WELL DRILLING 101 | Every Step Explained

A fulll breakdown of the entire well drilling process from start to finish.
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[@jimkurth]

This video is why the Internet is soo awesome! I learned so much about this and I couldn’t learn this from books. You’re a great teacher and you taught in such a way to make this fascinating to anyone.

[@Embattled5211]

To be fair, you COULD learn this from books, but the information would probably only be found in a trade school for well drilling, or some other niche area. The internet is truly an amazing place to access wild information quickly, but it's not the only source. Just look at LibGen!

[@isaiahsmith1058]

This truly was an awesome video!

[@piedmont9287]

Best well digging video on KZbin for sure. I watched start to finish

[@lonespiritofthenight2561]

Stuff in books is what you don't find on the net

[@AVillate86]

Yes, well done. Lol, ok hold the groans in the peanut gallery. It really was very informative and easy to follow.

[@richardmourdock2719]

That "blue thing" is a "centralizer" and your presumption is correct in its role. That "tri" thing at 4:00, is a tri cone bit. Those little knobs on the three cones are super hard steel and are often coated with industrial grade diamonds (incredibly hard). As each of the cones rolls on the rock, it grinds up the rock into small bits and the water cooling the bit is mixed with bentonite, a thixotropic mud which means it changes the specific gravity of the drilling fluid causing the rock chips to float to the surface. FYI, the tri cone bit was invented by Howard Hughes and the source of all the funds that made him the world's richest man of his day. He virtually gave away the drill bits to those looking for oil with a contract that said if they found and produced oil, he would receive 1/16th or 1/32nd of the value of the oil. That reads as a small percentage, but some of those wells are still producing today and even at today's price of $60 per barrel, his estate is making $3.75 per barrel....

[@yukloop]

After working in the Oil & Gas business, specifically dealing with fractional mineral interest ownership, I find it super interesting and brilliant how Hughes was able to trade his drill bits for royalty interests. Having a 1/16th override on ONE productive well could be life changing(in terms of monetary income), let alone having a ‘teener’ on multiple wells in multiple oilfields! Thanks for the info! Now I see how the Hughes family really made their fortune.

[@thesteveprichard]

I used to take a perfectly new "tricone" drill bit, cut it apart into 3 separate bits, and manufacture an "under-reamer tool." You could drop it down through the casing, then open it up, and keep drilling a wider hole than the casing above. The oilfield is so amazing. I also like watching people drilling for water.

[@stephenfiore9960]

Great history lesson

[@sniperpaddy3271]

close but one correction. Thixotropic materials change viscosity on shearing, not specific density. The viscosity drops at the drill head. Once away from the drill head motion, the viscosity increases, allowing it to entrain the denser rock chips for flushing to the surface.

[@billone6080]

@@sniperpaddy3271 Close also but drilling mud is not used with tricones in the water well business. There is a controllable amount of air and water coming down the drill pipe to flush the hole.

[@352ish]

After you hit water. The amount of "open hole" as we call it, just increases the amount of volume you have. Great video. Ive been a water well driller for 22 years and im 5th generation water well driller. My dad has drilled more wells in central florida then any other driller. I was the youngest water well driller in florida when i started. Down here we go off gallons per minute. Up north they go off gallons per day. So to get back to it, the bigger the pump you use, the more open hole/ volume you need. It can be a big cavern that you hit that you dont need as much open hole. Or you may need to just go deep enough until you see enough volume. Like you said the drill may just drop a few feet. If that happens during open hole and you are below the casing there may be all the water in the world at that point. Just a cave full of water. Great video. And if you have any questions please dont hesitate to ask.

[@tomnoyb8301]

Neighbor drilled shallow-well about twenty-feet from my shallow well, which was sixty-feet from another neighbor's shallow-well; now all three are 4,700 salty? A block from the ocean in FL. Sixty-feet neighbor drilled down 300ft to get sulphur-water. Some say there's a layer of clean-clear water at 120ft, but it's hit-or-miss? On a postage-stamp lot. Not much room left for punching holes in the earth? Would you go for the sure-thing sulphur-water, risk trying for the thin-layer of clean water or something else?

[@aleb5195]

I had a new well installed at my summer home 5 years ago. I get way too much sand in my water now. The well before it was always crystal clear. Do you think i need to have a new well installed? I will be moving there soon. It will be my permanent home.

[@muckeyduck3472]

Up North, I hope you don't mean North Florida lol. Before I moved to Sarasota because that where my wife's family is, up on my North Florida property, on my back lot, I had a 4 in. artesian well. I think it was somewhere between 5 to 7 hundred feet deep. It had about 20 lbs pressure with no pump. I loved that well because it meant I had plenty of water all the time, even when power went out. And I had a good Meyers pump on it too. I could get easily 65 lbs pressure because of the positive head pressure. With my garden, I got a couple old golf course sprinklers, I those things would shoot some water. I miss having all that water. My house well was regular well, but I ran 2 in. pvp from my artesian well up through my yard, and could connect a water hose to my house when power was out.

[@madresefonoon]

Hi.a questions.what type of land has water well.and how to find point of holl?

[@tannersonn9925]

Up north of the United States? In north dakota wells are still measured in gallons per minute.

