DIY Well

The water well drilling methods described here work well in digging/drilling through dirt, and clay, including really
hard clay.  They will not work if you need to drill through rock but, if the area you live in is flat or
relatively flat, it is definitely worth a try.  Many folks think they have
to dig or drill their well into an aquifer.  For irrigation and
lawn watering, reaching an aquifer isn't necessary.  You only have
to drill under the standing water level. It is very likely that you
can drill your own well.  Many successful wells
have been drilled using this well drilling method.  It is cheap.   

YOU CAN DIG
YOUR OWN WELL

The "do
it
yourself water well drilling" technique is referred to as well
drilling, but
many call this technique "washing" or "jetting" a well.  It is
somewhat similar to the rotary bit method which most real water well
drillers use
for water bore drilling.  
Water is pumped down the center of a PVC schedule 40 pipe used as both a
drill
stem and a drill bit.  At the bottom end of the PVC a drill bit is
fashioned by
cutting teeth into the end of the PVC.  The pipe is rotated back and
forth
as the PVC pipe is slowly worked into the ground while the cuttings are
brought
to the surface by the upward flow of water in the annular space around
the pipe.
If you want to dig your own well, try this technique.

This method involves drilling water wells using just two hoses for drilling fluid.  Inexpensive PVC is used for the drill pipe, the drill bit, and the well screen.  It is very cheap and many successful shallow wells have been installed using this technique.

There are several enhancements you can make to the basic borewell drilling
technique. 
To make the technique even more effective you can use the techniques
described on the pages, "Drilling Deeper with BENTONITE" and "Drill 10
Feet Deeper."  Additionally, converting to a
metal drill bit will make your drilling more productive.  These are
all techniques that were sent in by users of the site and discovered as
they drilled their wells.

A gravel pack can increase a well's
production so there is a section on them. 
I don't recommend you include a gravel pack on your first well but after
you get the hang of the technique this is something you will probably
want to check out.

Installing a well and a pump can save a lot of money,
especially if you are now paying the local utility for irrigation water. 
You have probably noticed that just watering the lawn can get expensive. 
You can spend less money watering the lawn. 
Actually, you can spend almost no money watering the lawn.  It is great for gardeners,
too.

Bill in Tampa, Florida has developed a very similar water well drilling technique. He has been wildly successful. Bill has helped his neighbors drill a bunch of wells his protocols may be useful to you. Look under "Another Home Driller!!"

Several users of this site have been kind enough to send pictures and info about wells that they have drilled. Check out "Success Stories" in the menu. Here is a link to one of our recent success stories, Steve in South Jersey. Steve needed a way to water his Christmas tree farm and he successfully drilled his own well. Very impressive effort!

For drillers interested in moving up to the next level: be sure and check out the section on mud pump drilling. It is absolutely the way to go if you can buy or borrow a mud pump (sometimes called a trash pump). It costs more than the two hose method but is still a lot less expensive than hiring a driller.

I got a little off point, I suppose, with the sections on geothermal heat pumps and my electric bill war, but I hope you will find it interesting. Also please check out a page I put up on how you can avoid ID theft - www.avoid-id-theft.com I know it is way off topic and I apologize but I keep seeing credit monitoring companies needlessly taking peoples' money and it upsets me.

Commercially drilled water bore wells tend to be very expensive. This technique is very cheap. It will almost definitely work if you live near the coast and will likely work if you live in a flat inland area. It is great for saving money on watering your lawn. If you want irrigation water and you are sick of high water bills, give it a try! You can save a ton of money. Many have been glad they did.

Please check out our introductory video below:

This article located at

http://www.drillyourownwell.com where you can find much much more self drilling information!