# My "back up" water source. A Shallow Well installed by hand



## nj_m715

Details are on my blog. I am on city water, so It may or may not be plumbed into my house :sssh:


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## UncleJoe

Nice! Our shallow well is our main source of water but to hand pump it, we need to go outside.


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## Clarice

We would like to convert our well to a hand pump. The well is approx. 125'. Can you give me some idea how to start. Do we need to remove the existing pipe and sand point? Any information you can share will be appreciated. We have community water now and would use this for a backup.


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## nj_m715

Wells are considered shallow or deep. Normally under 25' is shallow and over that is deep. Pumps are much better at pushing than pulling. My well is made of 1.25" pipe and the pump is on the surface. 25' is as far as most pumps can pull water. Your well is most likely a larger pipe, maybe 6" or so and your pump is at the bottom of the well where it can push the water up. Our systems are very different. 

If your well is working fine right now your cheapest way for "back up" water is to have back up power. a small gen set or inverter can run your pump along with other important things like your fridge. There are manual deep pumps that run be powered by hand, bicycle, windmill etc. I don't have any first hand knowledge of them. I don't know if one can be added to your system or if it would have to completely replace your existing pump. I'm sure someone else here can fill you in or you can google it.


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## Victor23

Go to your home depot or Lowes. They have a shallow well kit that works like the principle of sticking a water hose in the ground. You basically wash your pipe down to water bearing soil. I sunk my pipe down to 30 feet and put a hand pump on the pipe. I hit water at 20'. I can pump enough water to supply my daily needs. It is a very inexpensive way to ensure your survival with your own water supply.


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## nj_m715

Yup, that's what is in my photo, but I also added a harbor freight pump to it. Only one of my local home depots had the sand point but I'm not in a rural area.


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## PS360

That wouldn't work here, too many rocks.


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## sailaway

I have 20% of the worlds fresh water in my back yard, the great lakes!


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## mosquitomountainman

Hand pumps will work on very deep wells but they are expensive to purchase. The difference between a hand pump for a deep well is that the actual "pump" is in the pipe going down the well and is connected to the handle by long rods. A shallow well pump has the "pump" on top just below the handle. If your well is a drilled well the pump and pipe will have to fit inside the well casing.

DEEP WELL PUMP - Hand Pump Kit - eBay (item 220656045600 end time Nov-15-10 13:34:16 PST)

Bison Deep Well Hand Water Pumps

The Bison pump is a pressure pump (I think) meaning you can attach a hose to it and pump water through the hose.


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## sailaway

Just talking to Josie Wales on the phone tonight, he is a member of this forum who lives in The Bronx. He is trying to come up with a secondary water source for when it all goes wrong in the City, any suggestions?


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## The_Blob

sailaway said:


> Just talking to Josie Wales on the phone tonight, he is a member of this forum who lives in The Bronx. He is trying to come up with a secondary water source for when it all goes wrong in the City, any suggestions?


rooftop cisterns?


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## Ponce

My water is by gravity all the way to my home from a creek a mile and half away.....have also a 550 gallons and a 2,500 gallons black water tanks...have a filter in garage and under the kitchen counter.


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## JayJay

sailaway said:


> I have 20% of the worlds fresh water in my back yard, the great lakes!


Are those the lakes China is stealing from??

Jesse Ventura topic last week/


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## nj_m715

sailaway said:


> Just talking to Josie Wales on the phone tonight, he is a member of this forum who lives in The Bronx. He is trying to come up with a secondary water source for when it all goes wrong in the City, any suggestions?


I have a cheap answer for that too. The bladder could be anywhere, in a garage or basement and hooked to a pump. I'll be taking it down soon for the winter and switching back to my well for the winter. The bladder will return around march or so.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/foru...-collection-water-tower-my-solar-shower-3714/


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## weedygarden

sailaway said:


> Just talking to Josie Wales on the phone tonight, he is a member of this forum who lives in The Bronx. He is trying to come up with a secondary water source for when it all goes wrong in the City, any suggestions?


I know that living is tight in places like the Bronx. We don't know what he has access to, what he can and cannot do.

I think that anyone who lives in any city could divert rain water to storage. It could be rain barrels, a water tank, or even food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids that are connected in a chain with short hose connections close to the top of the buckets.


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## efbjr

*Stay???*



sailaway said:


> Just talking to Josie Wales on the phone tonight, he is a member of this forum who lives in The Bronx. He is trying to come up with a secondary water source for when it all goes wrong in the City, any suggestions?


Leave as fast as you can.


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## BillS

efbjr said:


> Leave as fast as you can.


I second that. It would be incredibly dangerous in a SHTF situation to be around that many people even if you're heavily armed.
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/images/smilies/gaah.gif


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## stayingthegame

sailaway said:


> I have 20% of the worlds fresh water in my back yard, the great lakes!


haven't you heard lately that the lakes were sold to a company in France. it's true a french water company bought the rights to the water in lake mich. bottling it out of Milwaukee.


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## Emerald

stayingthegame said:


> haven't you heard lately that the lakes were sold to a company in France. it's true a french water company bought the rights to the water in lake mich. bottling it out of Milwaukee.


Well I hope that they are pumping it out of lake Michigan for sure--cuz you know--I pee in that lake when i go swimming! The bathrooms are just too far away! Bwaaahahaha Just think french folks are drinking my pee!:sssh:


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## Barfife

PS360 said:


> That wouldn't work here, too many rocks.


Only works in sandy soil. Will not work in clay type soil or rocky soil either. Check before you waste your money.


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## Jimmy24

nj_m715 said:


> Yup, that's what is in my photo, but I also added a harbor freight pump to it. Only one of my local home depots had the sand point but I'm not in a rural area.


Having said you are not in a rural area, have you had that water tested. I have had several shallow wells thru the years at different locations. In city areas you need to have it tested. There are MANY old septic tanks and cess pools in cities, that have never been filled in and they DO contaminate the ground water. If there is any smell to the water what so ever do not drink it. Test first. If it's a well you have been using and trust, then that's a different story.

As far as using hand pumps, water can be lifted with a good quaility hand pump from very deep, as long as the bypass valve is working properly and the leather seal is good. If you have a casing and a jet pipe, then a pump with motor is the way to go.

Jimmy


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## MonsterMalak

*Hand Dug wells.*

15 years ago I hand dug a well that still provides the water for my farm and geotheral heating and cooling. But it is shallow and too open to risk drinking.

Was wanting to Wash in 4 inch PVC pipe to get one deeper than my other at 20 foot. Was going to modify a metal colar to be the cutter, hook water up for flushing, and counter weight to allow handling. Was hoping to be able to gently cut through the sand, clay, and gravel.

Any ideas or experience with doing this?


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