So, lets back up. There was a time when a water well was literally a hole hand dug into the ground where you just kept digging until you reached the water table, where all the spaces between the rock and dirt particles are filled with water, and water filled the bottom of the hole. In olden times a bucket was used to take the water from the well. These types of shallow wells (under a hundred feet deep) are easily contaminated from the surface and tend to dry out during droughts. In the 21st century in the United States digging a well by hand has been largely replace by automated drilling methods. Modern wells are more often drilled by a truck-mounted drill rig that was invented at the end of the 19th century and continually improved in the 20th century.
Howard Hughs, the one we all think of, who was the founder of Hughs Aircraft and the reclusive billionaire was actually Howard R. Hughs Jr. His father, Howard R. Hughes Sr. (who died when Howard Jr. was 19) along with a man named Sharp were the inventors of the two-cone rotary drill bit used for drilling for oil. This drill bit design also impacted water supply by enabling deeper drilling through rock. The Sharp-Hughes bit allowed access to more reliable and consistent water sources in areas where shallow aquifers were not available or sufficient. The first major advancement in water wells in the 20th century was the ability to drill them deeper for a more pristine and reliable water supply.
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| from privatewellclass.org |
Most modern drilled wells are built with a submersible pump and sanitary sealed well cap so that the ground water is not exposed to potential contaminants before it reaches your home. This is accomplished by using a pitless adapter within the well. This adapter is designed to provide a sanitary seal at the point where the water line leaves the well to enter your home. The pitless adaptor attaches directly to the well casing below the frost line and provides a watertight subsurface connection, protecting the well from frost and contamination. In older pump installations, above ground jet pumps were often used in a pit, which potentially allowed the introduction of contaminants at the surface concrete pit cover.
The essential components of a modern drilled well system
are: a submersible pump, a check valve (and additional valve every 100 feet), a
pitless adaptor, a well cap, electrical wiring including a control box,
pressure switch, and interior water delivery system. There are additional
fittings and cut-off switches for system protection, but the above are the
basics. The components within the basement provide consistent water pressure at
the fixtures.
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| both parts of the pitless adaptor put together from PITLESS ADAPTER | HHPAC |
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| The right portion slides into the top of the left portion which is connected to the well casing |
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| here you see the blank end of the portion that will connect to the pipe (right) |
The invention of the pneumatic reciprocating piston Reverse Circulation drills, submersible pump and pitless adaptor changed everything. Wells could easily be drilled deeper and faster. Unlike older systems that required a well pit to house the connection, pitless adaptors eliminated the need for such pits, hence the name "pitless." This innovation ensures that the water remains free from surface contamination, and in 1969 (when I was a teenager) a new and improved pitless adaptor was patented and has spread widely.
The improved pitless adapter was designed to make the pump and system easier to access for maintenance and repairs. The two parts of the adaptor (stationary portion that is connected to the well casing and the movable portion that is connected to the flexible well pipe are connected by a T-coupling and slip joint casting. This means that the parts can be easily pulled up free of its wedge engagement by using a “T” on a piec of metal pipe with threading to tie into the lug end dead head.
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| The water is spewing out of the pitless adaptor that holds the black flexible water pipe. The metal "T" was threaded into the top of the pitless adaptor and used to pull the pump. |
Once you thread in the metal "T", you jiggle it to break up any encrustation (it was in that well for 16 years) and then just pull the black flexible pipe up. (If its been in the well a long time, the pipe may look like its covered in rust or orange slime. That is iron bacteria that seems to eventually appear in all wells over time.) The "T" is basically a handle that prevents the pipe and pump assembly from falling into the well. The red contraption on top of the well grips the pipe and locks it in place. It's called a quick clamp and don't try to pull a pump without one. You could end up trying to fish a pump lint out of the well. Here it is being used to hold the pipe and pitless adaptor away from the well to test the pump.
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| close up of the quick clamp |
The improved pitless adapter is for easy installing and eliminate most interior ledges or the like, which might collect water, foreign matter or set up rust within the casing. The improved design for the pitless adapter eliminated the need for a complicated slip joint with mating male and female element and eliminated the need for an elbow joint. This design met all the emerging sanitary and code requirements cheaply. Always after you open a well you need to chloring shock the well. Pouring a cup of bleach into the well is not enough.
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| closeup of the pitless adaptor |
