Will this work

[john in la]

"Completely sealed" is a fantasy. No such thing. Don't let pride cause you to make bad decisions.

Please educate me on how it is not completely sealed.
A 2 inch pipe is drilled into the ground like an oil well. On top of this 2 inch pipe a fitting is glued with a 1 inch hole in it. In this one inch hole is a 1 inch pipe glued into it with a foot valve on the end of the pipe.
When the well was drilled in the 70’s bleach was poured down the well by the well drilling guy to disinfect anything that could have been introduced into the well during the drilling process. On the top of the pipe is a check valve that seals the top of the pipe.
While this check valve has been replaced nothing below it has been touched since the well was drilled 50 years ago.

 

[Ray,IN]

Like I have said my well is completely sealed and has been sealed since it was drilled in the late 70’s. The only reason I would have to open the well is to replace the foot valve on the end of the suction pipe.
There is no way for me to get chlorine or anything else down the well unless I go to cutting pipes.
Between the pump and the top of the well is a check valve so once the water comes out the well it can not get back into the well to contaminate anything.

I looked online about shocking a well and everything I see is for wells that have a removable cover with a 4+ inch pipe and the pump down in the well. I couldn’t find one setup like mine anywhere.

Like I have also said for bacteria to enter my well it would have to come from 200 feet in the ground and while rust may be present I find it hard to believe E. coli bacteria could get down that far.
And since my well pump pressure tank and pipe are all sealed from the check valve to my kitchen sink faucet I find it hard to believe that any surface bacteria could get in my system unless it got in while I was working on the system.

While none of us has ever been sick from drinking our water you guys got me scared so I am going to call my local health department next week and ask them about a water test.

At least in Indiana, sending in a water sample to be tested labeled "well water" is sure to result in-failed to meet standards..

 

[joeysmith]

Please educate me on how it is not completely sealed.
A 2 inch pipe is drilled into the ground like an oil well. On top of this 2 inch pipe a fitting is glued with a 1 inch hole in it. In this one inch hole is a 1 inch pipe glued into it with a foot valve on the end of the pipe.
When the well was drilled in the 70’s bleach was poured down the well by the well drilling guy to disinfect anything that could have been introduced into the well during the drilling process. On the top of the pipe is a check valve that seals the top of the pipe.
While this check valve has been replaced nothing below it has been touched since the well was drilled 50 years ago.

No idea if these apply to your well but there are a few ways the integrity can be compromised
Poor cement job when they set the casing or even just over time its degrading like all things.
Tree roots can cause issues.
Ground movement can compromise the seal around the casing.
Its also possible its not your well causing the issue but a neighbors well is an its making its way to your water supply.


Its not a bad idea to have a water sample checked every few years

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Please educate me on how it is not completely sealed.
A 2 inch pipe is drilled into the ground like an oil well. On top of this 2 inch pipe a fitting is glued with a 1 inch hole in it. In this one inch hole is a 1 inch pipe glued into it with a foot valve on the end of the pipe.
When the well was drilled in the 70’s bleach was poured down the well by the well drilling guy to disinfect anything that could have been introduced into the well during the drilling process. On the top of the pipe is a check valve that seals the top of the pipe.
While this check valve has been replaced nothing below it has been touched since the well was drilled 50 years ago.

I did have a typo in my reply above or should be of. The reason to shock the well is its UPSTREAM OF WHERE YOU WORKED ON THE PLUMBING. That way you get the chlorine introduced ahead of the possible spot. And usually an easy place to open and add the tablets. If it’s not easy to open in some manner I’d be pretty surprised even dads that’s down in the basement opening the hole is rather simple.

If it’s truly just a pipe couldn’t you unthread the fitting on top and just drop a couple tablets down and wait a day then be back in business?

 

[Russ from MN]

One of our wells is sealed also, because it is a high pressure artesian. Last summer my wife complained about the water smelling, so I changed the filter and added 2 ounces of Clorox to the filter canister, and the smell went away.

