How do I get water out of a bore?

never needed their water I meant...

Length of PVC or poly pipe (of a diameter which will go down the bore) with a footvalve on the bottom of it, and whatever length of line ya need to reach the water ;-)

Fishing braid is good for this, as it takes up virtually no space..

:)

Second the polypipe bore dropper (trade mark on that LOL). There is also a plan for a home made lifting system using in line DC pumps which I am trying to find. The distances to lift the water that you're talking though, you'd need a dropper I reckon.

Heres exploroz member Mr Magic using a foot vlave lifter in the GSD last year

Image Could Not Be Found



Cheers Mick

equinox - if I wanted to get water that was only below the surface up to 10 metres I would use an Amazon submersible 12 volt pump - over that depth I would use a string with a tin on the end and drop that down the bore hole. The tin would have to have a weight in the bottom so that it sank .


Some of those bores can be very deep.


A J

Hello

For emergencies my suggestion would be to get a bailer

Bailer

Basically a short length of pipe with a ball valve on the bottom. Attach a rope/string of suitable length and away you go. Note: get one with relatively sturdy plastic ...some are tougher than others.

I also have a 12V water pump that attaches to the small black poly pipe, but probably not suitable for just having packed away for an emergency...but ok if you were going somewhere and you knew there was a bore that you could use for all your needs, for an extended period.

12V groundwater pumps

Cheers
Greg

12V pump was going to be my suggestion too- though you'll need to carry a length of hose (which takes up a lot of space and can get heavy). The bailer might be better for space constraints in that case, plus it can't really break down.

If the bore you're pumping hasn't been pumped in a while, the water can be very smelly & salty as it sits in the pipe and evaporates. It's recommended to remove 3 bore volumes before sampling, but of course this is useless unless you know the depth to screen, so it's advisable to pump it for a few minutes to clear out the gunge before you take. Bear in mind it may also not be suitable for drinking due to salt content.

I'm curious about the depth to water out in the desert (although I know it will be different everywhere...)

PVC pipe or Poly pipe or steel pipe with a foot valve as the others have suggested......but I will add the following

The foot valve is simply a standard off the shelf plumbing fitting in either brass or poly.

It is simply a one way flow valve that allows water past it...by either a pump on the upstream side causing the suction action whereby it lifts off its seat and whilst the pump is lifting it remains "suspended" and water passes around and above it........when the pump stops the suction it (the valve) drops down onto its seat and seals off the column of water above it....this way the pump remains primed ready for the next lift.

the same action occurs if you plunge (free drop) the pipe and foot valve down a bore on a length of rope and the downward motion pushes the valve upwards off its seat ..the water passes around and above it and then when the plunging action is stopped the weight of water above the column seats the valve and the column of water remains in the tube or suction column above it....you pull it up get your water and repeat the process

plunging recovery does rely on some weight in the column so that when you drop in down into the water the valve is pushed up off its seat........PVC and Poly pipe might be a light for that but using a brass foot valve (increased weight) can overcome this

Most bore holes are cased with 4" or 100mm casing and so using say a length of 50 mm pipe you should nearly always be safe for physically fitting it down the hole

a one meter length of 50 mm PVC being rigid and therefore always straight is not likely to bind going down a narrower hole......but more likely to be damaged in the back of the ute over time which you may find out at the very time you wish to use it..........the fittings being glued on the end mean the over all dia is not more than say 60mm

a one meter length of Poly pipe a lot more robust but as it increases in length it is more likely to bow and therefore may bind down a narrower casing..its fittings are screwed on and the outside dia does increase to closer to 75 mm over all

The photo Mick put up is simply demonstrating the plunging action but with the water closer to the surface and a long length of poly available they are simply plunging the poly up and down and the water is flowing out..........no need for the rope and they are using their power to push the foot valve up and down by hanging onto the pipe

The way I see your question is you need something simple (no power required)......a rope (water depth recovery limited only by the length of rope) and a short length of pipe (1 or 2 m) with foot valve attached and a length of rope that can be secreted somewhere and retrived undamaged one day if needed.....a meter of 50 mm pipe is going to give you just under 2L water each time it is recovered

I carry a length of 50mm PVC (class 18 thick wall...= weight and strength) with the brass foot foot valve (for weight) ..two holes drilled across the top of the PVC column for the rope to pass through........slung carefully in the ute so all safe and ready for when I hope never to need it (I use the PVC because the over all dia with fittings is less than the poly / screwed fittings)

cheers

Yes exactly...a one way valve....

the simplest foot valve has no spring just a a flat plate that sits on a leather or neoprene seal.....the water pushes past it and when that action stops it is weighted back down ono the seal..........no need for any spring....keep it simple..mechanical..and it will always function..usually the brass ones are this design..that is another reason why I use a brass one

the poly ones usually have a ball and spring...that is another thing that can go wrong...but they have a purpose in that they can operate in all positions

the brass one must hang vertically to work..which is obviously what is going to happen down a bore

cheers

Thank you for all your replies; appreciate it. There is plenty of ideas there. It goes to show you the wealth of knowledge here on the forum.

Regards
Alan

An interesting post Mr equinox, do you (or anyone else) know if the location of these bores are listed on any government or other site?

ob

I would give him a drink first. ;-)

location dependant your chances of getting drinkable water are remote and buckleys from a bore hole
as a general rule - the further north you go the better the water

many bore holes are for monitering purposes rather than providing water

G,day equinox, speaking from experience as a water well driller, you need to be aware bore holes are not always perfectly perpendicular. They can have a slight bow and the casing both PVC and steel can be forced past that bow as the hole is always drilled wider than the outside diameter of the casing. Extracting water from these bowed bores is difficult if your bailer is long and a close fit inside the casing as the bailer will not go past the bow. For emergency extraction of drinking water I would carry a 300mm long by 25mm wide pvc tube with foot valve and at least 30metres of cord. Happy Days, Pauper.

G'day Equinox.

Some good solutions above. In an emergency use a tin can that will fit easily down the bore hole, punch a small hole in the bottom and attach a fishing line, a small stone will help the can to sink but in any case water will leak through the small hole and eventually fill the can - then haul in your catch quicker than the water can leak out!

Simple cheap and you probably carry all items on every trip. Just eat your baked beans, roll out the baitcaster and get the water for a cuppa.

Safe travel, cheers David