Do-it-yourself well without equipment: how to independently arrange a water source

To organize a source of your own drinking water on the site, you can invite a team and pay for services. But for a skilled craftsman, a do-it-yourself well without equipment is a perfectly feasible task.

The process will take a lot of time and require effort, but will save a lot of money. Where to start and what tools can come in handy for drilling? We will talk about all this in our article. We also consider the types of wells that can be built on their own without special equipment.

Types of water intake

Three types of wells are distinguished depending on the depth of water:

• on limestone, it is often pressure head, i.e. artesian;
• on sand, it is pressureless or filter;
• Abyssinian well or needle-hole - a simplified type of well on the sand.

Artesian structures considered inaccessible for independent drilling. They lie deep, more than 40 meters, it is highly likely that you will have to go through fairly hard layers. One cannot do without a powerful drilling rig and equipment. Such wells give a lot of water, often they are ordered to fold for several sites at once.

Filter wells - the most common option. The aquifer lies in sandy horizons. The drilling depth will be about 20-40 meters. Such a construction usually provides enough water to cover the needs of the average family and provide a household.

The type of well depends on its depth and the nature of the aquifer. Most often, a filter well is constructed, which is more productive than the Abyssinian well, and not as expensive as an artesian structure

Abyssinian wells - This is an option for those who are lucky with an aquifer that lies close to the day surface. A long pipe with a sharp tip is driven into the ground. Put on top pump or column.

Such a structure does not produce too much water, so sometimes two or three wells are made.

Site preparation and equipment

Before starting work, you need to choose:

• location and type of well;
• drilling method;
• casing diameter;
• pump equipment;
• tools for performing work.

It’s best to start by interviewing the closest neighbors who have already built the well. They can find out the approximate depth of water, soil features, etc. It does not hurt to ask if they have any drilling tools left to borrow.

The submersible pump is selected based on the size of the casing, the debit of the well, water requirements and other indicators, it is necessary to think over this point before drilling, so that the structure is not too narrow for equipment

The type of well will become apparent after such a conversation. Most likely, this will be the option “on the sand”. The place is determined by sanitary standards. It is necessary to make the water source closer to the house and as far as possible from the cesspool, septic tank, livestock buildings, etc. The Abyssinian well is sometimes put even in the basement of the house.

Casing diameter and pump equipment need to be selected at the same time. The most effective are submersible pumps. The difference between the diameter of the device and the walls of the casing must be at least 5-10 mm.

Tool and drilling methods

To select the soil from the mine intended for the arrangement of the well, use a screw drill or bastard. The drill is rotated, the chipper is thrown from top to bottom. Sometimes these methods alternate in order to pass rocks of different composition and properties.

Cohesive soils, which include loam and sandy loam, are drilled with a screw or a hollow pipe - a glass, incoherent - sands, gravel, pebbles pass through the bellow, because they cannot be removed with a screw.

The auger drill is rotated, deepening it by about half a meter, then removed to the surface, freed from the ground and again lowered into the shaft. The bailer is thrown down several times to the bottom so that its internal space is filled with soil, removed, cleaned, and then shock-rope drilling is continued.

So-called hydrodrilling can also be carried out with a bailer. The principle of operation is the same, but a jet of water under pressure is supplied to the face. It erodes the soil, and the bailer forms a cylindrical shaft under the casing installed at the same time as drilling. A mixture of water and soil is pumped out by a pump.

Auger drill is used to create filter wells, increasing the rod. It is an effective tool for passing different layers of soil.

Water can also be used for auger drilling, when it is necessary to go through difficult sections. Water is poured into the mine, the soil becomes softer, it is easier to drill and remove. When drilling, there is a danger of introducing contamination into the well. This point needs to be considered when the time comes. flushing and buildup of the structure.

Use different types of drills, for example:

• coilespecially effective on clay soils;
• drill spoonsuitable for sand and clay;
• chiseluseful for hard layers.