[@garsonprice3441]

Your well drilling information is bang on the money, Dan, and thank you for this educational video. I'm from a family of well drillers and am still amazed at the few number of people who understand this process. I'd like to add some information on the difference between a Cable Tool Drill (also called a Hammer Drill) and a Rotary Water Well Drill. It's important to understand the differences from a functional and financial standpoint. A Hammer Drill drops a thousand pound 20' long solid steel drill bar from the height of two feet via a cable under a walking beam, then lifts it up again and repeats this process. The detachable drill bit on the bottom of the drill bar has tungsten carbide "buttons" on the bottom and sides that maintain the size of the typical six inch diameter drill bit so the hole size doesn't change to a cone shape. The half ton drill bar impacts the ground with enough force to grind up the rock in the presence of water to create a sludge called "cuttings". A hammer driller will typically drill 3-6 feet per hour and the operator regularly needs to stop drilling and pump the sludge out of the well (with a twenty foot hollow tube with a dart valve at its bottom) before adding more water (5-10 gallons) typically by using a pail. When water is struck the pump will come out of the hole with more water than the 10 gallons added manually. Conversely, a Rotary Driller turns a pressurized drill tube and the rotating bit at the bottom of the drill tube grinds up rock much more efficiently than a hammer drill. The cuttings are constantly being blown up the outside of the drill tube by pressurized air that is forced down the center of the drill tube (typically 2000 PSI). A Rotary Driller only needs to stop drilling to add another 20' drill tube to extend the well depth. Therefore, a Rotary Drill can drill several wells in one day in decent drilling because of the efficiencies mentioned. So what does this mean to the customer. There are significant differences in the two drilling methods: 1- Impact: The biggest difference is the amount of impact the ground receives. A Hammer Drill pounds violently and this force can easily be felt a mile away if the rock being drilled outcrops near the surface. This impact will agitate any small seam in the rock to allow water to enter the well. But a Rotary Drill grinds away at the rock with only a slight vibration on the rotating drill bit. 2- Time: Drilling in softer rock such as red shale, a Hammer Drill can drill a 100 foot well in two to three days, a week or more in hard rock. A Rotary Drill can drill 2 or 3 wells in one day in soft or even medium hard rock. Many times my Hammer Drill ended the day with a dry 60' hole and returned the next morning to find 5 gallons per minute of water flow. The "Impact" mentioned in #1 above had loosened a slow trickle water seam and the overnight hours allowed it to open up and supply ample water. 3- Pressure: Hammer Drilling requires one to bail out the cuttings so an empty hole 60' deep can have a 60' water head forcing water in any surrounding seam into the well hole. This pressure can cause a slow leak to allow this small seam to be flushed open. Conversely, a Rotary Drill forces 2000 PSI down the drill tube to force cuttings to the surface. Imagine a small water seam in these two cutting removal processes. A Hammer Drill operates with an empty hole with water table pressure trying to access the hole. A Rotary Drill forces cuttings into a water seam with 2000 PSI of pressure to block water access into the hole. 4- Operation Costs: A Hammer Drill business can be started with a $20K drilling machine and a functional halfton. A Rotary Drill would need a ballpark million dollars for the drill, drill tube service truck and accessories. Instinctively one would prefer a more efficient Rotary Water Drill, but the efficiencies of a newer higher tech Rotary Drill do not translate into a better water well or a cost savings to the customer, only a faster hole. Note, my family has all retired from well drilling, like most Hammer Drillers. I only post this information to educate. I built a house in a subdivision where every house had Rotary wells and they mostly had such a low supply (less than one gallon per minute) from a 200' well that one shower a day was their limit. I paid a Hammer Driller a footage premium to drill my 120' well and got 10 gallons per minute, enough water to run two water sprinklers all day in a dry spell. In summary, find a Hammer Driller, pay him a footage premium to save money and get a great water supply.

[@BrianJonah88]

Amazing information, thank you for sharing all of this

[@MrPoppshot]

And you win the award for longest comment in history 🎉

[@thinkcasting3182]

All that expense and toxic PVC pipe is used for lift and delivery? Why not copper pipe? An extra $400 is going to break the profit margins of these greedy well drillers?

[@wizardmaster6639]

@@thinkcasting3182 PVC is not toxic - you drink from it in your house all day - if not there - millions of other places have PVC for hot and cold water - enjoy the chicken nuggets - you should be worried about what is in that which McDonald serves rather than the PVC pipes

[@thinkcasting3182]

@@wizardmaster6639 PVC contains dangerous chemical additives including phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can be toxic to human health. Wake up.

[@SBVCP]

I guess you could say it was... *well* explained? (Sorry, but im not a native speaker, so i feel kind of proud on this things)

[@kentaylor5842]

Good joke for not speaking native tongue. Also a joke like this is called a pun, so you could say pun intended.

[@larva5606]

🤣👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👌🏼 YES!

[@IamNauk]

Drilled through all the bullet points quite well

[@Houseofarrows]

Fantastic!!!

[@badlandskid]

Such a deep conversation.

[@NorthernChev]

The reason they went the extra 25 feet when you hit water at 300 is because the 300 foot mark it the top of the aquifer or cave (or whatever you are in) that contains the water. Water levels go up and down throughout the year and you want the inlet pipe to stay submerged under water even in low water level conditions. Otherwise you'd suck air when the water level was low if you left the inlet pipe up at the top of the cave/aquifer at 300 feet. Think of a 32oz cup from McDonalds and you only put the straw in half way. Once the water is below your straw you'll suck air.

[@redneck-qv6fw]

Also, going below the top of the water table helps prevent contaminated water from getting pumped up. Oil, antifreeze, ect... usually stays on top of the water table.

[@tazblink]

NorthernChev He was also right its really to make sure they are well into the aquifer and leave a few feet for sentiment. There is no cave down there its not a under ground flowing river through a cave like some people imagine. Its porous rock like a sponge that the water flows through.

[@dangda-ww7de]

cave, lol @@tazblink

[@thedowgs1]

Taz Man I hate to pop your bubble but there are many caves that do not connect to the surface as a matter of fact most caves do not! Cave systems are mostly formed by "underground rivers". Sink holes are caused by such caves when the erosion opens up a larger area than the surface can support. Check out sink holes in Florida, there have even been deaths associated with them!

