to fix.

Perhaps not if you use Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis differs from filtration in that the mechanism of fluid flow is by osmosis across a membrane. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, where the pores are 0.01 micrometers or larger, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect efficiency regardless of parameters such as the solution's pressure and concentration. Reverse osmosis instead involves solvent diffusion across a membrane that is either nonporous or uses nanofiltration with pores 0.001 micrometers in size. The predominant removal mechanism is from differences in solubility or diffusivity, and the process is dependent on pressure, solute concentration, and other conditions.
Reverse osmosis is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other effluent materials from the water molecules

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2
The water out of my own well is not suitable for drinking anymore, it has to many metals in it and should be drilled deeper.

I know plenty of well locations around here that were abandoned 12 years ago when the city took the land. (they wanted to give the land back to the farmers, but turned out they didn't want it, so although all the houses are gone, the wells are still there, covered up) The one that used to belong to my grandparents for example is 200 m deep and has drinkable water.

Question I have is: how do I get the water up without using electricity? Are there manual pumps suitable for this depth?

So the well is 200m deep but where is the water table? It may not be as difficult as you think to pump.

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2
a reply to: SeaWorthy
a reply to: gb540

I've looked into small windmills to power batteries, but I doubt if the affordable ones are strong enough work a deep well water pumps.

No electricity in the Aermotors I linked.

These are the traditional American prairie mills. A reciprocating rod goes from the gearbox at the top of the mill, and attaches to the top of the pump (or pump-jack as we used to call them).

Not overly technical, but there is knowledge and maybe an art to them. More than once I remember my grandfather scrambling to the top of his, just ahead of storms to "turn it off" so it wouldn't over speed. Had to adjust the vanes or tail or something.

Think the deepest wells these ran were 100-200 feet (30-60m) so you'd have to make sure the mill could do 650ft/200m (which is indeed deep for a water well).