How to make an Abyssinian well - making a homemade machine for drilling wells. Features of arrangement and operation of a needle well Needle for water

Water supply issue suburban area must be resolved, otherwise there is no need to even talk about minimal comfort. If you need water and your budget is limited, it’s time to think about a low-cost technical structure that is accessible to most summer residents. Moreover, the technology with which you can install an Abyssinian well with your own hands is not particularly complicated. This type of well or igloo well, as it is also called, was invented by the Americans back in the 19th century, and received its exotic name after the British began to use it in Abyssinia (Ethiopia).

Initially, an Abyssinian well was a shallow well with a hand pump that pumps water from a sandy aquifer. This differs from an ordinary well in that the water in it is very clean. It is not clogged with dirt, drains, spores and water. First appearing in Russia in the 19th century, this structure is still a success today.

However, before you begin to implement your plan, you need to take an interest in the geology of your area. As a rule, neighbors who have owned plots nearby for a long time are aware of the location of soil layers and the depth of aquifers. They already did own choice in favor of a well or well.

Selecting a structure that is used as optimal source water on the site, largely depends on the geology of the area

You can start constructing an Abyssinian well only if the upper aquifer is located no deeper than 8 m from the ground surface. From greater depths, lifting water using surface pump may prove problematic. If the aquifer lies lower, you should drill a well into sand of a larger diameter or deepen the pump.

The aquifer that the well will target should be medium-grained sand or a mixture of crushed stone and sand. Water can flow freely through such soil, so it will not be difficult to pump it out. The layers located above the aquifer interest us only in terms of their permeability. And the tool that will be used in the work will not be able to penetrate deposits of boulders and pebbles or hard rocky layers. To carry out such drilling operations, special equipment is required.

Material about ways to find water on the site will also be useful:

Advantages of this type of water supply

The likelihood that an Abyssinian well can be built on your property is very high if your dacha neighbors already have similar wells.

One of significant advantages the Abyssinian well is that it can be built both on the site and in the house

The advantages of such a structure can hardly be overestimated:

• the design is simple and inexpensive;
• to arrange this well you do not need a lot of space: the construction does not violate the integrity of the landscape;
• no equipment or access roads are needed for its arrival;
• the pump can be mounted both on site and indoors;
• the entire work will take no more than 10 hours: it all depends on the depth of the water carrier and the hardness of the soil;
• a high-quality filter prevents silting, which allows the structure to operate for a long time;
• no pollution from the surface of the earth gets into the well;
• The quality of water from such a well is comparable to that of a spring;
• the needle well provides a continuous supply of a volume of water, which is enough for both watering the site and for household needs: the flow rate of an average well is approximately 0.5-3 cubic meters per hour;
• The device can be easily dismantled and installed in another location.

Abyssinian wells are not as deep as traditional sand wells, so they are less likely to contain dissolved iron. This means that there is no need for expensive filters when using them.

Abyssinian well lifts water from an aquifer that is deep enough to provide normal work any plumbing and watering of the site

How to carry out work without special equipment?

An Abyssinian well can be easily made using special equipment. But buying such mechanisms specifically for a single well is unprofitable, and inviting specialists is expensive. The construction of a needle well can be done with your own hands and using only a tool that is already available or can be purchased inexpensively.

Preparing the necessary tools and material

The Abyssinian well kit includes:

• drill and grinder;
• hammer and sledgehammer;
• a pair of gas keys;
• to hammer the pipe you need pancakes from a barbell of 20-40 kg;
• welding machine;
• garden auger 15 cm in diameter;
• pipes: ½ inch 3-10 meters long, ¾ inch – 1 meter;
• 1 inch pipe for the well, which should be cut into pieces of 1-1.5 m and have a short thread on each side;
• nuts and bolts 10;
• stainless steel galloon mesh P48, 16 cm wide and 1 m long;
• car clamps 32 sizes;
• couplings: 3-4 cast iron couplings for driving pipes, as well as steel couplings for connecting pipes;
• two meters of wire 0.2-0.3 mm in diameter;
• check valve, HDPE pipes and couplings, .

In any city there is a market or hardware store, where you can cut threads and purchase all these materials and tools.

Making your own filter

The filter requires an inch pipe approximately 110 cm long, to which a cone-shaped tip is welded. This tip is called the Abyssinian well needle. If there is none, you can simply flatten the end of the pipe with a sledgehammer. Using a grinder, we cut slots on both sides of the pipe over 80 cm, 1.5-2 cm long, about 2-2.5 cm long. It is important that the overall strength of the pipe is not compromised. We wind the wire onto the pipe, after which we put a mesh on it and fix it with clamps after about 8-10 cm. The mesh can also be soldered if you have certain skills.