[@tazblink]

@@thedowgs1 I never said there weren't caves underground I said the water that flows through 99.99% of the aquifers is through a porous rock similar to sponge and that its not a cave like people think. Can water flow through a underground cave of course but that is the exception not the rule. Hitting a cave during drilling for water is usually a bad thing most of the time that cave/void will need to be cased off. This conversation is about well drilling not sink holes. I was clarifying a miss statement that NorthernChev made thats all. So if you are one of those people that think the water flows in a huge cave underground you are wrong. I know of a couple well diggers that have encountered underground caves/voids its hard on equipment and scary as hell. Its very rear thank goodness to hit a void/cave in my neck of the woods.

[@mountainshire]

I just had a well drilled on my dream home site in the mountains of north Georgia. I live over 2 hours away in South Carolina and couldn't be there to observe the drilling process. Also, I had no idea how the process works. Watching your video was a real treat! It made me feel as though I was watching my well being drilled. I got 75 gallons per minute at 360 feet!! Thanks for doing such an exceptional job of explaining the well drilling process!!

[@mikehoncho6143]

may I ask about how much it cost?

[@thesteveprichard]

Good job! From the oilfields of West Texas, I love to see water wells being drilled. We don't have much water. Can you imagine drilling 13,000 feet with a 4 inch drill bit? And then turning it to keep drilling horizontally another 8,000 feet? These drillers of water and oil are something else. I'm amazed at how they do it.

[@r0ckworthy]

WHAT???? That's what someone has to do to make a water well in Texas???? That's fucking insane. How could the water table be so far down and far away in some places? Is most of West Texas like this?

[@nofurtherwest3474]

@@r0ckworthy I'm pretty sure they ain't drilling down 13k feet for water.

[@benbohannon]

Yep. Horizontal drilling and fracking for oil/gas builds on the same concepts as water well drilling. Amazing stuff.

[@Tanacarroll]

No one drills 13,000 ft for water. That’s not true!

[@novislavdajic983]

I used to drill wells myself and that's how we did it in Europe. We drilled mostly in central and northern Poland where bedrock is covered with a lot of overburden that was pushed there by glacier and didn't manage to erode like it used to in southern parts of the country. The main water source here is not water pockets above bedrock itself, but rather deep gravels. We did use water-safe PVC pipes to cover the shaft, but we put them after drilling, and removing drill from the soil. Last pipe was caped, and second to last (or more), was drilled and covered with water-safe PVC net, with eye size according to size of a gravel grain, to filter solid particles from the water and protect the pump. Next difference is, we used a bentonite only as a seal for gravel to prevent water to soak into it (as gravel cn really "drink" lot of water you use to wash out the drilling output material). For a clay, we used polymers, to prevent it from swelling, and closing the shaft (so we could safely put our pipes later), and to help water to wash it out, instead of letting clay to disolve and thicken the water. After we finished submerging pipes, we used to fill the remaining shaft space with clean, washed gravel to 10-20 meters above filters, and finished it of with some of leftover from drilling, to seal the shaft from the top. Such ells are very potent, as they use renewable water source, that is rainwater being filtered by tens of meters of soil, and water gravel itself. Funny thing is that specificaly in Poland (but also in Germany), the glacier ranges are 100% correct when it comes to anticipting water conditions. Method I described is viable only south of the moraine of the first and north of moraine of the second ice age. South we have a shallow bedrock, and north we have even thicker and more various and mixed overburden and water conditions are even more unpredictable.

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@killax7]

The "blue thing" is a torque arrestor. It sits against the sides of the well and prevents torque (caused by the pump when it turns on) from spinning the polymer pipe and kinking or breaking it.

[@Epiha]

You’re an excellent teacher and helped to explain in simple terms how wells can be made. Thank you so much.

[@rtrThanos]

This is PERFECT! As surprised as my neighbors will be by their broken back door, I’d love to see their faces when they find a well in their living room upon returning from vacation!

[@kevingriffith598]

I was once a licensed water well driller in the state of Idaho. Every state/area is different in how they do things. From my experience in areas like yours, I did similar process, except we would drill a 10 in hole all the way down and even into the bedrock a few feet. Then run the 6 in casing all the way down but not to the bottom. We would have it 1foot above the bottom. We then would pump grout into the casing and up the annular space, ( between the casing and ground ) to the surface. That blue cone above the pump is to keep it centered so water flowing past pump motor keeps it cool. And they never set pump to the bottom so if water levels drop and exposed the pump, they have room to lower it to give you water/time to deepen the well or drill new one

[@MrYoubrian]

Do you know what I should expect for price per foot? I live in Nampa, Idaho and I have heard people paying up to $30,000 for a well between Boise and Mountain Home. Is there a registry in a local area of how deep everyone has to drill that I can look up the average depth as a matter of public record like sale prices of homes and such? I want to buy land and put up a pole building but will no longer be able to afford to live in Idaho as of Feb., 2022. A well might be out of my price range.

[@billgebhart420]

You did a good job explaining. Thank you for taking the time to document and explain the process. I'm sure many viewers got their first explanation and questions that they've had for years answered.

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@rickescamilla4088]

A teacher at heart! Even the “corny” parts! Haha. Well done!

[@TBennettcc]

Bro! Such an awesome job! Video was *very* well done (no pun intended)! You kept it interesting and informative! And I absolutely *love* that you were curious enough to video it, that the drillers took the time to let you video and explain things to you, and that you took the time to edit and upload your video, so that others could benefit from your experience! Super-duper!

