# New sand point and jack pump won't pull water



## Ford Zoo (Jan 27, 2012)

WE just put in a new sand point, it's sitting in about 4 foot of water. The ground down there is clay. The working jack pump we are using won't pull water (and we know it works, has new leathers, and has been tested). Any ideas? I'm wondering if the clay has clogged the point screens. When we fill the exposed pipe with water, it takes 10 minutes or so to seep back down.

Thanks for any ideas for us to try!


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Check for an air leak....


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## Ford Zoo (Jan 27, 2012)

Got it going, pulled it and tried again, and now I've got water! No more draining hoses or hauling water all winter. 

Great 25th anniversary present!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

If the point is in clay it probably won't pump many gallons/hour. If you need more water you might have to go down deeper and try to find a gravel layer.


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

Glad you got it working. After you pulled the well, did you drive down the same distance in the same hole or did you move the well? What size point did you use? How much water is in the well?


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## Ford Zoo (Jan 27, 2012)

There's not as much clay down there as we origionally thought. The first time we pulled it was because a pipe broke (shame on us for trying to save money, we bought the Chinese made pipe knowing the quality is poor). There was some clay on the point, but otherwise sand. We ended up digging down 8 feet to get it out the first time, and we have water at 6 feet. The gravel layer was at about 7 feet. We are using a 1 1/2" point. 

We did go down the same hole, and about the same distance last night. Uncle came over and had us tighten the pipe as it was going down to make sure the couplings weren't coming loose (interesting, another experienced friend said not to do this) but we did get water to pump so I'm thinking we had an air leak earlier.

Both guys told us to go down another 10 feet once we hit water, that's what we'll be doing today.

Any other recommendations are welcome, this is our first time putting a point in.


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

Sounds like you've got things under control as long as you're using drive couplings and your pitcher pump is easy to pump. One thing I might add is to make absolutely sure you get good, clear (let a sample sit for a few minutes) water before you hook up your electric pump if you're using one.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I would recommend using TFE paste instead of teflon tape or that other pipe compound. The last well I pounded down I used the latter 2 and had leak troubles that cost me a lot of work and time. I cleaned the threads with a wire brush and used TFE and that fixed it.


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## Ford Zoo (Jan 27, 2012)

Darn, we used the tape!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

If it's working there's no problem.


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