Having made Abyssinian well with your own hands, it will be possible to extract water from the soil layer closest to the surface - sand. Water passing through a porous structure in most cases has sufficient high quality(this parameter must be checked in a laboratory), so there is no need to drill deeper and, accordingly, pay more.
Before drilling, you can ask your neighbors about the quality of water, and after the well is installed, its suitability for drinking and cooking is determined in a laboratory. At the same time, the Abyssinian well (needle well) has structural differences and certain advantages when compared with a classic well, which, in accordance with its depth (to the sand layer), is called a sand well.
To determine which is best for you, an Abyssinian well or a sand well, pay attention to the following:
- One of the main differences should be considered well size. The diameter of the casing pipe of an Abyssinian well is much smaller - most often 1 inch. Due to this, it is also called a needle hole.
- Is different water pumping principle– liquid enters the “needle” according to the principle of suction and is often under pressure. At the same time into the well large diameter water flows according to the principle of arrival.
Basic technical specifications Abyssinian well:
- well depth usually no more than 8-10 meters, although in certain cases it can reach 12-20 meters. But if the water level in it is lower 8-9 meters, there will be problems with water supply using a surface pump,
- performance– 0.5-3 m3/hour.
The needle well design is quite simple. For ease of immersion, the casing pipe consists of sections connected by couplings. The submersible end is equipped with a cone with a slot for water intake and a filter in its upper part.
Well components parameters:
- pipe diameter for the Abyssinian well – from 2.5 to 7.5 cm,
- the length of each segment is about 2 m,
- length of the cone-shaped tip – 20-30 cm,
- the cone diameter is selected 1-1.5 cm larger than the corresponding casing pipe parameter.
The pump for an Abyssinian well can be an external electric one, and in some cases (for periodic use, for example, only for watering a small garden), it is practiced to install a cheaper hand pump.
Advantages and disadvantages of needle well
Abyssinian wells have a number of advantages, which have led to their widespread use.
- With a smaller diameter, the Abyssinian well, made by hand, is not inferior to its larger counterparts.
- The source is equipped with surface pumps (more convenient for inspection and repair than submersible models).
- An Abyssinian well installed with your own hands, thanks to its features, can become practical and convenient option where the use of a conventional well is not practical or even impossible.
- With a small thickness of the sandy aquifer, it is easier to “catch” it with a thin casing pipe (in some cases, a do-it-yourself needle well is the only option).
- The construction of an Abyssinian well does not require much space, so it is often done right in the house, in the basement.
- The immersion of the casing pipe of an Abyssinian well with a large thickness of the aquifer is arbitrary, while a classic well must be drilled to the aquitard - the clay layer located after the sand. This eliminates the possibility of water being drawn from the lower part of the sand layer, which often contains a large amount of impurities, including dissolved iron. Thus, the mineral composition of water in an Abyssinian well, built according to all the rules, is usually better than in a large-diameter well.
- An igloo well, built and equipped with your own hands, silts up less, including due to the presence of pressure and intense water flow. In addition, it is easier to clean the “needle” casing.
For any owner of a house or cottage, the low cost of an Abyssinian well and the ability to drill and equip an “igloo” in one day are important.
You will learn more about what types there are by reading our separate article. The depth from which it can lift water also depends on the type of pump.
What an artesian well is and the features of its structure are described in the material.
The main disadvantage of the Abyssinian well should be considered the possibility of contaminants entering the water from the surface due to the shallow depth of the intake. Because of this, you should carefully choose the location for installing the needle well, ensuring maximum distance from landfills, latrines, cesspools and septic tanks, drainage ditches, showers, in which the water goes directly into the soil under the stall, etc.).
Unfortunately, the Abyssinian well cannot be built on any soil, since hard rocky layers will be difficult to penetrate, and aquifers on a loam rather than a sandy layer will not provide water for such a design.
Ways to create an Abyssinian well yourself
The services of specialized companies performing water drilling and even renting special equipment are quite expensive. At the same time, there are several ways to make an Abyssinian well with your own hands.
Drilling
This method is often used to penetrate soil to quicksand, as a sandy layer saturated with water is called, which, due to its looseness, can crumble immediately after the drill moves through it. To avoid this, drilling a well is combined with immersing the casing.