[@zenobiawells6054]

I agree with TB above, thanks for sharing, very informative. Now own to more vids to educate myself as much as I can with this process. Getting one soon!!

[@pappapaps]

@@zenobiawells6054 With your name you should get two! :D

[@GJM_US]

Excellent and highly educational video. Built our new home seven years ago in NJ where the builder installed well on all properties. Was always curious as to how the well was dug. Builder of course are not going to take time explaining anything, but your video answered a lot of questions. Thanks for posting. Mystery solved :-)

[@benjigray8690]

Thanks for producing a great video. A lot of folks might never see another water well drilled in their life time. I worked for years, in the water well and exploration drilling, (that's for coal, or minerals). I worked with Kelly drive and top head drive rigs, there's untolds of different types of rigs and methods of doing the same job. Here's and interesting thing to bear in mind; for every metre that you drill down, there's in increase on water pressure of ten Kpa,(Kilopascals) , for a comparison for Folks that aren't fluent with the metric system, 30 psi. is about 200 Kpa. Lots of cars have about 30 psi in their tires. So ...if your well is just 20 metres deep, there's a force of 200Kpa, or 30 psi pressing out on the walls of your bore hole. To drill deep wells you need powerful pumps, or compressors to send your cuttings back up to the surface. It's an interesting, or mayhaps I should say "challenging" trade to get into.

[@user-js9jh4yr7y]

Working for a new start up drilling company - I always like to learn what I dealing with, regardless if I am on the "paper" end of things. This was a nice - friendly video and explained the process simply. I am grateful.

[@kenstein]

This may have already been covered but: - the reason to drill past where you hit water is to get a reserve in case the groundwater level goes down due to drought. You gotta be careful not to go too far and hit dry strata that your well water will leak into instead of filling your well, though. The extra length of well bore in water bearing strata also increases your potential flow rate. - the reason for putting the pump higher in the hole is that clearly you have enough hydrologic pressure to push the water most of the way up, which means you can put the pump higher and therefore spend less on a smaller pump that doesn't need to sustain as much head pressure to get the water out of the well. It also means the pump is further from any sediment collected in the bottom. Thanks for putting this video up... I learned something from it too (which I didn't find in the videos I learned the info above.). I was looking for an explanation for how far the casing goes and why, and how the drill bit for stone fits through a hole that already has a casing in it. Your video had that, none of the pro well driller videos did. Thanks again!

[@messagetsaurai2082]

Thanks well explained. What is the safe distance to go past after hitting the water if one is to avoid hitting the dry strata

[@kenstein]

@@messagetsaurai2082 according to the professional well drillers I just had do my well, you stop when you notice the clay in the material coming up the borehole. They said it is very noticeable. The clay layer is generally at least several feet thick so you have some time to notice before you have gone through it too far.

[@FelonyVideos]

Putting the pump deeper does not increase the amount of work or power that the pump must spend or exert. That is because the extra water column above the pump makes up the difference in pressure. Otherwise, excellent desription.

[@kenstein]

@@FelonyVideos this comment feels wrong, but I can't think of a counter argument, so I'll just assume you know more than me and accept it lol

[@FelonyVideos]

@@kenstein FWIW. I agree with everything else you said. Please allow me to explain my note about the pressure and the work required, I'll use an analogy: Imagine you sink a pump down to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, 35,000 feet down. The water will fill your pipe all the way up to the surface of the ocean. All the pump would have to do is supply enough pressure to raise the water above the surface to whatever height you desire (this is the outlet pressure). If the pressure at the bottom is (making up a number) 50,000 psi, and the pump can make 30 psi, it will create 50,030 psi right at its outlet. This will result in the water in the pipe, all up and down the length of it, to be 30 psi higher than the surrounding water, all the way to the surface. The flow rate will depend upon what restrictions the pump has to pump against. Now, if you raise the pump all the way up to the surface, where the relative pressure is 0 psi, the pump outlet will still be at 30 psi above the surrounding water. (I'm ignoring the fact that 7 miles of 1 inch pipe would create a massive restriction all on its own, but in the case of a water well, we are only talking about a few hundred feet of pipe, almost negligible). So, the deeper the pump is in the water column, the more pressure assist it gets from the surrounding water, and that gets completely negated at the water surface (which must also include the cone of depression causes when the pump begins to pump close to the rate of the well feed capability). Just for reference, the pressure in a water column increases about 15 psi for every 33 feet of depth from the surface. So, if a pump is 100 feet below the surface, the pressure at the pump inlet would be about 45 psi. This is exactly the amount of pressure required to push the water up the pipe 100 feet. If the natural water level in the well is 200 feet below ground level, then the pump has to make 90 psi just to get the water to the surface with no flow rate. In order to get 30 psi at the surface, the pump must produce a head pressure of 120 psi. If the pump is at 300 feet in the same well, it must also create 230 psi, because the surrounding water pressure exactly compensates for the extra depth. I hope that makes sense, I'm not very good at describing mathematics in words.

[@metalgunforhire]

The blue thing above the pump looks like a torque arrestor. Keeps the pump from spinning and the wire from wrapping around the drop pipe. Thanks for the video. Well done!

[@korishan]

Also, since it was PVC drop pipe instead of iron, it keeps the pipe from twisting and snapping and dropping the pump down the well. Ours is iron pipe and it doesn't have an arrestor on it. When we replace the drop pipe with PVC, we'll have to install the arrestor.

[@rickmiller5380]

It is a torque arester

[@isayfuck2526]

Had a pump installed without the torque arrester. Eventually rubbed the wires bare from repeted twisting.

