sand point well

[beeker]

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with putting in a sand point well? my land is in aitkin county, mcgrath area... has anyone driven a sand point? what do I need to do this? I'm not expecting to get potable water (but hoping) looking more for water to mix with pestacides and stuff. thanks.

[mcgarth]

where abouts in mcgrath are you? im by county road 26

[beeker]

I'm about 2 miles from 18-65 off county road 61.  I've seen lots of good sign this year around there.

[bowhunter73]

Everybody I ever talked to about this said it was no big deal. But none of them had ever done it  . Anyhow this website has some good info for you hope it helps




http://www.fdungan.com/well.htm

[beeker]

I think that link covers allot of my questions. thanks.

my brother that I own the land with will be getting a sand point for christmas

[backwoods]

Putting in a sand point well requires:

1 1/4" sand point
up to 30 ft of 1 1/4 well pipe
equally as many unions or joints
pipe compound for the joints. (not for sealing the joint, just makes putting the pipe together easier)

two large pipe wrenchs

several well driving caps, I damaged them pounding and would replace them

and a day of your time.  Eat a good breakfast and start early, you have a job ahead of you

you pick your spot for pounding the well, and the tip of the sand point pointing down, sharp end down.  Put your driving cap on the threaded end of the 1 1/4" sand point pipe and secure it well so the threads arent damaged while you pound.  every few pounds take 30 seconds and tighten your joints.  Never over tighten as you can and will damage the threads if you do.  Damaged threads can lead to a leak and shorten the life of your well.

proceed as described.  pound and stop to tighten your joints/connections.   Failure to do this can/will lead to a leak as well.   For some odd reason pounding loosens your connections rather than tighten them on every connection.   Depending on the ground it can go fast.  I have put them in in several hours and had it take a day and a half on others, it all depends on what the sand point hits going down.

If you hit water too shallow and its not a good source, I recommend that you pound deeper and find a better vein for better quality water.  However, if you hit water and pound and then never hit water again, pull the pipe back up until its in what feels like the middle of the vein, never the top, because water levels fluctuate and if you are at the top and water levels drop, your well will go dry until water hits that level again which can be months or sometimes a year.

Its hard work but its rewarding to see the water flow...if you hit an artesian you will be immediately rewarded with hard flowing water out the top of the pipe, if you hit a standard vein it wont be so obvious and I kept checking with a stick or piece of black pvc pipe that i put down inside the 1 1/4 and when you pull it out, it shows how much depth of water you have.  wipe it dry each time you recheck so you get an accurate read.

Good luck and enjoy your day of "old school well drivin"

[beeker]

Thanks for the response. you make some very good points with the extra caps and making sure every thing is tight when your pounding.  we have a high water table in the area, I'm just wondering besides making sure it's away from the outhouse and other possible contaminates... is there anything else I need to consider when determining where to locate it?

[backwoods]

You may need to check zoning regs, i know in crow wing they dont regulate sand points as strictly, but yes, you need to be at least a minimum of 50 or 75 ft from any septic pipes, sewer lines, etc.  I am not well (no pun intended) versed on the legal aspects so i encourage you to verify these specs to your satisfaction.  Seems like every county has different regs on wells for some reason, probably due to the varying lay of the land.