Drills for the production of Abassinian needles can be welded in a home workshop. It is optimal to use two modifications:
- frame drill, which is a U-shaped structure, and is used to pass through a dense clay layer,
- a frame drill with a cylinder, which is installed inside the frame and serves to collect and subsequently evacuate soil from the canal.
The width of any type of drill must correspond to the diameter of the casing pipe.
The drilling technology is quite simple - the passage of soil layers is carried out sequentially, with a gradual increase in the working part using rods. At the stage of drilling with a drill with a cylinder, it is better to use a winch (purchased or assembled independently from a starter and cable, equipped with limit washers and installed on a stand). Such a device will make it easy to remove the drill, rods and soil accumulated in the cylinder from the channel, which together add up to considerable weight.
Hammering with a headstock and a headstock
The headstock is a cone-shaped element fixed to the rod using a thrust washer. The simple design allows for maximum efficiency.
The headstock sliding along the bar, falling after lifting, transfers energy to the headstock, due to which the bar enters the ground. In order to avoid destruction, the headstock cone must be made of more durable material than grandma. The thrust washer prevents the cone from flying off the bar even with very strong impacts. On the contrary, at this time it “sits down” even more firmly.
Headstock driving with plug
To implement this method, they use an end headstock rather than a sliding one on the rod. To protect the threads of the rod, a plug is installed in the upper part. It is recommended to use headstocks of 30 kg or more.
Barbell hammering
Equipment for driving with a rod - hexagonal rods, the diameter of which allows them to be placed in the column. Each of them is equipped with a thread for increasing the length (internal on one side and external on the other). For reliable fastening, the length of the threaded sections must be at least 2 cm. The process of driving a casing pipe immersed in a drilled well involves throwing a rod into the cavity of the rod.
Required equipment
For self-construction An Abyssinian well will require tools and materials, which in most cases are available to most home craftsmen. What you need is easy to acquire.
Electrical equipment for the Abyssinian well:
- welding machine,
- Bulgarian,
- drill.
Hand Tools:
- gas keys,
- sledgehammer,
- hammer.
Materials:
- casing pipe in sections of 1-2 meters,
- steel couplings for connecting them,
- wire with a diameter of 0.2-0.3 mm and stainless steel galloon mesh for making a filter,
- FUM tape or other material for sealing threaded connections.
Well equipment:
- check valve,
- manual or electric pump.
May be useful:
- discs for rods up to 40 kg as an alternative to the driving headstock,
- car clamps,
- nuts and bolts,
- thrust washer (when using a headstock).
Making a tip with a filter
Making a filter for an Abyssinian well with your own hands is quite simple. A piece of pipe (approximately 80 cm) with a cone-shaped tip is perforated - thin cuts are made or drilled round holes. After this, wire is wound around the perforated area and a braided mesh made of stainless material is applied. The latter is fixed with clamps or soldered using special non-toxic tin solder.
Sequence of work
IN general view construction of an Abyssinian well borehole type is performed in the following sequence:
- A hole is dug out.
- The well is clogged.
- The required sound depth is determined (in clay soils advancement occurs silently, a grinding sound is heard in coarse sand, and a rustling sound in fine sand).
- After the sound appears control check– water is poured into the pipe, if it leaves quickly, then the depth is optimal, if slowly, then the pipe must be immersed another 0.5 meters.
- A manual or electric pump is installed in the well.
- The well is pumped until clean water(if characteristics electric pump do not allow it to be used for dirty water, pumping is performed with a manual or drainage unit).
All work can easily be completed in part-time work, so, having started creating a well in the morning, by the evening you can enjoy clean and tasty water.
There is information on what it is, its types and materials of manufacture on our website.
You can talk about the technology of drilling another type of well, in sand. Required equipment and sequence of work.
Video
How to make an Abyssinian well with your own hands - a video that demonstrates the process of creating a needle well.
Abyssinian well (Abyssinian well, needle, active water intake well) - the most popular solution for water supply suburban area. And for good reason. Such a well has a lot of advantages: you can make it with your own hands in just one day, anywhere on the site or premises, and this does not require heavy equipment.
Do-it-yourself Igla well
Water from an underground source, with rare exceptions, is used without preliminary preparation: due to the tightness of the connection, bacteria from the surface of the earth enter the water. This method of obtaining water is inexpensive, and the productivity of the well is high (20-40 liters per minute). It is easy to connect a water pumping station to the “needle”; the service life of the well is quite long - from 8 to 30 years (on average 15-20 years, depending on the soil).
