We have a well/borehole in the back garden and are it is not currently in operation. The people who were recomended to drill the bore hole came round to look at the hole while I was out and when my girlfriend rang them they said they need to dig deeper.

They are coming around in the morning and we are going to talk about what needs to be done and at what price. The thing is I haven't got the faintest idea of what depth, diameter pump etc etc we need and don't want to be fed a bunch of buffalo poo by the workers.

I am only going to ask for a quote but still don't want to be ripped off. There is no pump on the hole at the moment but there is water in it and am unsure how they know it needs to be extended. Apparently the borehole worked before but there was no use for it so the pump was sold, however this was around 5 years ago.

We need constant running water for about three hours in the morning. Any advice (however small) about what to ask would be appreciated. I have done a forum search but I am in a rush and won't be back until tonight so thanks in advance.

Some answers to some questions may be found here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Boreholes-t81390.html

we used a local bore hole contractor who already knew he'd need to go down about 35 meters and we paid a fixed fee B19,000 to find water at what ever level he had to go down to. We have 2 filters one carbon and one green manganese [to clear iron] and then a 2,000 liter holding tank [extra B25,000 from a different supplier]. quite sufficient for 4 people 24/7.

I guess every 'borehole' is different. I have read the link provided by "metisdead" and the method described there seems to be extreme to me. We had our local borer come to my house and he said 'no problem, Baht 7,500 including the pump'.

He came around the next morning complete with his jetting pump and a holding tank which was filled from our mains supply. Once he started the water was recycled into the holding tank. !2 metres later water was pouring out of the borehole. Installed the sleeve pipe which is 3" glued plastic with a reducer from 3" to 1" for the pump connection. We also installed a bypass connection (extra costs at Baht 1,250) to cater for when the government supply is off, close one valve open another and the pump automatically kicks in.

Water quality is good enough for domestic use apart from drinking. Been running now for three years with no problem.

Scully; What size pipe is in the well? If you run a a string/rope with weight on it, you can determine depth of well as well as water level. If well was supplying adequate water when pump was sold, you may be able to install a pump and get the water required without deepening the well. If there is not enough flow for your requirements, you can have well deepened and use the pump which you need for testing.

Thankyou for your replies they came around this morning and they are going to charge 15000 to complete the job which includes the pump which costs 11000 baht so not too big a dint in my wallet.

Thanks again.

I have just had a new 4" bore sunk for the pig sty. It is 15 metres deep and cost 100 baht per metre. The existing bore was hand dug and only 8 metres just didn't produce enough water.

I have purchased a robust piston pump which can draw water from over 20 metres at 4500 litres per hour. To this 1" pump I have fitted a pressure tank and switch, and a gate valve. Altogether, including a 1/3 HP Japanese electric motor the unit cost 4,200 baht. So I have an automatic pump for a bit less than the domestic round versions common in town.

Being belt driven allows the pump to be used without electricity if needed.

I have 4 tanks of 1000 litres each and will use the pump to replenish them as well as a source of pressured water for hoses etc.. The tanks will supply gravity feed drinking water for the pigs and during power outages can be used to provide some water for washing.

My logic for the system was to supply sufficient for drinking and wash out for the sty. At 15 litres per pig per day, that means at maximum stocking a daily requirement of 1,500 litres. I thought that 2- 3 days supply in storage would suffice so I went for 4,000 litres. The sty is arranged in two rows of seven pens and water is supplied to the back of each sty and to the front of some. So there are four primary lines each fed by one tank. Weight of water was also a concern and a primary reason for going for four tanks rather then two 2,000 litre.

Issanaussie

I have just had a new 4" bore sunk for the pig sty. It is 15 metres deep and cost 100 baht per metre. The existing bore was hand dug and only 8 metres just didn't produce enough water.

I have purchased a robust piston pump which can draw water from over 20 metres at 4500 litres per hour. To this 1" pump I have fitted a pressure tank and switch, and a gate valve. Altogether, including a 1/3 HP Japanese electric motor the unit cost 4,200 baht. So I have an automatic pump for a bit less than the domestic round versions common in town.