[@stevepowell324]

There’s an even more efficient way to install the pump too. Use black Polly pipe instead of pvc for easy access for pulling the pump and then use 3/4” black Polly pipe as a conduit for the wire to ensure the wire doesn’t rub and break. The blue torque stops can get stuck inside of wells very easily and can cause issues. Especially when they used pvc when it wasn’t necessary and is more expensive.

[@hannah1033]

This was so helpful. I'm going to be getting a well and I just couldn't get my head around how it all works! Great to watch, can't wait to get drilling now!

[@TomBTerrific]

Great explanations of what’s going on. FYI bentonite is a clay. When placed around the well casing it takes on water, swells and seals . This prevents cross contamination.

[@ozzmann3217]

The company I work for builds drill rigs you did a good job of describing everything for not having that much experience in the industry actually rather impressed with your amount of knowledge man. I learned a lot as well because I’ve never been in the well side myself and looking to drill one

[@r0ckworthy]

How much do the drill rigs you built cost? How do I get a basic, used one for a good price?

[@Volundur9567]

@@r0ckworthy used rigs can easily fetch $100,000. RigSource is a good place to research pricing and types.

[@r0ckworthy]

@@Volundur9567 I found their website, thank you. That's Rig Source Inc, in Elburn, IL.

[@SpecialAgentNoble77]

@@r0ckworthy Yep, I'm looking to rent from Rig Source. Anyone game to diy drilling???? I need two done. I'm Class A CDL and former heavy equip op. but need some one with a little rig experience to coach.

[@CelticKnight2004]

This reminds me when they drilled our bore in the back of our house... at about 150 feet we hit Limestone... and then slowly punched through it. after about 50 feet more, we hit water... Boiling, salty, claysoaked water. which exploded out of the ground in a 300ft tall pillar, of boiling mud. Filling the whole backyard (and new garden :( ) 7 feet deep in ... mud. We had to get a skidsteer in to remove all the mess. We hit fresh water at about 250 feet

[@Danster547]

That’s the craziest story

[@ganey619]

Katie Giles please explain to me when you hit salty water what to do? For example: I’m drilling a well that is 150 deep and at 70 feet deep got salty water. Thanks

[@ganey619]

Katie Giles Thanks for your reply. Actually this was in Africa. I was with a friend and they drilled 120 meters but got water around 80 meters deep and was salty and continued until 120 meters deep, still salty. I guess their driller didn’t know what he was doing. He took the money and left with salty water. Not in use when I asked my friend.

[@GreatTreemanofTreeto]

Kate gee Where in Florida? wells in NE FL constantly have salt.

[@mmtruckingllc657]

That was the best explanation of how to put in a well, I've seen! Great video! Great information!

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@sylvamadu3721]

I'm doing dissertation research on groundwater systems, contamination and wells. This vid really helped me understand how well's are used in a domestic setting, appreciate it man

[@xxCrazyEights88xx]

I grew up on an 80 acre tree farm where we had a well for the house and another one for the farm (if needed). I’ve always in the back of my mind how wells worked, and it’s cool to finally get a good idea.

[@highsoldier2108]

People can learn from this guy on how to explain something to someone in detail. Thank you bro very detail that's what I like

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@maestrovso]

Thanks for sharing these. I moved into a property with an existing well and this video helps me understand the anatomy of a modern well and underground water shed.

[@alanpreiss1224]

That blue thing is not a centralizer, it is an anti-torque device. Although it does centre the submersible pump, that is not its main purpose. It is designed to keep the pump from spinning due to torque every time it starts and prevent damaging the electrical supply and discharge line.

[@oaktree5943]

Greatest well vid on earth. Best graphics, best analogies, best tempo, best live video, best in depth info without rocket science 20lb head needed.

[@leonidaskoval2110]

I really wasn't expecting this to be this interesting.

[@kingaj628]

Great job breaking down the steps of a well digging down to bedrock. Loved it!

[@RPDXC]

Ur explanations were helpful. I was wondering some of these things, as I'm in process to do mine. But got a better understanding of the process. Thanks! Good job.

[@caiheang]

00:53 Yeah my eardrums just erupted.

[@frenchy128]

not in a good way

[@akanajrxjbvsgjionfsxvbbbbb3868]

I get it because it's lava erupting

[@RyanPrice01]

Same

[@markov4119]

jeeezzz I got scared...lol!

[@ShadNex]

Ikr

[@michaelbedell6523]

Dang you are perfect for explaining the concept to us couch potatoes. I’ll be able to update my bucket list 🤦🏻‍♂️😁 Really appreciate you taking the time to provide information in a understandable way

[@tractortalkwithgary1271]

We are in the process of drilling a new well on our farm here n Iowa. The present well is 816 ft. deep. Last year the pump went bad and we had to replace the pump. That pump was at 550 ft. When putting the new pump back down, we hit something that prevented going any deeper with the pump. It is setting at 450 ft. and not supplying adequate water for our needs. There is plenty of water in the well. We just can't get to it. The 1st estimate to drill the new well came back to us at $36,000. Above and beyond that will be moving the pump from the old well to the new one and getting everything hooked back up. Going to be an expensive year on this farm in Iowa. I plan to do a video on my channel when we drill the new well. Thanks for the video. It was very well done. No pun intended.

[@gqp3215]

Drilled 35 years cable tool. Carbide button bits on mine and that rotary. I welded my casing. Two feet or more into bedrock.drive shoe welded to bottom about 3/4 inch thick. Hole into bedrock should be three inches bigger than casing for proper thickness of grout, cement neat in Md. Blue thing above pump is a centralizer. When pump comes on it kicks a little. Centralizer keeps pipe in middle of well to protect wires scraping against side of hole.