However, to build an Abyssinian well with your own hands, you need a highly qualified specialist. Aquifer very thin and it is important not to “slip through” it. A well cannot be drilled everywhere - the drilling process may be limited by geological reasons (the clay layer goes up to 15 m) or depth restrictions (to the water surface - no more than 7-8 meters).
Problems often arise with already used “Abyssinians” - they become silted. In this article, a consultant for the House and Dacha forum, nedrabur from Moscow, talks about special design features"Igla" type wells which must be observed to ensure long-term operation and the ability to regenerate the filter without lifting the entire column.
The classic design is a pipe with a diameter of 1 inch (2.5 cm) and a length of 15 to 30 meters. A pump is installed at the upper end of this rod; at the lower end there is a filter: perforation (a section with holes made in a checkerboard pattern) and a fine mesh. 
Needle on the well.
The filter is the heart of the well: the amount of water drawn depends on it. For this maximum porosity or duty cycle of the wellpoint is required(20 – 30%). The duty cycle is increased by wrapping the filter support frame, which is metal pipe(hole or slot), with a wire spiral in increments of approximately 1 cm. This is necessary so that water can freely pass to the frame holes.
Without such a winding device, the service life of the filter will be reduced by two to three times. This is the first sign by which you can distinguish a low-quality “needle”.
The filter is well wrapped on top with a smooth braided mesh (soldered to the filter body with tin solder), which filters fine and silty sands and protects the well from clogging and silting, or square weaving - for coarse-grained and mixed-grained sands.
Lead-laced solder poisons water!
Sometimes the mesh is wrapped on the outside (along the entire length of the filter) with stainless wire in increments of 5-10 mm - to protect it from stones when planting in the aquifer.
The second thing you should pay attention to is the frame, filter mesh and winding spiral must be made of stainless steel .
When using different metals(copper or brass on steel pipe or galvanized), the filter is destroyed within short term under the influence of electrochemical corrosion. As a result, the well becomes clogged and silts up.
The filter, made of stainless steel, has one more important advantage: it is not afraid of repeated acid washes and chemical reagents. The fact is that over time, in any filter, the mesh cells and the near-filter zone are covered with sediments of various chemical compositions, which form a dense cement crust.
When operating a well with ferruginous and carbonate waters, the productivity of the filters decreases sharply - by 3-5 times. Sometimes only after the first year of operation it is necessary to repair filters or re-drill the well. To avoid this and dissolve the sediments, acid washing is used.
The photograph shows a wellpoint with cemented sediments that have been cleaned by hammering. This is an example of a “silted” well that cannot be restored using chemicals.
Recently, for water wells pipes and filters made of HDPE or uPVC are widely used(hard, unplasticized). Their service life is long - more than 50 years, precipitation does not accumulate on them, and they do not overgrow.
RESULTS:
- The length of the filter part must be at least one meter;
- A wire winding must be made between the mesh and the frame;
- All filter elements must be made of stainless steel (the cone can be made of ordinary steel);
- The diameter of the pipes is at least one inch (34 mm in outer diameter).
Nedrabur advises: a well (needle, Abyssinian well) should be considered as a long-term investment. Don't waste money on good quality equipment, materials and work, and check everything personally before installation or even at the negotiation stage.
Based on materials from participants of the forum "House and Dacha"
At the dacha, in a private house or country cottage, in areas where it is not possible to connect to the central water supply, and simply in order to gain independence and obtain water in the right quantity Usually a well is dug or a borehole drilled.
There are many ways to obtain water, one of which is drilling an Abyssinian well (AW), which is often called an igloo well. The well is drilled to the level of aquiferous sand and water is supplied from there.
What is an Abyssinian well
The emergence of the Abyssinian well has a controversial history; according to one version, such water sources were used by the British during the colonial conquests in North America, namely in Abyssinia (where the name comes from), now it is Ethiopia.
Like any other successful invention, the Abyssinian well became widespread throughout the world. According to another version, an American (Norton) invented a well of this design in the 19th century.
The Abyssinian well is known by different names, for example, Abyssinian water well, needle well, Abyssinian tube well, sand well, driven well.
An Abyssinian well is considered to be a well drilled using a special method. It is a pipe of small diameter (an inch and a half) 10-20 meters long, driven into the ground. The water is raised vacuum method, using a manual or electric pump.
