Capping an artesian well

[The Fisherman]

Hello all,

I have an artesian well that has been disconnected from my house and is now only a 1 5/8" inch PVC pipe sticking out of the ground in my front yard.

It flows at about 5 gallons per/minute.

I currently have a plastic cap on it with a hose clamp to stop it from running.

I'd like to put a hose bib on it so that I can use the water in various uses when I want to.

How in the world can I work with this? How can I glue anything to this pipe while it's running?

Is there some method that would allow me to cap this thing properly where I could then add on to this system? Getting a valve into the line is my problem.

How can I put a valve into this line?

[dpb]

If the pressure is low enough the hose clamp works, a Fernco coupling would probably also work.

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[DerbyDad03]

This oughta work:

[Harry K]

The operation is simple. Buy a valve that will fit the pipe. Open it, Place it on the pipe. Close the valve.

Yes, you will probably get wet doing it but it isn't harmful.

That is the short version.

I would prepare a string of fittings beginning with one that fits the pipe and sizing down to a 1" or 3/4" then fit it.

Being PVC you might have a problem glueing a fitting on due to the wetness. If so, use a fernco connector. There are also connectors with 'rubber' gaskets and screw ends that repair pipe leaks. Memory is fading at my age and I can't recall the technical name of them.

Harry K

[Bill]

Look in the sewer fittings department at the store and they have rubber hose clamp fittings where you can attach a pipe at both ends then clamp down with the hose clamps.

So on one end of the hose clamp fitting, install a series of fittings to attach a valve, then stick the whole works onto your pipe and tighten down.

This will work if the water is low pressure.

[Harry K]

It'll work even under high pressure. You open the valve before fitting the lash up. BTDT working with around 60 psi.

Harry K

[Slob]

there is wet use pvc glue.

[HeyBub]

Oil well blow-out specialists manage to cap wells that are spewing 50,000 gallons per minute AND on fire! While being shot at. In the dark.

It can be done.

Check here:

[dpb]

HeyBub wrote: ...

Hmmm....where do they get that dark-burning fire???? :)

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[Merlin]

Thanks to all of you that answered this thread. One guy mentioned wet-use PVC cement. I've never seen any. Does anyone know of a particular brand of this that works well?

I would like to build onto this pipe and would like to glue it if possible.

The clamp on rubber fittings will work for now.

Thanks again!

[DanG]

There are plenty of ways to accomplish this. You need a compression ball valve to install on the end of the pipe. If you are subject to freeze/thaw, you will need to make this connection below the frost line or protect the line in a well house or appropriate enclosure.

These are available in PVC, but the very best in the business are brass Ford couplings/connections/valves- these are the ones your city probably uses: here are some:

[Harry]

Antiluminescent powder is one of things the secret world government organization called DJE is supposed to be suppressing knowledge of, but one of the yorxl starships carrying it crashed in Kuwait in 1990. DJE agents failed to kill everyone who found out about it.

[Slob]

get a small length of rubber hose that just fits inside existing pipe. this will allow water to flow through this hose and keep edge of pvc dry for gluing. Slide the fitting over this sleeve and prime and glue treaded fitting onto existing pipe while most of the water flows through the hose you have jammed in. remove hose when done and add spigot to treaded connection. I got the wet-use glue at HD last time I worked on well, cpl weeks ago because of drought and too much watering blew the pvc threaded fitting out of the top of the jet pump because of sucking air I think. Switched to galv to straight pipe to house.

[Merlin]

Thanks, that trick didn't occur to me.

Good idea!

[Joe]

Prepare all your hardware in advance. Rent or borrow a 10 GPM pump and a use a long suction hose to get as close to the bottom as possible. Yank the hose out of the well when it starts sucking air, slap on your hardware (valve open, of course) and by the time the water arrives again your glue should be set just fine. HTH

Joe

[Harry K]

The 'compression coupler' that I couldn't recall the name of is a

"Dressler Coupling" - available in both PVC and Galv. Would make a better looking and firmer connection than the clamp on style. Probably a lot more dollars than the clamp on though.

Harry K

[Jeff Dieterle]

Use a pneumatic pipe plug made for your well pipe size, they pump up with a bicycle tire pump, if it holds the flow install your valve setup so you can extract your pipe plug. Depending on the pipe plug this may mean you go to a larger valve, probably a gate valve. If you can't find a glued setup that allows you to extract the pneumatic plug though the valve, just glue on a threaded adapter so you have threads to work with.

[Bob F]

I was thinking of substitutes for the commercial plug. Do you think a bicycle innertube could be shoved in with a rod and inflated to seal it diring the addition? You'd need to be able to pull it back out through the valve after deflating.

Bob

[Harry K]

Soccer ball? Football bladder?

Harry K

[tofu]

------------------------------------- an old trick is stuffing the pipe full of bread glue the pipe then let the water weakin the bread and flush it out threw the valve