 

[john in la]

Huummmm

 

[MarkB_MI]

Huummmm

Not surprisingly, they offer their own well treatment product. Which, at 56 dollars a pop, is a bit more expensive than a couple jugs of bleach.

ETR Laboratories well treatment

What's in their product? They don't say...

 

[ole fred]

Huummmm

View attachment 138480

I question the integrity of this outfit. They say that treating a private well is essential. I've been drinking out of my private well for 54 years now with no problems and it is never been treated. It was checked once and passed with no problems. It is a 4 inch steel cased well that is only 60 feet to water. I have no idea of how deep it actually is. It was drilled in 1965.
I trust it and have no desire to treat it with anything.

 

[Cliff (VA)]

The water heater has a slip over insulated coat. It is set to unknown factory set temperature but it must be just above 120 as it is not very hot. 100 would be great as the only one that uses my master bath tub is my toddler grandson and then only if he gets into a mud puddle while playing in the yard. My dishwasher has a built in water heater.
Basically my water heater is at the wrong end of the house with the old person shower and laundry at the other end.

What got me on this quest in the first place is my wife saying we can only wash clothes in cold water because the tub is full by the time the hot water gets to this room. That and the wasted water in shower waiting on the hot water.

But now that Mark brought up the bacteria I have to switch gears. Leave the big water heater at 120 and investigate ideas of supplementing hot water to laundry shower room.

Mark also has we wondering why bacteria will grow in my 100 degree water heater but I don’t have to worry about it growing in my well tank sitting in a 4x4 shed in my yard in 100 degree summers.

The bacteria you worry about is the one that causes Legionnaire's disease. It grows best in water between 77 deg and 113 deg. I doubt your pressure tank gets that warm.

Cliff(VA) now NC

 

[john in la]

I was out yesterday replacing the siding on my pump house and decided to take a picture of my well. You can see it is completely sealed and would take cutting pipe to shock it with chemicals.
I talk to a local well guy and he told me I would need a machine that puts chlorine in the pipe all the time to treat rust as I am always pumping up new water. My rust problem is not that bad. My pipes have a small rust film but my sink doesn’t have rust stains.
As far as harmful bacteria goes he told me my well is so deep harmful bacteria can not live where my water comes from. 100 psi pressure down that deep from the water depth and the water is to cold. And since my water pipes are completely sealed above ground there is no way for bacteria to get in.

 

[showcrop]

I am responsible for the twice a year testing of my churches water. We are classified as a public system. So long as our bacteria tests Ok, even after being held in a bladder tank and passing through a water softener, we don't need to do anything. Our town office building has a chlorine injection pump because the water has bacteria.

 

[marloweg]

I have a 50 gallon water heater within a couple of feet of my master bathroom so hot water is not a problem here.
My kitchen is the next room over plus my dishwasher has a water heater in it.
So if this was the end of the story I could set my water heater very low saving money.

The problem is I have a second bathroom with a shower and clothes washer in it.
It takes the hot water several minutes to reach this room as it clears all the pipes of cold water in the entire house.
I realize a hot water circulation setup would be best but this will not allow me to turn the water heater way down.
So I am thinking of adding a small under the counter tankless water heater where the line comes into the room.
It will heat the cold water as the lines get purged. Then it could supplement the warm water to make it hot enough for the clothes washer and shower.

My question is will the savings in turning the electric water heater down say 20 degrees pay for the under the counter tankless heater as this is the only room I need extra hot water for because of the shower and clothes washer.

tank less are junk

 

[john in la]

tank less are junk

I’ve decided to run a pipe (Pex) back to the water heater and install it in the drain hole at the bottom of the heater.
I will also install an inline circulation pump we can turn off and on with a switch like one reply suggested.

 

[TerryfromSWIowa]

tank less are junk

Not junk I have had a tankless for 13 years, not one problem so far.

 

[showcrop]

Not junk I have had a tankless for 13 years, not one problem so far.

the world in general loves tankless heaters. the world needs people of different views.

 

[olddavid]

I’ve decided to run a pipe (Pex) back to the water heater and install it in the drain hole at the bottom of the heater.
I will also install an inline circulation pump we can turn off and on with a switch like one reply suggested.