Drinking water from the Abyssinian well is obtained from surface aquifers filled with precipitation, the mineral composition of which is favorable for the human body (little manganese, iron salts, etc.).
Passing through soil and sand, the water is filtered from harmful impurities. It is believed that water from an Abyssinian well is better than from a deep well.
Abyssinian well - advantages and disadvantages
Based on experience of use and numerous reviews, we can highlight the pros and cons of extracting water from the Abyssinian Igla well.
Advantages:
- speed of work. The first water can be obtained within 6-7 hours (the speed is influenced by the type of soil and the depth of the aquifer);
- cheapness. The Abyssinian well is the most economical way to obtain water in terms of installation and operation;
- long service period. An Abyssinian well can function for up to 30 years. The period is influenced by factors such as chemical composition water and sand fractions that can clog the filter (which can be replaced and extend the service life for another 10-15 years);
- the ability to drill a well almost anywhere on the site, in the basement, garage, barbecue area, gazebo, veranda, etc.;
- hygiene. The well is protected from external debris;
- all-season use;
- high performance. Up to 3 cubic meters per hour.
Flaws:
- using an electric pump increases the cost of obtaining water. As a consequence, the need for mandatory electrification of the site;
- using a mechanical pump (column) will reduce the water flow rate and require some effort;
- impossibility of plugging an Abyssinian well in some areas.
Geological prerequisites for constructing an Abyssinian well
Unfortunately, not everyone has access to an AK. The engineering and geological conditions for the construction of an Abyssinian well depend on a number of reasons:
- Soil. The Abyssinian well only works in coarse sand or bedrock.
- Locations. AK cannot be located near sources of pollution, such as a bathhouse, compost, barnyard, etc. It is also not recommended to dig AK near water - a stream or pond.
How to find a place for a well
Determining a place for an Abyssinian well is practically no different from searching for the installation of any other well. As a rule, indirect signs, the use of a copper frame and a banal survey of neighbors are taken into account.
All methods are good, the main thing is the result. Choosing a location is an important task, because... a mistake eliminates all labor costs and the long-awaited water simply won’t be available.
It depends on the water level whether you will need to use a pump or perhaps install only a manual column. The calculation is as follows: if the water level is below 8 meters, then the water will have to be pumped manually, if up to this limit, then with an electric pump.
Abyssinian well kit
To carry out the work you will need equipment for drilling an Abyssinian well:
- Abyssinian well needle (steel needle, cone or point). You can make a tip with your own hands using lathe. For ease of drilling (driving), the diameter of the needle should exceed the diameter of the pipes by 10-30 mm. Tip length 200-300 mm. The needle can be screwed onto a thread or soldered to a pipe. If you use the welding method, then you need to choose tin as the solder, because... Lead compounds are dangerous (can cause water poisoning).
- Sections (main or pipeline). Water will be supplied through it. It is made simply - individual pipes with a diameter of 1 inch are connected to each other using couplings. In this case, couplings should only be made of steel. Cast iron ones burst when driven. And to avoid water leakage, rubber seals or sanitary linen are used and oil paint. As a rule, the length of the main line rarely exceeds 15 m. But in some areas there are wells driven to a depth of up to 40 m.
- Pump for the Abyssinian well - manual or electric. Installed at the top of the highway.
- Concrete rings.
All the described elements can be made independently or you can buy a kit for an Abyssinian well, manufactured in an industrial environment.
Abyssinian well - DIY device technology
- The drilling location is determined;
- Soil is being excavated at the site of the future AK. It is enough to remove 1 cubic meter, this will make the work easier. Although, many users advise drilling a well without excavation, immediately punching a small well with a diameter of 80-100 mm. If you plan to use the AK all-season, you need to dig a hole with a depth below the freezing level of the soil. Then the equipment for the Abyssinian well will not freeze in winter. But the water from the pump will still have to be drained, otherwise it will be deformed from the thermal expansion of the water;
- The line is clogged into the soil. To do this, you need to drill a hole; there are several ways to hammer a pipe for a well:
- By using a socket headstock. Here the operating principle is more than simple. Force is applied to the top of the headstock. The impulse from it is transmitted to the pipe. Thus, the tip for the well is driven into the ground. To avoid breaking the pipe thread, you can screw a plug onto it. And fix the grandmother on it.