Being belt driven allows the pump to be used without electricity if needed.

I have 4 tanks of 1000 litres each and will use the pump to replenish them as well as a source of pressured water for hoses etc.. The tanks will supply gravity feed drinking water for the pigs and during power outages can be used to provide some water for washing.

My logic for the system was to supply sufficient for drinking and wash out for the sty. At 15 litres per pig per day, that means at maximum stocking a daily requirement of 1,500 litres. I thought that 2- 3 days supply in storage would suffice so I went for 4,000 litres. The sty is arranged in two rows of seven pens and water is supplied to the back of each sty and to the front of some. So there are four primary lines each fed by one tank. Weight of water was also a concern and a primary reason for going for four tanks rather then two 2,000 litre.

Issanaussie

Thanks for your post we too are going to grow pigs for sale and have recently built our pens (6 containing max 10).

The bore hole is for cleaning only as we have two of those massive pot water containers for drinking water. These are at the top of a small hill so gravity runs it to the pens.

We have ordered our first instalment of 12 pigs (start small) and are due next week. It will take a while to break even but after that we will hopefully be making money.

Anyway if and when we have broken even I will start a topic about it.

I have just had a new 4" bore sunk for the pig sty. It is 15 metres deep and cost 100 baht per metre. The existing bore was hand dug and only 8 metres just didn't produce enough water.

I have purchased a robust piston pump which can draw water from over 20 metres at 4500 litres per hour. To this 1" pump I have fitted a pressure tank and switch, and a gate valve. Altogether, including a 1/3 HP Japanese electric motor the unit cost 4,200 baht. So I have an automatic pump for a bit less than the domestic round versions common in town.

Being belt driven allows the pump to be used without electricity if needed.

I have 4 tanks of 1000 litres each and will use the pump to replenish them as well as a source of pressured water for hoses etc.. The tanks will supply gravity feed drinking water for the pigs and during power outages can be used to provide some water for washing.

My logic for the system was to supply sufficient for drinking and wash out for the sty. At 15 litres per pig per day, that means at maximum stocking a daily requirement of 1,500 litres. I thought that 2- 3 days supply in storage would suffice so I went for 4,000 litres. The sty is arranged in two rows of seven pens and water is supplied to the back of each sty and to the front of some. So there are four primary lines each fed by one tank. Weight of water was also a concern and a primary reason for going for four tanks rather then two 2,000 litre.

Issanaussie

Thanks for your post we too are going to grow pigs for sale and have recently built our pens (6 containing max 10).

The bore hole is for cleaning only as we have two of those massive pot water containers for drinking water. These are at the top of a small hill so gravity runs it to the pens.

We have ordered our first instalment of 12 pigs (start small) and are due next week. It will take a while to break even but after that we will hopefully be making money.

Anyway if and when we have broken even I will start a topic about it.

Why wait that long? I could be dead by then! Just kidding, if you are planning on growing pigs out and yours are newly weaned, your timing is pretty good for the weddings around New Year. Discounting startup costs, but from the day the pigs arrive you should be showing a gross profit within 5 months. I would be interesting in talking to you about how you intend the handle the business side of things. Openly on the forum is perhaps not the way, PM could get things rolling.

As a thought starter, if you are anywhere near me, and are going to grow and finish pigs then we could be of help to each other. My operation is deliberately sort of grow/finish pens.

By the way, love your bouncing elephant, good choice.

IA

Scully and others into boars and bores,

I forgot to add that the new pump and bore are now working OK. Obviously the pump which is locally made and proudly wears a sticker saying "Avoid Imitations", leaked water and sucked air. Apparently ISO 9001 certification here doesnt include QC or testing issues.

The pressure switch was operating that quickly that I thought it was a pace maker not a pressure switch. Anyway, nuts and bolts have been tightened and flow restrictions removed and we now have close to the 75 litres a minute expected. The 1/3 Hp motor is running a little warm and should be replaced with something bigger, but it will do for now.

The bore is settling down and the sand is now mostly water, which both pigs and I are grateful for.

IA