I'm not sure that's a good idea. You will be drawing the coldest water at that point and if there are deposits in the bottom of the heater tank those would go into your lines. I'm not even sure it would even be code. Also, the circulation pump would work for your existing line but there are downsides. The pump seals can fail and leak and the motor draws current. I think the savings would be minimal.

 

[john in la]

I'm not sure that's a good idea. You will be drawing the coldest water at that point and if there are deposits in the bottom of the heater tank those would go into your lines. I'm not even sure it would even be code. Also, the circulation pump would work for your existing line but there are downsides. The pump seals can fail and leak and the motor draws current. I think the savings would be minimal.

The system doesn’t work as you describe.
The 3rd line to the farthest faucet going back to the bottom of the water heater is a return line.
The pump draws water out the normal hot water line and returns it to the water heater via this 3rd line.

While it will help with instant hot water at the shower you could run the water down the drain and wait for hot water.
This is not true for the clothes washing machine in the same room. Without some way to circulate the water before you turn on the washing machine you can only wash clothes in cold water because the tub fills up before the hot water gets to that room.

 

[Keith Williams]

Huummmm

View attachment 138480

John,
Since you will not be Bleaching your system, this may just be for the others.

The instruction given to me (Ohio EPA, ODNR and others) said to mix the chlorine in a container outside the well before adding it to the well.
The instructions also state to add vinegar at a 3x concentration to the container. The vinegar is to break the bacteria slime layer.

So, I took an 18 gal storage tote added 5 gal water, 1 1/2 gal vinegar, and 1/2 gal of disinfecting bleach (8% Chlorine).
I then added more water to mix and fill the tote. I used a bucket to transfer the solution into the open top of my well.
After that I used a hose to spray the inside of my well casing down and to circulate the solution.

This made a complete mess inside my well as I had 30 foot of steel casing rusted since 1985 along with dirt, shale, etc. washed down.

It took several flushing to clean it up.

I had a slime bacteria in my well. It produces a Sulphur smell.
Just my experience.
Keith Williams

 

[john in la]

John,
Since you will not be Bleaching your system, this may just be for the others.

The instruction given to me (Ohio EPA, ODNR and others) said to mix the chlorine in a container outside the well before adding it to the well.
The instructions also state to add vinegar at a 3x concentration to the container. The vinegar is to break the bacteria slime layer.

So, I took an 18 gal storage tote added 5 gal water, 1 1/2 gal vinegar, and 1/2 gal of disinfecting bleach (8% Chlorine).
I then added more water to mix and fill the tote. I used a bucket to transfer the solution into the open top of my well.
After that I used a hose to spray the inside of my well casing down and to circulate the solution.

This made a complete mess inside my well as I had 30 foot of steel casing rusted since 1985 along with dirt, shale, etc. washed down.

It took several flushing to clean it up.

I had a slime bacteria in my well. It produces a Sulphur smell.
Just my experience.
Keith Williams

Several videos I watched showed them circulating the bleach with a hose from the pump back into the open top well.
I couldn’t do this because my well is sealed. I can not pump water and pour anything down the well at the same time.

Another thing is if I cut the pipe.
Poured the bleach down the well.
Reinstalled the pipe so the pump will work.
By this time all the bleach would no longer be in the well pipe.
Bleach is heavier than water.
Bleach will quickly sink down the well pipe contaminating the water pool the end of the pipe is stuck in.
I would be pumping bleach for weeks trying to get all the bleach out the bottom of the well pipe over 200 feet in the ground.

 

[olddavid]

The system doesn’t work as you describe.
The 3rd line to the farthest faucet going back to the bottom of the water heater is a return line.
The pump draws water out the normal hot water line and returns it to the water heater via this 3rd line.

While it will help with instant hot water at the shower you could run the water down the drain and wait for hot water.
This is not true for the clothes washing machine in the same room. Without some way to circulate the water before you turn on the washing machine you can only wash clothes in cold water because the tub fills up before the hot water gets to that room.

My bad.