- By screwing the tip into the soil. This method is the most labor-intensive and is therefore rarely used. Only if you need to drill to a shallow depth;
How to make a rig for drilling an Abyssinian well with your own hands
It was mentioned above that a well can be driven or drilled, it is difficult to say which method is better, it all depends on the soil, location and capabilities. If there is no specialized equipment for drilling a well, and you don’t want to hire a team, then you can build a drilling rig yourself - a driving machine.
Let's look at how to make a homemade installation for drilling a well needle
The result will be a drilling rig as in the photo
Two corners 2.5-2.7 m long are welded at an angle with a base length of 110-130 cm. We make 2 such parts. At the top point you need to provide a place to attach a block for hanging the headstock.
You can use timber or sleepers as a base (platform). The structure is installed and fixed so that the installation does not move during operation.
We hang a headstock weighing 30-40 kg on the block. The internal channel of the headstock must be of sufficient length, preferably 60 cm. If it is shorter, the headstock may fly off the trunk, plus the impact force is reduced (small amplitude). The presence of handles on the headstock will allow you to help at certain moments with your hands when hammering (in especially hard layers of soil, one person lifts the headstock by pulling the rope, and the second, holding the handles, accelerates its downward movement).
We make the pipeline for driving the well from sections (pipes) one and a half meters long (there should be 6-8 such sections, depending on the depth of the aquifer, the estimated location of which is determined in advance - we find out from the neighbors, we check with a copper frame), plus one for reserve.
Sections can be made from stainless pipe(expensive) or made of black seamless steel pipe (affordable). You should not use galvanized pipe, it is softer.
The sections are connected using couplings (steel only, cast iron is brittle). The main thing here is to correctly make the thread of the coupling, which should remain outside for half a turn or a turn. During the driving process, the impact must be on the end of the pipe, and in no case on the thread, otherwise it will not be possible to screw on the next section.
The cone (tip, needle) must be made of durable steel. There are several ways to construct a wedge: round shape It is turned on a lathe, but many advise making it faceted. They are also made from a corner in the form of a tetrahedron. The main thing is that the spear-shaped tip is larger in diameter than the pipe itself.
Insert the filter pipe into the originally drilled hole (made with a hand drill). When hammering in the first section, make sure that it is strictly vertical relative to the ground level. We thoroughly compact the excavated soil.
We put the headstock on the centered trunk (pipe), the driving principle is simple - we pull the rope, the end of which is tied to the headstock, sharply release it, the impact force drives the headstock into the ground.
On the clogged section, screw on the coupling and the next section. Since the layers of soil may differ in their composition (clay, sand), it is natural that the speed of penetration will also vary, so do not be alarmed if it goes fast in one place and is slow in another.
Before installing the last section, where in theory there should be water, fill the planted pipe with water. In the process, i.e. To soften the flow, you can pour it from a bucket with a watering can, and to check it, it must be under pressure. To do this, you need to connect an electric self-priming pump.
It should be understood that washing the mesh (needle filter) under pressure is important stage. During the drilling process, the pipe passes through different layers, and the filter mesh becomes clogged with rock, soil and clay, so when it reaches the aquifer, water may simply not penetrate the pipe. If you supply water under pressure and it does not return like a fountain, then the goal has been achieved - you are in the sand. We pour water from a watering can into the pipe - it goes away, which means everything was done correctly.
All that remains is to make a tie around the pipe, connect the pump and pump water.
Conclusion
It is clear from the article that the technology for constructing an Abyssinian well is not particularly difficult. All materials, tools and equipment necessary for its full functioning are quite accessible and not expensive. Thus, after spending just one day on drilling, you gain complete independence from the central water supply for a long time.
Photo report about how we hammered the “needle” at the dacha.
Objective: to provide garden plot water. In the area from a depth of 3.5 meters and up to 10 meters (to blue clay) there is quicksand. Most neighbors have wells. Water in spring is at a level of -3.5 -4 meters, in autumn -5 -7 meters.
The wells are filled with quicksand and need to be deepened annually. As a result, over several years a noticeable failure, which is covered with sand from the well itself. This is the sand cycle around the well.