[@bobbyx2017]

I have no idea why Im interested in this I live in an apartment lol it is just so intriguing for some reason

[@laurelweiner8]

never hurts to get real world knowledge kudos to you

[@T-roy33]

If you want to learn even more go to your local water treatment plant there in your city and ask them for a tour

[@googlemustdie]

Thank you so much for doing this. I thought I understood how they worked. What you described corrected a lot of those thoughts. My well is 400' and so your information is critical. Thank you!

[@gabe_2544]

I had a place in the country, 435 ft well, if you can believe it. My pump got taken out by lightning twice. Each time, they had to bring out their big boom truck, pull up all that pvc pipe to get to the pump and put a new one in. After the second hit, I finally got smart and had a whole house arrestor installed and never had another problem.

[@wranglerstar]

PVC is not drainage pipe, the pump line is indeed under great pressure 60-80 PSI

[@simoncunningham3740]

as a drainlayer this comment confuses me, PVC drainage pipe is actually a thing. Don't often get much bigger than 375mm (should be a blond one shy of 15 inches) however yes the pipe used in this application is not drainage pipe

[@mrbob55304]

PVC pipe/fittings has different ratings. If you're in Lowe's store, most common are Schedule 40 and DWV. The Schedule 40 is for the pipe coming from the well pump and has a maximum operating pressure of 180psi--much higher than the pump could ever generate. DWV stands for Drain, Waste, Vent and is used in non-pressurized situations.

[@rmbarnes672]

Schedule 80 for electrical conduit

[@chandick1620]

groundwater level changes from season to season u went down a bit more than where you are right now just in case for dry season with lower groundwater level also you gotta consider the water you took out, the more you got out of the well the less pressure and lower groundwater level it gets. so it's just safe to go down a bit deeper than you got

[@audrinacartier3903]

PVC is used for DWV applications. To use pvc for potable use you need to use CPVC. You might be able to get away using regular pvc due to the water never being treated in a plant.

[@bobcat9314]

Nice, clear explanation. Thank you for posting your video

[@eddieo9424]

Great video. . How can you determine where to dig .??

[@arminius301]

Absolutely solved all the mysteries of well digging, except water witching process. Thanks for making this informative video!

[@mariofilippi3539]

As a homeowner with a well I enjoyed your explanation of how one is installed. Thank you.

[@Jaykocenko]

Lol im a well pump mechanic . pokorny well and filter serivce and you did a great job bud !

[@jasond.8281]

I worked for a well driller for a few years and you do NOT want to dig a pitless adapter for many reasons. First of these is contamination; any connection below grade is a source of possible contamination, like you said we humans tend to make a mess of things. Second is that to install the pitless adapter you have to dig a pit, then work in that pit while drilling a hole in your casing (getting metal bits in your drinkwater) installing the pitless adapter ect..., and if a connection fails, you have to dig that pit again. The next time you work in that pit is even worse, because it's wet and muddy and hanging head first into said hole is no fun at all, I know first hand. It is much better to have all your connections above ground where it is dry and clean. Build a shed with enough room stand up in. This will house your pressure tank (tanks?, you can hook up more than one), and build a little doghouse looking shed on the side that has a removable roof over your well head, that way when your pump fails it will be easier for that big truck to pull those long 21 foot pipes back up and out, saving you money in the long run.

[@thatguyinthatoneshow]

Dude, you're delusional. I work for a pump company, we dont dril wells, we JUST work on pumps, and in 35 years full time, my boss says he could count on both hands the number of pitless adapters that have failed. On the other hand, he says the extra hourly he's gotten over the years for working around shitty well houses probably paid for his truck. Furthermore you'll never contaminate the well if you have a casing 18" above ground, and use a health department approved cap, as well as have a conduit installation that's up to code. I've seen 10 times more contamination risk in shitty damp rat infested well houses, that have well seals (that are harder to install than well caps, granted you have to dig a pitless hole like you said) with unplugged holes in the top. Also I question if you really worked for a driller, because any driller would laugh at you for saying cutting a hole in the casing contaminates the water any where near as much as the drilling process itself. By the way, what happens to that little rat infested shit hole when the driller has to come back and deepen the well or surge treat it with chemicals? You're spreading misinformation that could cost young homeowners tens of thousands, pull your head out of your ass driller boy (i still doubt the validity of that claim, like by few years do you mean for 2 summers you worked a month on your uncles rotary rig crew or something?)

[@jimanderson2518]

You are on drugs

[@killax7]

BS

[@Jaykocenko]

The blue football is a torque arrestor and drop pipe is a sch 80

[@gavinbolton4660]

Thank you for the informative video, having lived on a farm that had a borehole and pump before I arrived, and being totally dependent on ground water, your video dispelled the myths and all bs I was told about well drilling and the method of pumping from the well. 👍

[@FixItAngel]

Hi, great video of explaining the process. I would like to know how much did it cost in your area to put in the well.

[@ameerulaqmalmalek9470]

@TEE PERO If what you say is correct, then it's just 6k .. Let's say plus the tank and pvc and all, roughly about 10k.. Dude, that's totally worth it..

[@integr8er66]

10 years ago I paid $21 per ft plus 2K to have the pump wire and pipe installed (separate deal from the driller) 485ft deep

[@choudharinileshbhai6436]

How possible

[@aridlifestyles]

NV is appx 10k for every 100ft

[@mrgallbladder]

My first job out of college was designing these drill pipes. It's really cool to actually see it in action.

[@justinlmc1]

For someone who had just recently researched this, you explain it as if you have been teaching this for years. Awesome job.

[@basilodira4423]

You did your homework well on this. I watched entire video coz it was packed with great information.

[@KnockInTheNight]

Really great video with accurate information which is most certainly a plus factor. Coming from a part of the US where water is a premium, we have to stay abreast of these situations. Thanks again for such a great presentation.

