Ordered some plans off the internet on how to build a well. Its a air hammer drill(or rattle gun) that you put a drilling tip on. Runs on air and seems like a good idea. Air out of the drill bit uses a type of airlift pump to get rid of the dirt and stuff. I have a bore in the yard but it's got crap in it. I can drill a new one or use this jigger to clean out the old one.
I also like the idea of pulling a rattle gun apart. Also wanted to try something with new trees. I dig a big hole and put a lot of stuff under new trees. But I have always wanted to be able to drill down 10mtrs by 100mm and fill that hole with potting mix and fert. The idea being the tap roots go down faster.
http://www.howtodrillawell.com/
PS they got some video that showed the jigger workin.

Heh Duff,

Let me know how good the info is when you get it. If you recommend it I will put in an order myself.

Cheers
Dennis

My uncle dug a well in his back yard using a heavy section of steel pipe with a one way valve in the end of it. Tied to a rope up over a tree branch, he would pour water in the hole to make a sludge, then drop the pipe down the hole. Pipe fills up with slurry and one way valve (big ball bearing) keeps it in there as he lifts it out of the hole. It didn;t take him long to get down to the water table with Perth straight sand..

Interesting stuff here http://ewb.students.mtu.edu/guatemala/h ... manual.pdf A 39 page manual on how to dig wells by hand.

It turned up. Have to watch the DVD but looks like a bit of thinking went into it.

G'Day Duff,

Ordered a copy the other day.

Have you had a chance to look at the dvd yet?

Cheers
Dennis

Was interesting to watch. Showed them digging a well from start to finish. Looked easy. I'd use black pipe instead of PVC lengths. Cos its cheap and can be then hooked up to a pump and it allready has the mtrs marked on the side.

What type of soil do you have there and do you know how deep is the water table
what size compressor do you need
sorry for the questions but i am sceptical if it will work
i had a bore put in up the farm the rig had a 12 cylinder gm and a 600 cubic foot a minute compresser

Water is around 50ft down, mainly sand and small gravel once you get down a bit. Compressor they used on the DVD was a petrol 49hp. 90psi. Lot smaller than the one I can borrow. DVD showed them put down a bore through sand and gravel. They explain how to go through rock but its a lot slower than normal drilling and a different bit. I like the idea of how it works. Also like the idea of using it to drill under a slab to run some pipes. I'll post some pictures if it goes well or if I stuff it up.

do australian trees have tap roots? I seem to recall a presentation by a well known WA person in horticulture saying there were only 3 "varieties" of trees that have tap roots and eucalypts were not one of them. I could be wrong.

It could also be the definition of what is a tap root and what is a feeder root as many trees will have deep feeder roots.
either way I am keen to see your progress. I had planned on doing something similar with an auger on the back of the tractor to get through hard gravelly clay but really only to a depth of 1meter.

G'Day Duff,

Interesting DVD

Have you found a source for the air drill in Oz or are you going to import their hardware

Cheers
Dennis

Got a coupe of air drills and rattle guns. Still not sure if its easier to order theres.

Hey fizzy, answered your question about different types of roots etc over here : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=154