Found a strange well on my property

[southT]

I found a 2" PVC well when clearing brush on my property. I dropped a line with a sinker on it to find the depth, and it was stopping at 25'. After this, I ran an endoscope video camera to the bottom of the pipe, and it looks like there is a 1/4" pipe broken off that continues deeper. I have a 50' endoscope and have not been able to wiggle it into the broken off 1/4" pipe to see what is deeper down. I may be able to connect a 1/4" coupling to the broken off piece and run a new 1/4" pipe to the surface.

I am thinking of buying a [1 HP Cast Iron Shallow Well Pump with Pressure Control Switch] from Harbor Freight and see if I can get water out of it.

Would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to make this a working well.

 

[RS]

Is there water in the well? You didn't say how far it is down to the water, and I don't understand the 1/4 pipe in the bottom, that's very small. If you don't know the recovery rate of the well a 1 hp pump is pretty big, it might quickly run out of water and loose it's prime.

 

[southT]

Yes there is water in the well. It's 20' down to water. I do not understand the purpose of the 1/4" pipe either. It is 2" down 25', then a 2" -> 1/4" reducer. It looks like only about 1/2" of the of the broken 1/4" piece is remaining. It should be enough to connect a coupling. I really have no idea about the recovery rate.

 

[RS]

It would be nice to get a small (1/3 hp) shallow well pump and test pump it. 25 feet is about the limit of a shallow well pump, and if all the water has to come up through the 1/4 pipe I wouldn't expect to pump more than about 1 gpm out of it. Possibly the 1/4 pipe was part of an air-lift system?

 

[CottageLife]

Is there any possibility of contacting the previous owner of the property and maybe they could shed some light on what the pipe was for.

 

[southT]

The previous owner did not know about the well. It was hidden in brush. I found it by accident just before it was cleared by the bulldozer.

 

[southT]

RS, air-lift system meaning air is pumped into the 1/4" to force water back up into the 2" section? Looking at the bottom of the 2" section, the 1/4" is cemented in through a reducer, so there is no space for water to be pushed back up into the 2".

 

[southT]

@Valveman @Aggie83 Any idea what about the purpose of the 1/4" broken off pipe at the base of this well? I have never installed or used a well, so my experience is limited to what I can find online. I have not see any discussions about the situation I have. @RS I am shopping for a 1/3hp to test pump it.

 

[Valveman]

I don't know unless it is a part of an air lift system as was mentioned. Never seen 1/4" used in a well for anything. With the water level starting at 20' deep, I doubt a shallow well jet pump will work as they have a max lift capacity of about 25'. If the water level pulls down 5' a shallow well jet pump won't work.

Might be able to run a deep well jet pump and set the packer just above the broken off 1/4" pipe. If you can snake a tail pipe past that 1/4" a few feet it might work.

 

[Aggie83]

Depending on your state, there may be record of the well being dug.

 

[southT]

Depending on your state, there may be record of the well being dug.

I'm a fellow Texan! No record of this one.