Diagram of the formation of a sinkhole around a well
This prospect was not very attractive. Especially after. It was decided to try to drive the “igloo” well onto quicksand sand. From the experience of some neighbors (they drilled a well to 12 meters), it was known that from a depth of about 9 meters and down to blue clay (10-10.5 meters), the sand is no longer small quicksand, but coarse granular with a fraction of 2-3 mm. It was decided do not use a mesh at the end of the “needle”. And use it instead slots using a grinder with a thin disk (1 mm) and hammer the “needle” onto coarse sand.
Thus, according to our calculations, we will get rid of the need to make a well again in 5-7 years, when the mesh will become clogged with fine sand finally. Those. The main rule here is that the cells at the end of the needle should be smaller than the sand fraction, and if the well is made for fine sand, then a fine-mesh mesh at the end of the “needle” is required, which becomes tightly clogged after a few years with clay particles. We hope that we will be able to operate the well for at least 10 years. We'll wait and see (I'll be sure to report here 🙂). Unfortunately, no photograph of the “needle” tip has survived. I can only say that the slots were made along the pipe in a checkerboard pattern.
Pipes used “inches” (25 mm).
Inch pipes with thread for the “needle”
To connect the pipes, steel couplings were used and the threads were carefully lubricated with red lead for tightness.
Connections are lubricated with red lead
Steel coupling lubricated with red lead
They killed me with a 30-kilogram "woman". At the upper end of the “needle” screw the end coupling tightly to avoid breaking the threaded end of the pipe.
“Baba” for driving the “needle” hole
When we reached a depth of 8 meters, we began checking the sand for graininess every 30-50 cm of penetration!
This is done like this: put your ear to the upper end of the “needle” and turn the pipe with a gas wrench. We remember what sound a pipe makes in fine sand (“ rustles"), when we reach coarse sand, the sound changes (" scrapes«, « scratches«).
After we have reached the coarse sand, we drive it to a depth equal to the length of the filter at the end of the “needle” (the area where the slots are). Those. we reached 8.5 meters when coarse sand appeared, and we scored another 1.5 meters (the length of our filter). So we completely immerse the filter in coarse sand.
If part of the filter is left in fine, then will fill up the pipe when we start pumping water. If you do not know approximately where the coarse sand begins in your case, you need to start listen to the sound of the trumpet as soon as the clay is passed(this is noticeable by the easier movement of the pipe in sand compared to digging in clay).
Another important point is that when the layer of coarse sand is very thin(it often happens that it is no more than half a meter or even 20 cm), you need to use very short filter, equal to the thickness of a layer of coarse sand (in our case 1.5 meters) and also try to accurately install it in desired layer. This is quite difficult to do in terms of sound given the thickness of the layer less than a meter. That is, it would be a mistake in this case or not to reach desired point or drive the “needle” too far below the desired layer. Incorrect installation on fine sand with a filter like ours it will be visible constantly the presence of a large amount of sand in the pumped water and gradual plugging of the well. A depth search usually understandable lack of water or low debit, since usually under a layer of coarse sand there is clay, which hermetically closes the filter. If you have hammered the “needle” too tightly, you can pull out carefully hydraulic jack for a special hook(usually a 10 ton jack is used, but you can try a 5 ton jack - it all depends on the ground and the length of the pipe).
I almost forgot two important points:
- Turn the pipe with a gas wrench clockwise only(tighten the nut), because otherwise, you can unscrew one of the pipe connection couplings and get a leaky column, which is absolutely unacceptable for this type of well.
- Pour coarse salt into the filter before filling.(we poured about 2 meters in height), it will allow the filter to become less clogged as it passes through the layer of clay, and when it gets into the water, the salt will simply dissolve.
Coarse salt for pouring into the filter
So we scored the “igloo”. Check to see if the salt has dissolved and if the filter is free of sand and clay plumb line of suitable diameter. We simply lower it on a reliable string inside the pipe and measure internal well depth by sound(the plumb line hits the iron tip of the “needle”). The length of the lowered plumb line must coincide with the length that comes out from the number of clogged pipes multiplied by the length of each such pipe. In our case, 5 pipes of 2 meters = 10 meters were clogged. The internal depth was the same.
Now you need pump the well. Take a piece of metafloor 16mm long, slightly larger than the depth of the well. We lower one end of the metafloor inside the pipe to the very bottom. We connect the pump output to the other end through a half-turn tap. We turn on the pump to pump water into the well (the tap is still closed). We wait for the pressure to rise at the pump outlet and sharply open the tap. Water quickly rushes along the metafloor to the bottom of the well, where water hammer occurs. At the same time, those clay particles that still clog in the filter are knocked out of it. The procedure can be repeated 2-3 times. This will clean the filter.
Keep in mind that during a water hammer from the bottom of the well into the gap between the pipe and the metafloor, water under pressure will be released in the form of a fountain (especially if water has not yet entered the well and it is empty). You can really take a swim. 🙂
Metafloor pipe with water hammer tap
Again we lower a plumb line into the hole and, by the sound of a splash, we detect where it is located. water level in your well. Our level was at a depth of 4 meters. That is, the column of water in the well was 6 meters.
Now we connect to the end of the “needle” self-priming pump through a special reinforced hose. And we try to pump water. If the water starts pumping for at least 30 minutes. Better 1 hour. Periodically turn off the pump for a few seconds and turn it on again so that the water goes down and better rinses the filter. After such a shutdown, usually the first seconds the water is muddy. For several days after this, we’ll pump the well for at least a few minutes at a time.
Pumping the well
The well is currently two years old. Clean water flows immediately after turning on the pump. A pit is made around the well, where a pump and a check valve are installed, so as not to pour water into the pump every time before turning it on. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer. Continuation .
To purify water from iron using bleach.
The cheapest way and with the least labor costs you can get water for domestic needs, in quantities sufficient for water supply summer cottage or a small private house, if you build an Abyssinian well with your own hands. The design of such a hydraulic structure has its own, which should be taken into account when determining the admissibility of constructing a well and, if possible, then proceed directly to the work.
How to make an igloo hole
The most suitable type of soil for constructing such wells is sandy or sand-gravel soil, which is usually located below a clay layer, which can be of considerable thickness. If the soil in the place where the “needle” is to be driven contains large boulders, then the idea should be abandoned before starting work, which not only will not give the desired effect, but will also cause a loss of time, effort and money.
Layers of earth when drilling to the first aquifer sand
We begin excavation
If the structure of the lithosphere layers allows you to make a needle well with your own hands by impact, without using drilling, you will need to perform the following sequence of actions:
- Remove the loose layer of soil down to loam.
- If the well will be used all year, it will be necessary to make a caisson, which should be buried below the freezing point of the soil to avoid the possibility of ice forming in the pipes. If the “needle” will be used seasonally or placed in the basement of the house, this item can be skipped.
- Drilling should begin using a crowbar or a spiral drill, the diameter of which is 5-10 mm smaller than the prepared thick-walled gas pipes. This will make it possible to make a hole in the ground 1-1.5 m deep, thanks to which the first section will easily enter up to half its length and will be firmly fixed. Special attention attention should be paid to the verticality of the initial penetration, since it is this that will determine the direction of movement of the water pipeline and determine the quality of the Abyssinian well made by hand.
Design features of the “needle” and filter element
The first segment of the water supply pipe that is plugged is the very “needle” that gave the well its name.
Ready “needle”. From the blank with holes to the winding of the filter element. The following requirements apply to its device:
- the whip must have a steel tip made of solid material and attached by threading or welding;
- the base of the cone attached to the pipe must be larger than the external size of the pipe by the thickness of the filter + 10 mm to ensure that its integrity is maintained;
A perforation is made at a distance of 2 cm from the tip, which can be obtained in two ways:
- by drilling holes with a diameter of 8-12 mm in a checkerboard pattern, to a height of 2-3 cm in increments of about 50 mm;
- making through cuts in the body of the pipe to the same height in increments of 1 cm along the circumference.
To increase the degree of water purification from solid inclusions, the size of which is otherwise assumed to be equal to twice the cross-section of the perforation, it is necessary to make a filter element.
The filter can be a fixed stainless mesh with a 2 mm mesh (a smaller cross-section can quickly silt up) and/or a wound wire with an anti-corrosion coating or design, with an appropriate pitch of turns;
The filter element is fastened by twisting wire or soldering using tin solder, which does not contain lead, which can poison water.
A mesh or wire on the “needle” filter retains the sand and the already purified water enters the pipe. Let's go deeper
Next, the “needle” should be buried to the aquiferous sand layer, by building up the lash with new segments and driving the metal structure into the soil. Impact can be achieved using a sledgehammer or headstock.
