Originally Posted By: pmizeres
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What is the procedure for conducting a well flow rate test? Thanks in advance,
Pete in Cleveland.
What is the procedure for conducting a well flow rate test? Thanks in advance,
Pete in Cleveland.
Originally Posted By: chorne
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You can buy for about $75 a guage that does gpm and psi
I offer the service free as a promo.
you can also go to professionalequipment.com
they have a couple different guages.
Carla
Originally Posted By: Guest
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Testing water delivery at the house and well flow rate are two different things.
Normally, well flow rate is tested by the well drillers by “dipping” the casing. There’s no good way for a home inspector to do it, and saying that there’s adequate or inadequate flow is an iffy proposition that could be dependent on ground water levels and seasonal changes. It’s way outside the scope of inspection except to note that it may be prudent to suggest to the client to ask the seller if supply was adequate, and if they have any documentation of flow rate. The well drillers normally have their names cast into the casing cover and they may have records as to how the well performed when drilled.
Sedimentation is factor as is overlapping cones of depressions from new neighbors drawing on the same aquifer.
A well that produces 4 or 5 gallons a minute may be adequate for the elderly couple selling the house but wholly inadequate for the family of 5 moving in.
Look for storage tanks larger than 20 or 30 gallons to indicate that the well is slow to recover.
Originally Posted By: pmizeres
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I know the well driller’s test is more of a recovery test, but I am also aware of the apparent need for a well flow test for a real estate transaction probably required by different lenders. I know how to calculate the well flow rate in GPM but just can’t seem to find an authoratative document describing the procedure for how long the test runs for. I have run across informal documentation of 20min on 20min off for 3 full cycles (2hrs total) measuring at the start and at the end of the test to see if start GPM = finish GPM and is > than 3GPM, but thats about all…
Originally Posted By: dedwards
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Pete,
The fancy rig advertised in Professional Equipment (at $99.95) for measuring PSI and GPM goes for about $45 at Home Depot. They are usually found in the area of lawn sprinkler / irrigation equipment. Made by Toro. Hope it helps.
Originally Posted By: pmizeres
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Thanks Doug,
I use an $8 pressure gage and a $4 five gallon bucket to accomplish the same thing. I am still struggling with how long to do the flow rate test though....
Originally Posted By: Guest
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Let’s say the well produces 80 gallons for you with no problem. That’s a load of wash. That’s good …right?
With out knowing 1) casing depth and reservoir capacity 2) recovery rate 3) anticipated loads you’re offering an opinion without enough information.
If the well produces 80 gallons for a load of wash but takes two hours to recover that means you can't shower after you do the wash. Recovery rate is far more important than capacity
It's supposed to be primarily a visual inspection, and if not on this one or the next one, at some time you'll get in trouble saying the well is OK. Things are different at the end of a dry summer than they are in the spring and those folks will be calling you when they find out they don't have enough water to live comfortably. They'll really be calling you when they have to order a truckload of water to live period.
Originally Posted By: John Bowman
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Chad,
Good points. In my opinion, well testing should be left to the professionals.
Originally Posted By: Blaine Wiley
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state in the report that the recovery rate, well capacity and water quality are beyond the scope of the inspection.
Originally Posted By: pmizeres
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Thanks guys, good feedback.
Pete.
Originally Posted By: kmcmahon
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| jbowman wrote: |
| Chad,
Good points. In my opinion, well testing should be left to the professionals. |
I would have to agree.
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Originally Posted By: roconnor
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… and work that with IRC/RCNYS Section P2903 …
… But as many have pointed out, testing for a private well is beyond the scope of a home inspection.Also, for anything other than a static pressure and qualitative flow check, be extremely careful with how you perform any testing and report the results. Quoting flow rates (quanitative flow check), and especially commenting on that, can put you on an extremely slipery slope with a big monkey on your back ...
There was a pretty good discussion of this topic here ... CLICK HERE
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