In America, for example, a filter for an Abyssinian well is made with internal mesh and wire, which is located above and below the mesh

It is important to know that solders with lead should not be used to prevent toxic substances from entering the water. Only special flux and tin solder are used for the work.

Drilling technology

We drill the soil using garden borer, expanding it with a pipe structure. To do this, ½-inch meter pipes are connected with couplings made of ¾-inch pipes and 10-inch bolts. Holes must be pre-drilled at the fastening points. The drilling process continues until wet sand appears, which will flow into the surface of the drill. That's it, further drilling is pointless, because the wet sand will go back into the well.

We clog the pipe with the filter

We connect the pipe sections with the filter using couplings, not forgetting to screw the FUM tape onto the threads. The resulting structure of pipes with a filter is lowered to the sand, and a cast iron coupling is screwed onto it. Pancakes from the bar are placed on the cast iron coupling. An axis is passed through their center, along which the pancakes will slide, clogging the pipe. The axle consists of a 5-foot piece of ½-inch diameter pipe with a bolt at the end.

The finished well needle does not take up much space and does not spoil appearance plot: if desired, it can be decorated with a canopy; it is very advisable to build a concrete platform around it

With each blow of the pancake, the pipe should sink a few centimeters. When half a meter from the sand level has been passed, you can try pouring some water into the pipe. If the water disappears, it means the sand has accepted it. The sand aquifer is capable of absorbing water at the same rate as it releases it.

Pumping a finished well

Install the check valve, then pumping station. We use HDPE pipes and make sure that the entire structure is airtight. We fill the pumping station with water and connect a piece of hose to the outlet. The pump can be started. Do not be alarmed when air comes out of the well, and then muddy water. That's how it should be. Coming soon pure water, the quality of which can be verified by doing an analysis or simply boiling it.

This is what an Abyssinian well looks like if it was installed in the garden and equipped with a hand pump: the summer resident no longer depends on the watering time set by SNT

There should be no drainage ditches or manure pits near the site of active water intake. A small concrete platform, which is built around the well and located just above the soil surface, will ensure the drainage of rainwater.

The Abyssinian well is also called a needle well due to its small diameter, 25-40 mm.

Americans began to use this drilling technology at the beginning of the 19th century. But it became known throughout the world in the middle of the last century, when the British carried out military operation in desert Ethiopia. While extracting water, they learned to dig shallow, narrow wells using a Norton drill. Ethiopia was then called Abyssinia, which is why the wells began to be called “Abyssinian”. Let's take a closer look at the advantages of this type of well.

Mini well in a well

And the Bissin well is plugged both on the surface and inside the old well. This is why owners of private houses and summer cottages choose an igloo well:

It is possible to do it yourself. And if you invite craftsmen, it will cost less than digging a new well or deepening it with wells with a casing pipe.

An Abyssinian well, plugged in compliance with all the rules, will provide you clean water. Melt and rain streams will not fall into it (although, of course, a filter is placed inside the well).

The average service life of Abyssinian wells is 30-40 years. By the way, there are still active wells in Ethiopia from the time of the “Abyssinian operation” of the British!

Disadvantages of Abyssinian wells

• It is demanding of the aquifer – the layer of soil that contains water. It makes sense to drill a needle hole only in soil consisting of coarse sand or gravel. It is much more difficult to drill an Abyssinian well if the soil is rocky. In this case, you will need the help of professional drillers and special equipment.
• Restrictions on the choice of pumps. Due to the small diameter it will not fit into the Abyssinian well submersible pump. Therefore, surface pumps, manual or electric, are used, but they are less productive.
• The Abyssinian well must be used constantly, otherwise it will silt up. This problem is eliminated by cleaning the well with a bailer.

Install deep and fine water purification filters

Place for drilling a needle well

1. The first thing you need to do is find out how deep the aquifers are in your area. “Abyssinian” technology allows you to drill shallow wells, 10-15 meters. Therefore, if the water in your area is lower than 15 meters, choose a different type of well.
2. It is possible to find out about the depth of water layers by studying geodetic maps. Communication with neighbors, owners of wells and wells will also help.
3. Then evaluate the soil, and depending on its composition, decide whether to make a well yourself or resort to the services of master drillers.

• On hills and slopes (due to risk of landslides)
• Closer than 1 kilometer from cemeteries, cattle burial grounds, etc.
• Closer than 15 meters from a residential building, barn and other buildings (the soil may shrink)
• Closer than 30 meters from the cesspool
• Closer than 3 km from factories, settling tanks and chemical production

If your old well is in danger zone, it is better to abandon it and drill for another source of water.

Drilling Abyssinian wells in a well

Now let’s take a closer look at the technology of drilling a needle well. In general terms, this is the penetration of a drill string into the ground using the percussion drilling method.