You can buy a finished drill, garden or fishing, the main thing is that it be strong enough and match the size of the casing. Industrial products usually allow 40-50 mm holes.

If this is not enough, you can make the tool yourself. For this, parts of the steel disk are welded at a suitable angle to the steel bar. The edges of the disc should be sharpened. A spoon tool is made from rolled steel sheet or from a piece of pipe.

It is not difficult to make a baffle for drilling; a piece of a metal pipe with a pointed edge is suitable. Hinged or ball valve make for light soils or quicksand

There are different types of bailers: with a ball valve, with a pressure valve and no valve at all. The latter are appropriate on dense layers.

The soil is stuffed inside the “glass” and does not fall out of it, so the valve is not needed here, the sharp edge is more relevant below.

The dimensions of the bobbin should be moderate so that it cuts into the ground sufficiently when dropped, but so that it is not too hard to reach

Narrow cuts are made along such an instrument. It is convenient to insert a rod into them to free the cavity from viscous contents.

Tripod, winch, drill rods

Most often, a tripod is used for independent drilling operations. Such a structure can be bought or made from metal beams, wooden beams, etc.

It should be large enough so that two people can move freely under it, and strong enough to withstand the load of equipment with the destroyed rock stuffed into it.

A tripod with a block and a winch can significantly facilitate drilling operations. With this tool it is convenient to raise the tool to the surface

At the upper point of the tripod, they put a block through which a cable is attached to the winch. Using such equipment will make it much easier to get equipment out of the mine to free it from the ground. It is better to use a winch with an electric motor.

Drill rods are attached to the drill and gradually build up. Use elements with a locking or threaded connection. It must be reliable so that the rods do not break when removing the soil to the surface.

A tripod is also needed for the auger; another guide design of casing is required so that the tool moves strictly vertically. To build up the rods and disassemble the drill string to extract the drill, a tripod or metal frame will also be required.

It is better to carry out the work together or three, it is more difficult to drill a well alone. To speed up the auger drilling process, some use electric drills with a capacity of 1 kW or more.

An interesting option may be the use of a small-sized drilling rig. Such a device is expensive, but you can rent it if you wish. We have detailed instructions on the website drilling rig manufacturing do it yourself.

Well Instructions

Consider how to build a pressure-free well and a gouge-needle, having only materials at hand.

Option # 1 - drilling a well “on sand”

To drill a well, perform the following basic operations:

1. They dig a hole with a size of about a meter or a half.
2. Set up a tripod.
3. Fasten the winch.
4. They put a drill and deepen it by about half a meter.
5. Remove the tool and clean it from the ground.
6. Drilling continues, gradually adding drill rods.
7. If necessary, replace the drill with a chisel or chute.
8. Work is carried out until the aquifer is discovered.
9. Drilling is continued until a watertight layer appears.
10. Perform well buildup by flushing it with a pump.
11. Lower the pumping equipment, equip the tip.

At the first stage, they dig a spacious pit if it is supposed to arrange a caisson to equip the head. In other cases, you can simply drill a hole about a meter deep to set the direction of the structure. After that, you can continue to work with a drill and a chipper.

The auger is best rotated under load. They do this together: the first cranks the bar, holding it with an adjustable wrench, the second strikes with a sledgehammer on the bar. Markings should be applied to the drill rods, this will help to understand how much soil has already been passed when it is time to remove the tool to the surface.

When the soil becomes wet, you need to continue drilling in order to achieve a more dense waterproof layer. But the casing should not abut against it, if it sank too low, it must be raised so that the edge is approximately in the center of the aquifer.

In order for drilling to be effective, use the appropriate tool:

• for clay soils it is better to take a drill coil, a glass or a spoon tool is also suitable;
• on sands, it is preferable to use a bailer and a drill in the form of a spoon, work will go faster if supplemented with water;
• hard layers are broken with a chisel, flat or cross-shaped;
• on quicksand, a good solution is to use a bailer with a valve;
• it is convenient to break pebble formations with a chisel, and then remove it with a bailer; here, the use of drilling fluid may also be appropriate.

