More from Bill

Bill Granade, of Tampa, Florida, has helped dozens if not hundreds of folks drill wells in sand. Drilling in pure sand is a little different. He was kind enough to furnish the email that he provides prospective new drillers. It is reprinted, with his permission, below:

Sure, I would enjoy coaching you with your Shallow Well project.

First…in Florida, I never suggest using a metal or PVC drill end coupler with teeth (BIT). 99 % of the time, they will get stuck in the water/sand mix we drill…… NOT good! Everyone does this the first time!!

All you do is put a 45 degree bevel on the end of your two inch drill pipes. See picture below:

Let me suggest that I help with emails / pics and phone conversations to “Drill your own well”. I would love to add you to the list of successful students (over 50 and still counting) who successfully installed their shallow wells themselves. I normally charge $2,000 for a complete 3 – 1.25 inch wells, 1 HP Sta Rite HNE Jet pump system when I do all the work myself on site. However, I am mostly retired from working on-site installations. I much rather help first time drillers get the water they are looking for with a shallow well system using emails and pictures.

The “Most important” first step I do in the shallow well process is to water jet down a 1 inch test well. You will use two 10 foot 1 inch PVC pipes, 2) two 1 inch SS (slip-slip) connectors,  2)  90 degree  SS connecters,  1 slip garden hose connecter, glue and your garden hose…  Water jet down the first 10 foot section, cut the pipe leaving 1 foot out of the ground. Then glue the second 10 foot section to the pipe in the ground and continue jetting. You will then know if you can successfully water jet down 20 feet of PVC pipe and the depth of the surface water level (fishing line and an old wooden mop/ paint roller handle cut off (12 to 18 inches see above pics)…two very important questions will be answered…….for less than $15.00……One, you can water jet down 20 feet of 1 inch pipe and two there is surface water no deeper than 15 feet on your property.  

This test well should be within 10 feet of where your pump will be located. Also, this well will stay in the ground capped off….not glued for future surface water readings. There are four very important advantages with Florida shallow well systems (25 feet or less). One, there is no iron (rust) to deal with…..second there is no sulfur smell and third it takes 1 day and less than a $800 if you do it yourself. Fourth, it does not cost $6,000.

Please feel free to give me a call 9:00 – 4:00 with any questions you may have. I very much enjoy helping people join the FWC “Free Water Club”. Last but not least, you will almost certainly need to borrow a garden hose connection from your neighbor. You will need both water sources to jet down the 2 inch drill pipe. If you use a 2 inch pump from Harbor Freight like in the pics, you can reduce your drilling time to 15 minutes a well. Normally, a single well jetted to 25 feet will take around 90 minutes in Florida.

Hint: DO NOT dig a starter hole with a post hole digger………start your drilling on the surface…..make a small trench on the low side for the sand and drill water to exit the drill hole.

Here is the advanced drilling video…….12 minutes per 25 foot well …..

This is a link to an excellent pump: https://www.houzz.com/product/104727172-sta-rite-hne-l-1-hp-115-23v-cast-iron-projet-shallow-well-pump-standard-traditional-pool-pumps-and-filters

Once you have completed your 1 inch test well, please give me a call and we will discuss the next steps in your shallow well project.

I wish you “well”,

Bill  “William the Wellman” 813 523 2176

This is the follow up I send after the test is completed.

I use three – 2 inch drill pipes. 10, 15, 10 footers. Pipe1 and 2 have 45 degree bevels on the ends. I use male female fitting with lots of Tplus2 to make on / off easy…..pipe 3 has male / female fittings……jet down pipe one 10 footer, pull pipe. Put pipe 2 the 15 footer in hole. Water jet down to 14 feet, attach pipe 3 to pipe 2 …..continue down 25 feet……drop 1.25 inch glued up (internal coupler) sand point inside the 2 inch driller two man operation….push down on the 1.25 as you pull the 2 inch out of the ground 1 foot is enough for the sand to grab the 1.25 sand point.……Easy Peasy…..you have your first of three 1.25 inch wells…..in less than 2 hours……

TY for allowing me to help DIY well drillers who find me on your site,

R,

Bill G

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