Drilling a well in a well follows the same principle as drilling an “Abyssinian” from the surface. The only difference is that the drill string for driving well in a well is longer. It is also more convenient to drill wells in a well using a tripod drilling derrick.

Important detail: casing during drilling Abyssinian well not used.

Needle hole drilling tools

The drilling tool for the Abyssinian well consists of the following parts:

• Norton drill, which is a pipe with a filter and a sharp tip
• Drill string made of pipes
• Bottom clamp
• Cast iron or concrete frame
• Rope
• Upper clamp

The process itself takes place in several stages

INSTALLATION

The Norton drill is installed strictly vertically in the place at the bottom of the well where you decide to make a well. If the well is dry, first dig a small pit.

LET'S SCORE

The rubble is driven into the ground most often with the help of a woman. To do this, the first piece of pipe is inserted into the plugged drill bit. A headstock is put on it, then a woman and a collar. The cable is threaded through the pulleys, with its help the woman is raised and sharply lowered down, gradually deepening the drill string into the ground.

DRILL COLUMN

You gradually build up the drill string with new pipe sections. It is recommended to cut them 1-2 meters long. The headstock, headstock and clamp are rearranged on them, continuing to drive. Make sure that the connections between the pipes are tight. Sealing can be achieved using threaded connections with seals or fastening pipes with couplings.

A well is a rather expensive structure, which requires special equipment and certain skills during its manufacture. Moreover, if the level of aquifers is no deeper than 15 meters, then you can use the simplest design, which was used in ancient times.

That is why many owners of garden plots and private houses are interested in how to make an igloo well with their own hands.

Step by step process

To begin with, it should be said that this type of structure is not suitable for every area.. The level of the first aquifer should be no deeper than 15 meters. In this case, the soil should not contain hard rocks or black clay.

Preparation

• First of all, a needle for the well is made from an ordinary inch pipe.
• At its end a kind of pike is installed, like on a spear, which it is advisable to sharpen well.
• The pipe is perforated at a distance of 20 cm from the peak. In this case, the holes should be randomly located so as not to weaken the product. This area should occupy 20-30 cm in length.
• It is worth noting that a 15 meter pipe is quite difficult to install. However, such a length may not be required. Therefore, pieces are usually used that are connected to each other by welding.
• Recently, threaded fittings have been used to fasten segments to each other. However, they should only be installed via a coupling.

• It is desirable that the first segment have the maximum available length, since it will bear the main loads. It is also worth remembering that the needle water well may have a depth of only 7 meters and therefore the rest of the material may not be needed.
• Special attention should be paid to the functional load of the pipe. In wells of this type, it is both casing and main, which means you should not choose thin-walled material.

Advice!
Some craftsmen strongly recommend installing a mesh at the bottom of such a pipe, which will serve as a filter.
However, this should not be done, since it will quickly clog and replacement will be very problematic.
In these designs, it is better to use a filter on a pump or pump for the well, although products with large cells or wire-based can be installed, but only outside.

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Manufacturing

• It is worth noting that the water in the country and plot of land extracted from wells belongs to the state, since it belongs to the category of minerals. Therefore, before starting work, it is necessary to obtain the appropriate documentation.
• It is also advisable to have special equipment for drilling a well. If it is not available, then you can invite specialists for an appropriate fee or rent a similar unit.

• It must be said that it is quite possible to do without special equipment, but then you need to have a certain tool for self made. However, its use is considered a very labor-intensive process, although the price of such independent work will turn out to be small.
• First, you should drill a hole with a diameter slightly smaller or the same as the pipe. Professional craftsmen claim that a depth of 5-8 meters is usually sufficient. However, not everyone can afford such equipment and therefore they make it as large as possible, even if it is only 3 meters.

• At the next stage, a pre-prepared pipe is inserted into the hole, with the sharp end down.
• When it reaches the bottom of the well, it is driven into the ground using a percussion tool until it reaches the aquifer. This will be expressed by the fact that water will begin to appear inside.

• After this, the installation instructions recommend digging a well 1 meter deep around it, which is concreted and equipped with a lid. This design will serve as the basis for a water intake well.
• Then an external pump, filter and hydraulic accumulator are installed in the well. At the same time, professional craftsmen recommend purchasing these products assembled, which will be much more practical and economical.

• You can also install hand pump, which was used back in the century before last. It does not require electrical energy and can be used in extreme situations.
• It should be noted that water from such sources very often carries rain masses, which, after passing through the ground, are purified. However, in order to be sure of its quality, it is worth doing an analysis. The fact is that sources of this type are quite specific and can often contain water that is not suitable for drinking.
• It is worth remembering that a well is a structure that needs a sanitary zone. It is best to fence it off with a small fence to prevent accidental contamination of the area.

