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Elcam84 · 07-23-18, 08:12 AM

Yeah Black pipe is made of steel. It just carries the name iron pipe from way way back... Like Tin cans... It is painted black and not for direct burial. There is epoxy coated steel pipe made to be buried. And as mentioned there is also galvanized which in my experience the new stuff seems to rust as fast as bare steel.

Also remember that the fittings you buy are made of iron and extremely weak. You would need to use couplers like for a sand point well.

As to getting a 1" pipe driven/drilled down 80'. Not realistically going to happen. Yes there are guys that have driven sandpoints down to 25' but even in good soil its extremely difficult. I have sand here and sand is often hard as concrete when it has fine silt in it...

Also the size of the pipe is a big issue like mentioned. You really need a minimum 4" well to be feasible. However the issue there is cost. Unless you have your own drill rig its going to be extremely expensive. Here a well runs a minimum of $25 a foot. Thats minimum 15k just for one hole in the ground. If you want multiple shallow wells the price goes up even more because they have to move the rig.

I would love a ground source heat pump system myself as well but the cost of wells far outweighs the cost of electricity and with solar getting so cheap it makes more sense just to have more solar panels. As for ground loops they don't work here as the ground temp is too high in the summer unless you go really really deep. Our drinking water is 88* right now... If you live on a lake or have a pond then its the way to go as its a cheap install then.

07-23-18, 08:12 AM	#9
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	Yeah Black pipe is made of steel. It just carries the name iron pipe from way way back... Like Tin cans... It is painted black and not for direct burial. There is epoxy coated steel pipe made to be buried. And as mentioned there is also galvanized which in my experience the new stuff seems to rust as fast as bare steel. Also remember that the fittings you buy are made of iron and extremely weak. You would need to use couplers like for a sand point well. As to getting a 1" pipe driven/drilled down 80'. Not realistically going to happen. Yes there are guys that have driven sandpoints down to 25' but even in good soil its extremely difficult. I have sand here and sand is often hard as concrete when it has fine silt in it... Also the size of the pipe is a big issue like mentioned. You really need a minimum 4" well to be feasible. However the issue there is cost. Unless you have your own drill rig its going to be extremely expensive. Here a well runs a minimum of $25 a foot. Thats minimum 15k just for one hole in the ground. If you want multiple shallow wells the price goes up even more because they have to move the rig. I would love a ground source heat pump system myself as well but the cost of wells far outweighs the cost of electricity and with solar getting so cheap it makes more sense just to have more solar panels. As for ground loops they don't work here as the ground temp is too high in the summer unless you go really really deep. Our drinking water is 88* right now... If you live on a lake or have a pond then its the way to go as its a cheap install then.