Sample of well water to be tested

King Neptune


Joined: 08/05/2008
Posts: 51

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 13:29

Could someone help me out please !!! Where can I get a sample of well water tested ?

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 15:00

Ring Nick Bointon on 0533 845 3935.

King Neptune


Joined: 08/05/2008
Posts: 51

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 16:38

Cheers Vaughan

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 17:17

There is a clinic up the road by the Kombos Mercedes garage in Kyrenia near the main roundabout. Turn left at the garage and it is just up on the right. We have had well water tested there twice and each time it has been free of charge and you get the results in a couple of hours.

Cyprusactive


Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 128

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 17:23

Nick is in the UK at the moment, he will be back on Friday.

andy46


Joined: 12/09/2008
Posts: 38

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 20:34

Talking of wells. Is there any way you can tell how much water there is in a well and how much you are able to use in a day? Our builder has connected up a well on our site but last year it dried up to a trickle (before anyone used it) We are now considering whether it is worth the cost of a meter and any finishing it may need. It will be used for a small development of houses with no immediate prospect of mains water.



andy

Ozbey


Joined: 04/03/2009
Posts: 304

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 21:59

Any of the many laboratories (you know , the places where you go for blood tests and other bio-chemical analysis) will test your well water. Go there first though, and they will give you a sterile bottle for your sample, otherwise they might be analysing the germs in your own bottle or on your fingers. They will interpret the various bacterial contents, and tell you if your well water is suitable for either drinking, cooking, showering or garden watering only. If it is a new well you will first need to pump it dry a few times (ie. flush out all the germs left by the diggers or drillers) before the test. My first test (done too early) was full of germs (garden use only) but two weeks later was classified fit for drinking.

piggy


Joined: 15/02/2009
Posts: 132

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 22:16

Message 6/7 - We have a well, some 30m in depth and have found that in winter we can expect 2/3 hours of water. In the summer 1/2 hours. I do not know of any other way of establishing how much water the well holds but would imagine that location and depth must play an important part.



Hope this helps.

Ozbey


Joined: 04/03/2009
Posts: 304

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 22:21

andy46, the amount you are able to use from a well, per day, is the amount which flows into it each day!!! This, of course, changes throughout the year. Most domestic wells here are dug down until a small underground stream (or two/three) is intercepted (often only approx 1cm in size, although over 24 hours even this an produce an acceptable inflow). The second variable is the size of the sump (concret lined holding tank) that is built just below the inflow/s. Obviously, there are various combinations here - you could have a 5 ton sump but an inflow of only 1 ton per day - therefore you could still only pump up 1 ton per day (or 5 tons if you hadn't pumped it for 5 days) OR you may have a 1 ton sump but an inflow of 5 tons per day - therefore you could only pump up 1 ton at a time because the excess would flow into the sump and then out of the opposite side again through the same 1cm fissure it has been using for centuries!!!

Ozbey


Joined: 04/03/2009
Posts: 304

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 22:28

piggy, Describing a well's output in hours per day is totally meaningless as it depends upon the power of the pump. Some pumps will raise ! ton in 5 minutes, others will raise 1 ton in 40 minutes. My well has only a 2 ton sump - but the my pump will raise the lot (if it has flowed into there!!!) in 10 minutes. See the point?

sienna


Joined: 09/01/2009
Posts: 1627

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 22:31

so does the quality of well water get graded ? - can you use well water for swimming pools or is too hard ? or ok once treated in holding tank prior to entering the pool ?



Thanks in advance regards

piggy


Joined: 15/02/2009
Posts: 132

Message Posted:
17/03/2009 22:51

Ozbey, yes you are quite right. I do not know how powerful the pump is in our well, as it was already in situ when we purchased our property. Thanks very much for the explanation though.

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
18/03/2009 10:58

sienna



All the tankered water that gets delivered to your pool comes from wells. It is rock hard and it does need treating to make it suitable for pool use. If the "hardness" (TA) is not reduced the pH will be unstable and creep up all the time. When the pH gets too high the chlorine becomes ineffective.

Pools that leak need lots of well water refills - if you follow the above you will see that leaky pools are very difficult to keep "blue" because the chlorine is ineffective.

stilluvithere



Joined: 03/12/2008
Posts: 765

Message Posted:
18/03/2009 14:03

if well water reduces the effect of chlorine and tankers use well water

what are we supposed to use as we cant use mains water

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
18/03/2009 14:34

You are supposed to treat your pool (well) water and bring the TA down. Once the TA is brought down the pH will become stable. Once the pH is stable the chlorine will become effective. It's called water balance - some people (usually propping up a bar, somewhere) will tell you that you just need to sling a bit of chlorine and acid in your pool - a bit more to than that.

stilluvithere



Joined: 03/12/2008
Posts: 765

Message Posted:
19/03/2009 16:26

sorry to be thick Vaughan but was is TA and how do you bring that down please

piggy


Joined: 15/02/2009
Posts: 132

Message Posted:
19/03/2009 16:34

Hi Vaughan, if I put salt into the pool to make the water softer, will this have any effect on the PH.



I know that you can have a Watermaid system, which uses salt but I do not want to change to this at the moment.



Thanks

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
20/03/2009 10:48

TA stands for Total Alkalinity. It should be between 80 and 120 ppm for a stable pH. Well water can be up to 600 ppm. Bringing it down can be a long drawn out process taking weeks. If your pool leaks and needs regular topping-up, you are flogging a dead horse.



Putting salt in your pool will make the water "feel" softer but it doesn't change the TA.

I wouldn't recommend a Watermaid now as the pump running times needed in summer are 12 hours per day. At todays cost of electricity that's a bit of a non-starter. A silver/copper oxide system such as an Aligator requires a lot less running time and the TA is not so critical as chlorine is kept at 0.8 ppm as against 3 ppm for a Watermaid.

stilluvithere



Joined: 03/12/2008
Posts: 765

Message Posted:
20/03/2009 16:05

how do I test for T A in my pool please Vaughan

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
21/03/2009 08:03

You need a more comprehensive test kit than the one you have. Bring a pool water sample in a 500ml drinking-water bottle into our shop and I will give it a full analysis free of charge. This offer is open to all.