After the casing is installed, the filter column should be lowered down. You can buy this design or do it yourself. Perforation is applied to a piece of casing, and from above this part is covered with a filter mesh. The filter protects the water and the pump from sand.

For the destruction of rocky soils, a drill bit is used. The broken rock is then selected using a drill spoon, chisel or other suitable tool.

The casing is placed at the same time as the penetration, regardless of the type of projectile the soil was drilled on. At the same time, the well is washed: a stream of water is fed inside and the slurry returned from the bottom is taken into a sump dug near the well.

Now spend well buildup, i.e. A large amount of water is pumped out of it until a clean stream is obtained. The procedure can be performed by the pump, having cleaned the bottom with the chipper before this.

Do not take a submersible model designed for clean water for swinging. You need to use equipment that can pump water with a large admixture of sand and clay particles.

After drilling is completed, the well needs to be flushed until a steady stream of clean water is obtained. Three to five days after the start of active use, a water sample should be taken for analysis

An alternative is an inexpensive pump that is easy to repair, for example, "Kid" or The trickle. Sometimes it is necessary to use several pumps, because due to the increased load, the device can simply burn out. If there is no electricity in the area, you can use a hand pump.

After that, it remains to lower down the pumping equipment, equip the head and connect the hose to the water supply.

Option # 2 - creating the Abyssinian well

The creation of such a structure is carried out in a fundamentally different way, there is no need to take out the soil. A narrow pipe, pre-equipped with a filter and a sharp tip, is simply driven into the ground until water appears. This pipe will become the casing.

The Abyssinian well can be punched manually without using a winch with cables to move the headstock, but this is a very time-consuming option

You can buy a ready-made kit or make it yourself. On the first pipe in the drill string, perforation is made and this part is wound with wire or tightened with a net. Between the pipes following it and this filter, a check valve must be installed.

It is easy to make from a diaphragm and a steel ball. A cone should be welded to the bottom edge of the filter. Its diameter is made slightly larger than that of the pipe in order to protect the structure from damage during advancement in the soil.

The finished pipe is driven into the ground, gradually increasing its length with drill rods. They are screwed or welded. The connection must be very reliable. Of course, you can’t beat right on the top of the pipe, it will damage it.

To build an Abyssinian well, you will need a pipe with a filter and a pointed tip, which you can buy or make yourself. The link with the filter is clogged first, then the trunk is expanded with the following pipe links

Therefore, after the pipe with the needle is installed vertically, a sub-crib is attached to it. A grandmother is placed on this platform - a steel or concrete load with an opening for the pipe. At the top of the pipe you need to put a block. Two cables are passed through it, which are attached to the headstock.

Now you need to raise the headstock with the help of a winch and throw it down, repeating this operation, until the headroom mounted on the pipe reaches the ground level. After that, they attach the drill rod, rearrange the pit and block, and then again throw the headstock.

When water appears in the pipe, it means that the filter has sunk into the water-carrier, the work can be considered finished. The pipe is cut, put an electric or hand pump. You can leave the crib, it will come in handy when the Abyssinian well is clogged and you need to remove the needle from the ground for cleaning or repair.

We have a detailed instruction on the website that describes device technology well-needles.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Self-drilling by bailer:

Creating a well manually with a drill with rods:

How to make an Abyssinian well:

Creating a well yourself is difficult, but possible. Each case of drilling is individual, it is impossible to accurately predict how the structure will behave during work and during operation.

But subject to technology, you can provide the site with a source of water that will last several decades.

Do you have experience in hand drilling? Tell us what tools you used for this and how much time you spent? Write your recommendations, add a photo of the well in the block under this article.

If you are only thinking about the construction of the well and you still have questions after reading our material, ask our experts.