Well Flow Testing

A well flow test tells you the yield or production of the well and if it pumps water continuously for hours on end or not. When you hire a pump service to conduct a well flow test, they also check the Static Water Level. This is the water level in the well hole. In most cases, when pumping water out of the well, the Static Water Level drops, but not always. Your well may produce enough water that the Static Water Level does not drop. This is good information to know and helps you understand the function of your well.

One question well owners ask is how much does my well produce ? We check the flow or yield by pumping water out of the well and measure it. Even though it produced 20 gallons per minute when it was drilled 15 years ago, that may not be the case today. The yield of some wells can actually increase, stay the same or diminish over a period of time.

To measure the water being pumped out of the well you need a 1-gallon container like an empty milk jug. You can cut a bigger hole in the top to make it easier to fill. To time how long it takes to fill the gallon jug, you need a watch that has a second counter or a stopwatch. A garden hose will be needed to run the water out of doors or where it wont make a flood. Got the stuff? Good, lets go!

Since a well flow test takes 4 hours (once the water starts flowing), you can get some projects done around the house. Plan to wash the cars since you have the water running. If your wife has a car, wash it up, she will love you for it. If you need to mow the lawn, wash out the rain gutters this is a good time to do it. The point is, you dont have to watch the water hose or Pressure Gauge every minute. Depending on the weather read a good book in the shade.

Locate the system Pressure Tank, (just click on any Italic word to see a picture of it, thats how we remember what it looks like). It may be located in the garage, basement, pump house or some other place. There are different types of pressure tanks, some have an internal bladder some dont. It may be a big bluish green tank or a silver tank. At the bottom of the Pressure Tank you will see a pipe coming out of the Pressure Tank. It may look like a T and it is actually called the Tank T. Water comes from the well and also goes to the house at the Tank T. The Tank T should have some components attached to it like the Pressure Switch, Pressure Gauge, Pressure Relief Valve and maybe a hose faucet to attach a hose. We need to hook the garden hose to a hose faucet to run water. The hose faucet at the Pressure Tank is the most convenient location to hook the garden hose. If your system was installed years ago there may not be a water faucet at the Pressure Tank, so any handy water faucet on the house will work. Once the water hose is hooked up, you are ready for the next step, which is to see what pressure the pumps turns on and shuts off.