Guide to Drinking Water Wells, Well Types
Well Diagnosis & Repair
InspectAPedia® -
Types of wells and water supply systems and what to watch out for with each
Guide to Diagnosing Well Problems such as flow rate, running out of water, contamination
Well pump & water tank diagnosis & repair procedures
Questions & answers about the differences among types of water wells
Types of water wells: This article begins our series of detailed water well articles describing how to identify types of wells and how to diagnose & fix water well problems. We describe various types of drinking water sources like wells, cisterns, dug wells, drilled wells, artesian wells and
well and water pump equipment. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong. Water pressure loss diagnosis starts at WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.
Types of Private Wells & Water Sources & What to Watch Out For
Our complete list of detailed articles about each type of water well is found at the end of this introduction.
Also see Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water quantity or flow problem is due to the
well itself.
Basement Wells
Our complete list of all types of wells & well construction, diagnosis & repair articles is found at the end of this page. Before we discuss modern drilled or driven point wells and hand dug wells found outdoors, let's get this odd case out of the way first. In some older homes you may find that the water well is a drilled or hand dug well located in the building basement or crawl space.
Wells located in the basement or crawl space of a building
are sometimes found, usually at older, pre-1940 buildings. On occasion it appears
that the well was originally outside the building but the building was expanded over it.
Early American construction sometimes located a well (or cistern) in a basement so that
a mechanical hand pump could be located indoors (perhaps in a kitchen). This
pair of photographs show my clients discovering that the plastic in the center
of the basement floor covered a flimsy wood cover which covered a hand-dug
stone lined well in the home's basement.
Some concerns for basement wells include the problem that if the building
needs to be treated for termites there are extra costs because the well is certainly
located too-close to the building. Also if the building has a problem with
basement water entry, depending on the type of well in the basement,
there may be a risk of well contamination.
For a modern drilled well which has
been "built over" during a building expansion, it becomes impossible to pull out
and replace the well piping, foot valve, or submersible pump unless someone has
cut a trapdoor into the ceiling/floor above.
Well problem diagnosis continues with the articles listed below.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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Smart Tank, Installation Instructions [ copy on file as /water/Smart_Tank_Flexcon.pdf ] - , Flexcon Industries, 300 Pond St., Randolph MA 02368, www.flexconind.com, Tel: 800-527-0030 - web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://www.flexconind.com/pdf/st_install.pdf
Typical Shallow Well One Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect_Jet_Pumps_1.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Typical Deep Well Two Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Water Fact Sheet #3, Using Low-Yielding Wells [ copy on file as /water/Low_Yield_Wells_Penn_State.pdf ] - , Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension, School of Forest Resources, web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0002.pdf
Water pressure tanks - how to diagnose the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
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