Originally Posted By: rcooke This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
jspringstead wrote:
Roy: In answer to your question, can I stand up in court and say how much the well produced at the start of the inspection and at the end, yes I can. Exactly what my gage ( or bucket ) read. Do I know about neighbors or area wells? Of course not! My job is to inspect the house and major components on the day of the inspection. Well, septic, radon or home. Can I tell them how long any of these components will continue to operate efficiently? No. Of course not. But at the time of my inspection, they were either working and producing properly, or not. I am blessed to be in an area ( Great Lakes region ) with a very amply supply of fresh ground water. That does not guarantee that every well can produce an adequate supply. My job is to determine at the time of the inspection,
( providing I'm doing a well inspection ) that the well "is" producing a amply supply of safe water. I don't feel it's "brain surgery" type knowledge, just something you gain confidence in your opinion of after many years of experience. My bottom line to any inspector is, inspect what your comfortable with inspecting, if your not, don't. 
John how does you bucket tell you how much water was in the well at the start and finish .
Do you measure the depth of the well .
Do you measure the width of the well.
Do you measure the water depth before and after the test .
How long did it take to go down .
How long did it taket to fill up again .
How far is the pick up of the botttom of the well.
What pressure is required to lift water from a 150 ft well.
Tell me again John how can I get enough water out of a trickle system..
Explain again what the flow is from the trickle well.
Tell me how much water is in a thirty inch well 8 feet on water.
How much does a galon of water weigh.
How many gallons per cubic foot.
I ask again have any wells dried up in this area in the last year.
In court you had better be able to explain and answer these questions .
What are the answers John , this is open book now will not be when in court.
I do know the answers from my head and I do not do well tests.
I look forward to how you would answer the lawyer.
Sorry John I will stick to what I am good at and leave the well test to the guy who is good at wells.
Originally Posted By: jspringstead This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Jay: I really don’t concern myself with the actual gpm on the inside of the home. I only note adequate ( or inadequate ) flows when using multi fixtures such as a shower going, then flush the toilet and turn the sink on.
Obviously size of supply lines will have a huge affect on overall water supply. Normally, the older the home, the smaller the pipes or more plugged they may be. Hope this helps.!
Originally Posted By: mcyr This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John;
There are test sheets outlined out there that well contractors use that are exactly like Roy is describing, if that is not what you do, hang it up or someone will for you.
Sorry, but you obviously are not an expert on well water flow testing and should not be inspecting it.
You are asking for a lawsuit and the courts today would make you look like a buffoon.
Stick to what you know, and don't make believe you know. Payback is a bitch.
Originally Posted By: jspringstead This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Roy, in answer to your first several questions, I do not determine what size reservoir may be present, and usually not the depth although I sometimes am supplied with a copy of our State well log. Nor do I determine static water level before and after. I feel by running the well for 1+ hours monitoring the gpm, and it does not continually drop off, and I’ve produced 300-500 gallons, then this well should most likely produce an adequate supply of potable water. As I mention before, we are blessed with a great water supply here in Northern Michigan. I have spent a little time in Canada and know gaining such supply is not always so easy.
In answer to you later questions, yes I know the weight of water, static pressure per ft. and how to calculate volumes. Do I use any of these in my well test? No. Do I let my clients know that one possible solution to a well running dry is lowering the pump “deeper” into the static well level. Yes, but at this point I would highly recommend contacting the original well driller, obtaining the well log and looking for solutions to the issue. This happens several times a year with me, and I have yet to been called into court for any reason. What I know for sure is this, my clients are very happy to pay my fee’s to determine they have a safe and adequate supply of water. Never had anyone complain yet and I produce another
$ 100± for my time I’m there. Again, if you don’t feel confident in suppling a service, then I wouldn’t either. I’m very confident in my abilities.
Originally Posted By: jspringstead This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
That’s for sure Roy Again, I think you have to be very comfortable in offering your services to the public, and like any business, give them what they expect or more and your business will grow and prosper. Best of luck!
Originally Posted By: mcyr This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
You keep saying safe and adequate water supply, dose this mean you tested the water also and is safe to drink with no drawbacks, or possibility of contamination?
Originally Posted By: jspringstead This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Yes I test the water on the day of the inspection, and if it comes back with a clean bill of health, its safe as of the day of the inspection. Future contamination possible? Always. But on the day of the inspection, it was fine. If you’d like, I’ll email you one of our State Certified Lab test results.
Originally Posted By: Jay Moge This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
jspringstead wrote:
Jay: I really don't concern myself with the actual gpm on the inside of the home. I only note adequate ( or inadequate ) flows when using multi fixtures such as a shower going, then flush the toilet and turn the sink on.
Obviously size of supply lines will have a huge affect on overall water supply. Normally, the older the home, the smaller the pipes or more plugged they may be. Hope this helps.! 
thanx that did help. alot. so how could one justify the money for a gpm guage or all the time spent counting buckets full of water if all you need to do is the standard "multi fixture'' test. that's mostly knowlage and common sence. right? should i have a gpm meter or a bucket.???
