Well Drilling
It usually can be drilled in one day.
Yes, you can get it at the county health department, or Suburban Installers can handle the permit for you.
Not necessarily, You should take the first water aquifer that will provide enough water for your needs. Sometimes there is only one aquifer & going through it will end up in no water at all or salty water.
Yes, any well that is not being used has to be abandoned according to the state requirements.
1. The well has to be 50 feet from any septic field, septic tank or sewer injector.
2. The location should also be one that can be easy to service in years to come.
3. We will witch, or dowse your property to find the best location to drill your well.
1. You can get a good idea of how deep your well will be by asking your neighbors. Generally the wells are all in the same ballpark.
2. Suburban Installers knows most areas from previous wells we have drilled and could give you an idea how deep the well will be.
The state of Michigan requires that the well have at least 25 feet of casing in the ground, plus the length of the screen.
10 gallons per minute ( GPM ) will be sufficient to run a home. However when high flow showers and irrigation are going to be used that number will be closer to 20 gpm or more.
It depends on how deep the well, the size of the house & if you will be irrigating your lawn. Our standard size pump is a ¾ hp 10 gpm pump.
Yes, a constant pressure system can be added anytime.
As a rule of thumb you can never have to big of a tank, a bigger tank is easier on the pump. Our standard tank is a WM-12, which is a 42 gallon fiberglass tank with an air cell inside. Pumps and tanks have to be sized accordingly, the bigger the pump the bigger the tank has to be.
Go to our chlorination link for steps to perform this.
Yes, This helps kill any bacteria, and corrosion down in the well. Refer to our chlorination link for help.
Chlorination
- Set your water conditioner on bypass, if you have a reverse osmosis system shut off the water inlet valve.Switch off the electric breaker or disconnect what powers the well.
- Remove the cap from the top of well (three or four screws around the top should release the cap.
- We recommend two gallons of household unscented bleach for most chlorinations. Pour the bleach into the annular space between the support bar and well casing ( see figure 1 & 2).
- If there is a small ¼” size plastic tube in the annular space near the top of the well do not pour in the bleach, contact Suburban Installers for assistance. Do not pour chlorine into the center hole & try to keep the bleach off the wire connections.
- Turn the power back on to the well.
- Hook a garden hose up to an outside faucet with enough hose to reach the wellhead. Turn the faucet on wide open and run water into the annular space of the well where you poured the bleach.
- Run for 15 minutes, if the well fills up and water runs over the top your well has a drawdown seal and you need to contact Suburban Installers for assistance. If the well hasn’t filled up check the hose to see if you can smell chlorinated water. If chlorine is present you are ready to complete the chlorination process.
- Turn on each individual faucet inside & outside the house on until you smell chlorine then shut them off to keep the chlorinated water in the plumbing lines.
- Reinstall the well cap securely on the well. Let the water in the plumbing lines sit for a minimum of 12 hrs. Do not drink, bathe, wash clothes, or cook with the chlorinated water. It is harmful if consumed, and can burn the skin if contacted, & damage clothing.
- After 12 hours hook hoses to outside faucets if possible and run the chlorinated water to waste until no chlorine smell is present.
- Turn off the outside faucets and run each individual faucet in the house until no chlorine is present.
- You can now take the water conditioner off bypass and turn the water back on to the Reverse osmosis unit. The water should now be ready for normal use.
- Call and schedule a water test if needed.
Well & Pump
1. Check to see if the circuit breaker has tripped.
2. Pressure switch could be bad.
3. Pump could be bad
4. Insufficient electrical voltage.
5. Broken or nicked wire.
This is a sign that the tank is is waterlogged, meaning the bladder is low on air or has a hole in it . The air cell / diaphragm can be filled with air, if the bladder doesn’t hold the air pressure the tank will have to get replaced.
1 .There could be a hole in the piping.
2. The well could need to be acid cleaned
3. The pressure switch might be bad.
1. Well is not deep enough
2. Poorly constructed well
3. Wrong pump
4. Needs to be acid cleaned
1. The check valve on the top of the pump is bad.
2. There is a hole or crack in the drop pipe.
3. There is a hole in the pitless adapter, this is the connection that goes from the well to the house. If this is the case, the ground will be wet around the well.
1. This usually caused by a hole in the drop pipe causing water recirculation inside the well.
2. Waterlogged storage tank.
This is caused by Electrolysis, The fittings are galvanized & should be replaced with brass, copper or plastic fittings
This is a sign that there is a hole in the pitless adapter galvanized fitting. It will have to be dug up & replaced.
As your well ages the screen in the bottom of the well becomes encrusted with minerals. These minerals start closing off the small slots that allows the water to fill the well. Some symptoms of this are low water volume & dirty water. The screens are typically 4 feet long and cannot be removed, so acid is used to clean the screen and then redeveloped with an air compressor.
Water Conditioning
This is known as hard water, the white spots are from the calcium and magnesium minerals found in the water. They can be removed be installing a water softener, or if you have a softener already check to make sure it is functioning properly ( see our water treatment page ).
This is the iron mineral found in your well water. A softener can take out small amounts of iron. For larger amounts of iron a RustBuster Softener or an iron filter should be used. (See our water treatment page for more help)
The rotten egg smell is caused from the presence of the mineral sulfur. The smell is usually more noticeable in the hot water. Here are a couple of solutions to try:
1. Remove the anode rod inside the hot water heater.
2. Install an iron filter ( see our water treatment page ).
Reverse Osmosis system filters your well water to absolutely pure water, this water is better than bottle water quality. Reverse Osmosis system is not intended for the whole house. Typically the system is ran to the refrigerator for ice cubes / water and to a separate faucet at the kitchen sink.
Still can’t find your answer?
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Our policy is crystal clear. We will never compromise on the water quality or the health of your family. We have the finest reputations in the industry, built on quality and dependability.