Advice!
When driving the pipe into the ground, you must be very careful not to bend it or damage the junction of the segments.
Therefore, it is recommended to use a special percussion instrument or make a wooden backing.

Comfortable living without clean water is simply impossible. Regularly purchasing drinking water is expensive and unprofitable. Limited family budget does not allow you to use the services of well drilling companies? There is always a way out. The time has come to remember the technical structure that is accessible to everyone, and install an Abyssinian well at home with your own hands. This design was invented by the Americans, and in another way it is called a needle well.

At first, people called an Abyssinian well a shallow well with a hand pump pumping clean water from an aquiferous sand layer. The special design allows you to get water without spores, runoff or contamination.

Before you start drilling, you need to carefully study the geology of the area. You can find out from neighbors who have already provided their site with water, or from a geological survey conducted during the development of the site. The construction of a needle well is possible if the first aquifer is no deeper than 8 meters. For a lower layer, you need to drill a wide well and lower the pump into it.

The Abyssinian well works well on an aquifer made of a mixture of sand and crushed stone or medium-grained sand. It will not be possible to install a needle well on a site if the geological map shows deposits of hard rocks, pebbles, and boulders. To reach the water flowing under such layers, you will need special equipment.

Advantages of using a needle well

1. Simplicity of design and low price level.
2. Possibility of installation without disturbing the landscape of the site.
3. Large equipment is not used.
4. Possibility of installing the pump indoors or directly on site.
5. Drilling requires a maximum of 10 hours of working time.
6. Installing a high-quality filter prevents silting of the well.
7. The closed system does not allow contaminants to enter the well.
8. High quality of produced water.
9. Possibility of ensuring a constant supply of water in the required volumes.
10. If necessary, the well can be dismantled and installed in another location.

Note! Due to the shallow depth of the Abyssinian wells, practically no dissolved iron gets into the water.

Well drilling

Not everyone can afford to buy special equipment to drill just one well or call in specialists. You can make an Abyssinian well using not too complicated and expensive tools.

Tools required for work:

• Several pieces of gas keys.
• Grinder and drill.
• To slaughter a pipe, you need pancakes from a rod weighing 20 or 40 kg.
• Sledgehammer and hammer.
• Welding machine, pumping station.
• An inch pipe cut into meter pieces with short threads at the ends.
• One meter of ¾ inch pipe.
• Ten meters of ½ inch pipe.
• Garden drill, check valve.
• Bolts and nuts 10.
• Car clamps.
• A piece of mesh 16 by 100 cm of galloon weaving made of stainless steel.
• Cast iron couplings for connecting and slaughtering pipes.
• Wire with a cross-section of 0.2-0.3 mm - 2 m.
• HDPE couplings and pipes.

Making a filter

1. Weld a cone-shaped tip onto an inch pipe 1.1 m long. If you were unable to buy such a tip, you can use a sledgehammer to flatten the end of the pipe.
2. Using a grinder, carefully cut slots up to 2.5 cm long on both sides of the pipe every 2 cm. You need to do everything slowly, trying not to damage the strength of the pipe.
3. Wind the wire onto the pipe and put a mesh on top, securing it with clamps every 10 cm. If possible, it is advisable to solder the mesh.

Note! Do not use solder with lead to avoid water poisoning. You need to work with tin solder and special flux.

Drilling technology

Using a garden auger, start drilling the soil, gradually building it up with prepared pipes. For this, ½-inch pipes are used, which are connected with couplings made from ¾-inch pipes and 10-point bolts through pre-drilled holes.

Continue drilling until wet sand begins to flow from the surface of the drill. There is no point in drilling further, the wet sand simply flows back into the well.

Installation of a pipe with a filter

Using couplings, connect the filter to the pipe sections. Be sure to wrap FUM tape around the thread. Lower the finished structure into the well down to the sand. Screw a cast iron coupling onto the top of the pipe and place the prepared pancakes from the rod on it. The axis must be passed through the center of the pancakes, this is necessary for them to slide when clogging the pipe. For the axle, use ½ inch pipe 1.5 m long. There should be a bolt at the end of the pipe.

After each blow, the pipe is immersed in the ground by several centimeters. The tip with the filter should penetrate 50 cm into the sand layer. After this, you need to pour a small amount of water into the pipe.

Pumping water

First of all, it is necessary to install a check valve, and then a pumping station.

Note! The entire structure must be sealed.

Fill the pumping station with water and connect a hose to the outlet. Start the pump. At first, air may come out of the well, and then dirty water. After a certain period of time, good clean water will appear. To check the quality of the water, take it to the sanitary and epidemiological station for analysis.

It is better to do around the Abyssinian well concrete platform to ensure outflow atmospheric precipitation. Now there will always be clean water on your site, and you will be able to grow your own vegetables and flowers.