Originally Posted By: Brien Stratton This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hello, folks , can I get some advice on a house I am thinking of buying?:
I did the "bucket" system by putting a 5 gallon bucket under the bathtub tap. I turned on the tap full. At the beginning it was coming out at about 7.5 gallons a minute. Then at 15 minutes, same reading, 30 minutes same reading, then at 45 minutes the water slowed to a trickle and stopped at one point. I then shut off the tap.
After awhile the pressure built up again to run fairly well.
My question is, if I had turned down the flow in the bucket to a 3.5 gallon to 5 gallon a minute rate at the beginning of the test, would the flow rate likely have stayed the same thoughtout the 1 hour test period? My thinking is that because the water was coming out so fast and for 45 minutes that it ran dry prematurely. It does seem to have good water pressure, more than I have normally seen in country houses with wells.
Comments anyone? Thanks for any advice. Get a professional well tester?
Originally Posted By: Brien Stratton This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I just stumbled onto this forum, and thought I would make a post and share in the discussion. I notice that my post had a warning attached to it: this poster is not a member of Nachi. Well big deal! Why alllow people who are not house inspectors to post if they will be just ignored anyways.
Oh I get it, I will have to pay for a house inspector to check my well pressure for the house I may buy. I will go and do that right this moment. Thanks for the discipline. I guess I have my answer already from your silence. Thanks for your silence home inspectors, do you talk to your customers or just look blankly in their faces when asked a question. HeHe.
Originally Posted By: dedwards This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I noticed this thread the other day but had to leave. Someone said they used the Toro gauge set and it broke after very little use. I happened to look at one yesterday at HD and the flow gauge has printed right on it not to exceed 30 psi. That may the cause of premature failure. I believe that this gauge set up was designed with sprinkler systems in mind, to check the flow and pressure for lawn irrigation. It may not be able to handle the kinds of pressures we normally find in public water and private wells as they can hit some fairly high pressures. Just food for thought.
Originally Posted By: rcooke This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Brien Stratton wrote:
I just stumbled onto this forum, and thought I would make a post and share in the discussion. I notice that my post had a warning attached to it: this poster is not a member of Nachi. Well big deal! Why alllow people who are not house inspectors to post if they will be just ignored anyways.
Oh I get it, I will have to pay for a house inspector to check my well pressure for the house I may buy. I will go and do that right this moment. Thanks for the discipline. I guess I have my answer already from your silence. Thanks for your silence home insperctors, do you talk to your customers or just look blankly in their faces when asked a question. HeHe.
Brien as you can see you too are not being ignored.
if you would be so kind as too follow some of these posting before you make a decision.
You just might see that most Home inspectors only inspect homes .
Wells in Canada are a separate field and there is a lot more to doing a proper well inspection and flow rate .
In Canada it is usually done by a well man.
I have been doing inspections in the country where most are on a well .
I have never seen a Home inspector do a well test .
Please enjoy your visits and I am sure if you have a question we would be most happy to try and help you .
That is the NACHI way, we welcome all members and non members.
Most who make a post here also hit spell check at the bottom to help pick up any spelling errors they might have.
Originally Posted By: rwand1 This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Brien
Good question. However several things will affect flow test. These include, well type, (bored or drilled), depth, submersible pump, or jet pump, recovery rate, static level, draw down level, et ceteras.
It may be the pump intake is not far enough down the well or that the well is not recoverying quickly enough to meet demand. You would be wise to hire a licensed well technician licensed by the Ministry of the Environment to assess the well and other factors. Most mortgage companies will want some assurance that the property they are financing have sufficient water to service the residence and will want a flow rate test performed.
Just my experience.
Raymond Wand
Alton, ON
-- Raymond Wand
Alton, ON
The value of experience is not in seeing much,
but in seeing wisely. - Sir William Osler 1905
NACHI Member
Registered Home Inspector (OAHI)
http://www.raymondwand.ca
Great site thanks Steven, I do hope those who do well tests take the time to read and study what is on this site.
This only confirms what I and others have been saying leave the well test to the well guy.
I am a good home inspector have been on wells for over 40 years ,Have had dug drilled and artesian .
Have been involved with many inspection on wells but I help only .
NACHI where We all Learn
Originally Posted By: kmcmahon This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I just started doing them…it’s fairly painless, and no different than Radon testing IMO.
I take a H20 sample from the Kitchen or bath tap after taking off the filter, using a propane torch on the faucet to kill any bacteria, running the tap for 5 minutes and collecting a sample.
The flow test, is also painless. You can use any container of a known quantity and time it. I take an average of 3 readings after running the water for 30 minutes. I do the test from the valve nearest to the shutoff and run a hose to the outside. I also check on the timing of the well kicking on.
Collect as much information from the well as you can. You can also find information on the well from the county.
Take a class if you don't know anything about them.
-- Raymond Wand
Alton, ON
The value of experience is not in seeing much,
but in seeing wisely. - Sir William Osler 1905
NACHI Member
Registered Home Inspector (OAHI)
http://www.raymondwand.ca
Again, I think you have to be very comfortable in offering your services to the public, and like any business, give them what they expect or more and your business will grow and prosper. Best of luck!
, can I get some advice on a house I am thinking of buying?: