Digging a shallow well using a hand auger - GIF

Digging a shallow well using a hand auger.

<video controls autoplay loop> <source src="https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net/extendable_hand_auger.mp4" type="video/mp4"> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video>


Previously:

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...400#post196670
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...834#post186746
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...157#post149707
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...333#post177208
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...920#post175625

Been there... done that... twice. First was in Oregon. Helped an old neighbor turn the auger, but we didn't lift the dirt. We hooked a garden hose fitting on the upside of the T handle that had plugged ends. Hydraulics washed all of the loosened dirt up and out of the hole. Sure, it was a bit sloppy around the hole, but we were successful... we had our boots on. :cool: Hit water at 22', and went 3' more. Had a professional well crew come in to pump for reservoir. Neighbor watered a huge garden... never running out of water.

Second time was at the end of my backyard, a couple decades ago, four feet from the tiny creek that flows year-round. Stopped at 28'... never hit water or oil... damn! Clay all the way with a few rocks the size of a thumbnail, every now and then.

My wife has property with a well that is 753' deep after hitting water at about 650. Obviously not something that can be drilled by hand.

The video is as much geology as it is practical hard work. Sand is great for being able to find water. Even in deserts!

But it can sure be frustrating to dig a well, or anything of any depth in sand!!!.

I want to know how he turned the handle when he first started, and when he added the sections. He said the sections are 10 feet, that is a long way to reach up and be able to turn the auger.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hemmjo

But it can sure be frustrating to dig a well, or anything of any depth in sand!!!.

I want to know how he turned the handle when he first started, and when he added the sections. He said the sections are 10 feet, that is a long way to reach up and be able to turn the auger.

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I remember building a large deck for a client that was on a gravel area. Drilling for piers was a nightmare. In this area you need to go down 5 feet, It tool over an hour per pier with a powered one man auger. The kind you can rent on tow behind your vehicle wheels and is balanced from the big box stores.

So yes it is a terrible pain to try and get this done. I was close to using a larger sonotube ( concrete pier cardboard tube ) to act as a caisson. Just didn't have a larger one on hand that would have worked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baja

My wife has property with a well that is 753' deep after hitting water at about 650. Obviously not something that can be drilled by hand.

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Well not with that attitude.

(that was a joke, just in case the sarcasm didn't transmit properly through the internet)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baja

My wife has property with a well that is 753' deep after hitting water at about 650. Obviously not something that can be drilled by hand.

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Maybe not drilled by hand, but the record for a hand dug hole stands at 240 meters, (790 feet).

At least that is what it says on the internet, so it must be true!! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nova_robotics

Well not with that attitude.

(that was a joke, just in case the sarcasm didn't transmit properly through the internet)

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Let me rephrase that...not something I would do by hand :D