Well already on property, but no house... what to expect?

[nicholaseb]

I recently closed on 2.3 acres in Western NC that I will be building a small rustic cabin on next year. I grew up on the property, the house I grew up in burnt down a couple of years ago, leaving only the water well and a septic (septic which I can no longer use because it is too close to the creek).

Near the pasture there is still a water spigot, the type with a handle that you pull up on, not sure if there is a special word for that type of spigot. It is right next to the site of the future cabin and I would like to get water running to that spigot.

The well is about 50 yards away. Regarding wells - once I hook up the well to the temporary electric pole, what is it going to take to get water pumping out of that spigot? Surely it can't be as simple as running the electric and connecting the pipes....

Thanks for any help!

[flyingvan]

You may have a perfectly good pump down there, and it may be surrounded by rocks and debris that will chew up the works after getting turned on.  It might be worth having the local well expert come out, pull the pump, sterilize the well, and run a few tests

[rick91351]

First off  from Idaho my son in law is from around Boone.....

Your water spigot of that type around here is called a frost free.

You will need a pressure tank, and pressure switch and way to drain it.  I would bet you walk into any pump supply house close by and they will fix you right up.

How deep is the well?  What type of pump?  When was it drilled?  How big of a casing?  It would be handy to know as much of that stuff as you can find out before you go looking for a pressure tank. 

Does it get winter there?  If it does you will have to protect your tank from freezing either a heated shed or a cellar.

[alex trent]

First thing to do before spending a lot of money is to get the pump pumping. Hook it up and run it and see what happens. If you do not have a tank or if the tank is shot, this will be a manual operation. Let it run a bit and check out the water.  If you are concerned, your local health dept. can test it for free and let you know.

Is the spigot connected to the pipe from the well?  You will likely have to look for other connections to the well. Generally it is well to tank and then to connections to various lines (house, outside spigot, etc., ) You did not say if there were connections.

As Rick says, be good to know what you have down there....but not enough of a question to pull the pump just for that as most residential stuff will work across a range of sizes and water delivery rates.

You will need some shelter for the tank to keep weather off and from freezing. Where you are that is not a big deal. Likely down about 6 feet with a simple roof will do it.

It actually is pretty straightforward.