“Grandmother” device for deepening an Abyssinian well In order to use the latter, you should do the following:
- Having passed the protruding end of the water conduit through the central hole, install the headstock on the ground. Which has the following requirements: weight must be at least 30 kg; the central hole exceeds outer size coupling 5 - 10 mm; On the sides there are eyes or holes for eye bolts for fastening ropes, located on top and in the center of the ribs.
- expand the water pipeline with the next section using a threaded steel coupling. To which they are presented special requirements: the wall thickness should be no less than that of the connected lashes; the length of the cut part is three times the diameter of the pipe; At the ends, cylindrical grooves are made, which must be made to ensure that the section of the lashes without thread fits tightly to a depth of at least 5 mm, which means their caliber must match the outer size of the pipes.
- each section is screwed into a coupling with hemp sealing surfaces to a depth of at least 1.5 cross sections;
- At the top of the mounted lash, a knot is attached with two blocks for raising/lowering the headstock, through which ropes are passed, attached to the eyes or eye bolts percussion instrument. If the height is too large, then the block should be fastened before the sections are connected to each other;
- the “grandmother” rises all the way up and is fixed in this position;
- at a distance of 1 - 1.5 m from the ground surface, but not less than 0.2 m from the coupling, a “grand support” is attached, which is a massive cylindrical part with protrusions and a split metal liner, the hardness of which is greater than that of the pipe material.
When everything is ready, the “grandmother” is released and falls onto the “grandmother”, which is fixed even more firmly due to the conical liners, and the water conduit is immersed in the ground.
After a certain number of lifts and drops of the impact tool, depending on the nature of the soil, the water pipeline becomes clogged to a level where it becomes inconvenient to work with the headstock. After that installed elements the shock pair should be removed and the operation repeated with the extension of the lash with new segments until the required mark is reached.
The depth of the first aquifer can be determined by periodically filling the water pipeline; if the water does not drain, then the clay layer has not been penetrated, and when it drains, the “needle” must be driven another 1 meter. After this, the pump can be installed and pumping can begin.
Plastic pipe instead of a water conduit
The emergence of new materials and components for the installation of water pipelines has led to the desire of craftsmen to construct a well to lift water from depth, using plastic pipes that, unlike metal, are not subject to corrosion and are not a source of iron oxide, which increases hardness. However, the properties of plastic do not allow it to be driven into the ground without losing its shape and tightness, which necessitates drilling for the construction of such Abyssinian wells.
Since the Abyssinian well is a well with a plugged bottom, due to which water does not enter as a result of inflow, but through a perforated wall, before driving plastic pipes into the hole obtained as a result of auger or spiral-screw drilling, penetration should be carried out to the full depth. After this, a column consisting of plastic pipes, starting from the end section, which has a perforated surface with a filter and a plugged bottom. It is preferable to make the plug conical to facilitate penetration.
The variety of plumbing communications on the market allows you to choose one of the following plastic pipe options as a material for making an Abyssinian well with your own hands:
- Metafloor, 1 inch or more in diameter, is lowered without breaking the section into a hole drilled using a spiral drill.
- PVC pipes, at least 1 inch in diameter, are lowered one section at a time and welded together until the desired length is obtained.
- A plastic sewer pipe with a diameter of 57 mm is lowered into the well and expanded using standard connections with rubber seals.
Needle well with casing pipe
If, during the process of drilling a hole for an Abyssinian well, it turns out that the soil is too loose and cannot maintain its shape without parallel reinforcement of the walls of the tunnel, do not be upset and, instead of making an Abyssinian well with your own hands with a water conduit made of plastic pipes, use it as a casing column . In this case, drilling should be done with an eccentric tool, for example, a drill spoon, which is specifically designed for sandy soil, and the walls are strengthened in parallel, as the rod is lowered from the gas pipes.
A tubular structure that transmits rotation from the collar to the drilling tool in in this case, will subsequently be used as a do-it-yourself Abyssinian well, so it is subject to requirements similar to those listed when describing the equipment of the column - “needles”.
After the hole has been drilled to its full depth and the walls have been strengthened, the rod is gradually removed from the hole and disassembled into separate sections. The drilling tool is replaced by an end section with a plugged end and a perforated wall equipped with a filter element.
Starting from the end link, the sections are assembled, the threaded coupling connections are sealed using tow, and gradually lowered into the pit until the bottom is reached. The cavities between the water conduit and the casing are completely or partially filled with fine stone chips for additional filtration.