[@PacoOtis]

Dude! We owe you a beer! Thanks for the video.

[@scottjones4061]

Thank you for this video. I'm newer to country living and this gave me great insight and information on how its done.

[@rodbambauer3041]

Yeah, the blue thing is a torque arrester and more or less centers the pump in the bore. When the pump starts there's quite a twisting motion that if not countered by the "blue thing", may over time, fatigue the drop pipe that the pump hangs on and pushes water up through. A cracked drop pipe is a bummer. The over burden portion of the well was drilled with a tri-cone bit with carbide (not diamonds) inserts (knobby things). The invention of this kind of bit is what made Howard Hughes a multi-millionaire. It is sometimes referred to as a "Hughes" bit. When bedrock was encountered, the rotary bit was swapped out for a hammer drill. The PVC pipe was purpose-built for well drop pipe. Great video. I learned a bunch of stuff...thanks!

[@gregmerritt9366]

Just had to click on a video with such a deep subject.

[@patrickdaly311]

Great video. Would you mind sharing what the cost was for your well? Thank you.

[@beecroftss]

your welcome to come watch me drill a well. Im tied for #6th largest well driller in the state of Wisconsin as far as how many wells we do a year. Im happy to have you watch and make a video

[@kneelbung7373]

Very informative, Thanks for your time.

[@scottydirkers7855]

It makes my heart Happy, you say correct me when I'm wrong. Most people making videos, just give wrong information and it makes him look like a fool.

[@beebop9808]

There's different grades of PVC for specific use rated by pressure. Your well pipe has quite a bit of pressure actually. 180 feet / 2.31 = 78psi at the pump. Add at least 20psi operating pressure at the house, rounded to rough big phat numbers of about 98 psi total pressure at the pump connection on the pipe. You pipe has to be rated high enough to handle that pressure (probably is twice that amount or more) and your pump has to be rated high enough to lift the water against that 180 feet or 78psi plus your desired pressure at the faucet. Then there's flow rates. hahahaha no not today. Nobody cares lol

[@YeshuaMessiah7]

You sound like my engineer!

[@beebop9808]

Just how they do. hahaha

[@Volundur9567]

Oh, we do care 😈

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

In Perth Au a lot of garden bores use 40mm black poly pipe down to depths of 60 to 80M. Pumping rates of 20 to 30 gallons per minute are common feeding large retic systems. Mine is only a baby , a 2Kw pumping from 40M deep. The water quality can be very hit and miss. I got very lucky. Drinking quality.

[@bigpappa642]

I worked and a licensed well driller in the state of TN of the past 25 years!! There are a lot of cool things you can find and dig up,

[@SamTheManFL]

Like what?

[@Username_647]

@@SamTheManFL Fossils, minerals or civil war items

[@23lkjdfjsdlfj]

This video is the best explanation of the drilling process on the Internet.

[@myrdale]

This was an EXCELLENT video! Thank you!!!

[@SnapCracklePapa]

The animation was very helpful. Thanks for an excellent video

[@hans-uelijohner8943]

I also put a small tube down the hole with the pump. Blowing air in with a compressor and measuring the pressure, I can make pump tests. That lets you quantize the well precisely. As my pump is below the aquifers I can visualize them too.

[@jakeblair4215]

Blue thing is a centrilisers like you say to centrilsier the esp pump. Reason for extra rat hole is a sump for water collection. Cement on backside is for casing stability and zonal isolation. Hydrostatic head in annular space above pump in casing is the over burden to keep the pump in positive pressure, like you say supported by water resivoir pressure. Keen to know how they cleaned the water before installing the pump. I run liner hangers in oil wells, very similar process but offshore for oil gas higher pressure etc. the esp electrical submersible pump is actually the "completion" component of the well. Surface adapter is effectively a production tree. Jake Scotland

[@sconnyjoe5262]

Great video. Thank you for putting this together.

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@fb510m]

Wow; perfectly explained! Thank you! I'll be searching for your other videos to continue the learning. Soo good!

[@superseamanph2060]

Try this one👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eou3h3l3pJehaZY

[@dondavidson3440]

I drilled oil wells back in the 1960’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. some as deep as 17000’ vertical depth. Your descriptions aren’t far off. Thanks for sharing.

[@jimmsinstallation6367]

This is so very helpful, thankyou for sharing! I'm a small time driller in Philippines.

[@sstroh08]

The blue thing on the top of the pump just keeps it centered and keeps the wire from chafing on the sides of the well. The pump gives a leap every time it turns on and off and in a smaller casing well, the wires will eventually rub through and blow the breaker without it. I work for a plumbing company and we do lots of pump work (but we don't dig the wells. It was interesting seeing that part of it) and we use something similar, except we use several that go up the whole pipe to keep it from bouncing too. They look like little white rings with a big hole in the center for the pipe and two little holes for the wire and support rope.

[@dennislangston487]

The reason it would trip a breaker is if it wore completely through the run winding wire , and kept engaging the start winding ( heavy load at start up ) like flipping a switch on/off- on/off until the components and breaker over heat. The pump will function until the wire wears completely in two while only slightly increasing amp draw and electrical usage. If it broke the start or common wire on a 3 wire pump , it would just fail to run until wire repair. Many questionable dealers will replace pump and wire rather than low profit wire repair .

[@gordoneigner7565]

The blue device is usually called a torque arrester used to prevent fatigue damage to pipe and wire the plumbing company I work for don’t typically use them unless it’s around 200 feet deep we often will shield the bottom 10-20 feet with 1” pex or pvc and tape it to the pump piping then tape the wire every 6-10 feet to keep it from moving too much. We don’t use support rope because eventually it degrades and can plug the impellers. I’m not saying we’re right I just wanted to share. I like seeing what others in the trade do sometimes you find a gem.

[@lawrence8434]

Great video, excellent explanation. Thank you for the info.

[@joatmofa0405]

Very enjoyable, great orator; content is *well* presented, pertinent, factual and to the point! Thank you!

[@wg7644]

Just a GREAT video - I thought I knew how wells work but I didn't. I do know of a persons pump going bad and getting stuck in the casing and damaging the casing so much that they had to drill a new well.

[@idadho]

Did they put additional casing in the bedrock with screens at the water table to keep grit out of the pump? Here in Idaho, they use an 8 or 10 inch casing for the first 20 to 40 feet or so then a 6 inch casing down to the water table. They often drill past the water table and put casing in so grit can drop into the bottom and stay away from the pump. The screen often has a 0.016 inch slot size. The well pump pressurizes the entire system. No need for a second pressure pump. That down hole well pump can push water up hundreds of feet. At .4 pounds per vertical foot, that 180 foot pump is pushing 72 PSI just to get to the surface. Your home uses about 65 PSI in a domestic water system. That 1 inch PVC pipe has a 270 PSI working pressure and 1440 burst pressure. The pump would be sized to lift the water from the water table plus 150 feet or so to provide pressure to your distribution. 200 to 250 feet lift head plus 80 PSI is a common minimum size pump.

[@buck3409]

Actually the 180 ft of water head is 78 PSI. There are 27.7 inches of water column in 1 PSI. 180 x 12 = 2160 inches of water head. 2160/27.7 = 78 PSI.. All rounded to 1 decimal place.

[@idadho]

@@buck3409 Picky picky. .433 psi per foot of head. The basics of my comment are still valid. The resting water level also comes into play. A well with water at 180 feet could have a water level at 100 feet. My well has artesian flow at the well head that varies.

[@guillotinedreams]

This was informative and fun to watch! Thank you!

[@Gabby6060842]

Just got a well drilled today and he wasn't very chatty, so thank you for this explanation.

[@MrBmxbrawler]

I replace well pumps with my father. Pulling 200 foot pumps up by hand. 💪 The torque arrestor "blue thing" is exactly what you though. It prevents damaging the pump when it kicks on aggressively. Also helping to prevent unthreading.

[@tmeinc]

You might want to think about your back when pulling pumps by hand. Pump pullers like the upsy daisy or easy riser are cheaper than back surgery.

[@stevewithaphen]

I love the part when you're talking about geological and then... The volcanoes! Brilliant!

[@octaviusgalacticus2253]

Same🤣

[@danford865]

@@octaviusgalacticus2253 #ddddlllldddkdkdkdk

[@ngojera]

This is a perfectly done video... There is almost every info that one would require to know. The topic perfectly fits the video. Well done.

[@jonathanbrewer9416]

1: pump center device is correct. 2: PVC plumbing is standard. 3: pipe is under pressure (.433 lbs/ft of head) example: pumping 100ft and pipe at the bottom is under 43.3 psi. 4: They keep drilling below surface aquifer because your pump experiences drawdown (decreased surface water level due to pull of water). 5: you are on fractured rock which means you are dependant on rain filling veins in your region. 6: the lower you set the well the less water you will pump, but this also depends on the current surface level of water (higher surface =more water due to down pressure and lower surface = need for more lift). Nice vid

[@ismailmudhafar]

I searched and watched tons of videos. This is the best to get the concept from.

[@ryanmullen4482]

That drilling head is also used in the oil fields up here in alberta when they start the wells and some of them can get pretty damn big

[@dardale9050]

Great video! I bet it cost you a pretty penny. Do they charge per foot? Between the output well head and the house, is there only one or multiple check valves to keep water level up to where it last pumped it and contamination out?

[@someguyO2W]

Thanks for sharing. Finished my first well and getting 2 more. This was invaluable.

[@ForABrighterTomorrow]

That split second of the lava surprised me so much that I had to pause the video and laughed! Thanks for that.

[@davidraybon1615]

The blue rubber device is a "snubber" to prevent the torque of the pump cycling on and off from cracking the pvc pipe. When mine failed the wire rubbed against the casing and shorted.

[@JoseOrtiz-te6jz]

Also called torque arrestor

[@5019ant]

That blue thing is a torque arrester it keeps the pump from spinning and breaking off the end of the pipe and also breaking the wires that power the pump !!

[@alanz763]

Great informative video1 That answered my question why my pump was only half as deep as the well. Thank you.

[@woohunter1]

You can use pvc pipe that’s rated for pressure on water lines, but it’s not rated for hot water. We ran a bunch of 1” pvc for an outdoor irrigation system, also seen it in a commercial laundromat, just for the colds or course.

[@johnlong384]

Way to go, my metal casing only lasted about 10 years and I had to drill a new 566' well and the PVC casing is doing just fine after 20+ years!

[@iwantmypot]

0:52 Good wakeup call for the headphone users. 🎧🔊💀

[@marionmoore3106]

Thank you- this is a great video! Your presentation is fantastic, and I learned a lot!

[@jasonroberts9788]

Where Im at in Texas, we go down around 600ft to avoid brackish water. Great video!

[@eddielane9569]

PVC can be used not only for drain lines like sewage but can also be used for Inlet lines for water into your home. It is safe and last for a long time. If I were you I would have the well water tested and make sure it is safe to drink because sometimes underground wells can be contaminated. It would be nice to know what the chemical makeup of the water is and how safe it is to consume.

[@johnlong384]

Way to go since metal rots away!

[@Hello-sd2jm]

Man, this was educational! Thanks 👍👍👍