Wire gauge for electromagnet?

[BroncoDave]

How about making the plate from plexiglass?

or even two sheets separated by standoffs about 1 to 2" long?

Put holes in the plastic around the outer edge so water can get past more easily?

Because magnets don't stick to plexiglass and steel doesn't break.

Hi,

So you are going back to a permanent magnet then?

Yep.

To keep the magnet from sticking to the well casing perhaps you could use a trolley mount, something like this:
View attachment 86134

Because I am trying to keep it simple and I already have the 3/4" rods set up.

 

[BroncoDave]

Just an update on my progress. I changed the configuration a little. At the top of the first 3/4" steel rod, I put a cross bar 7" x 1" x 1/2" and connected my winch cable to it. This keeps the whole thing straight up and down in the well casing. The one piece of 3/4" rod still wasn't enough weight to get it to the bottom so I added 12 lbs, of dumbell weights just above the plate the magnet is attatched to. The magnet is so strong that the steel plate sticks to the casing. The good thing about this is that it scrapes all the remaining loose flakes off the inside of the casing. So far I have sent it down only twice and have removed 10 lbs. of metal flakes. I haven't retrieved the 6 lb. weight or the other permanent magnet yet, but they are most likely buried by metal flakes. It all has to come out so I can deepen the well so I will be doing this for an undetermined length of time.

 

[4pyros]

I pick things up and put them down.

 

[BroncoDave]

I pick things up and put them down.

Splain, Lucy.

 

[ronv]

Your going to be built like Arnold when this is over.

 

[Neal]

How many pounds of metal flakes so far?

 

[BroncoDave]

Your going to be built like Arnold when this is over.

How do you know i'm not already? I have been doing this off and on for the last 6 months.

How many pounds of metal flakes so far?

About 30 lbs. Half a 5 gallon bucket after 6 trips down and back up.

 

[BroncoDave]

Got a full 5 gallon bucket (65 lbs.) of metal flakes out of the well and the pump back in the ground before the sun came up. Still haven't got the weight and magnet out yet so I will have to do it all again tonight after school. Fun, fun, fun.

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

Can you rig a pulley above the well?
Tie your rope to your car and just drive from and to the well to lift the magnet.
I don't like manual labor.

 

[tvtech]

Can you rig a pulley above the well?
Tie your rope to your car and just drive from and to the well to lift the magnet.
I don't like manual labor.

Hi Clyde

Probably the best suggestion so far

Regards,
tvtech

 

[BroncoDave]

Can you rig a pulley above the well?
Tie your rope to your car and just drive from and to the well to lift the magnet.
I don't like manual labor.

NOT an option. I don't mind manual labor. Manual doesn't care for it but I don't mind it.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

This thread is a good read. Definitely not a common question.

 

[ronv]

Bronco's helper .

**broken link removed**

 

[BroncoDave]

Bronco's helper .

**broken link removed**

Yea but she only helps me out of my clothes.

 

[BroncoDave]

A friend of mine gave me a cool idea today to remove the metal flakes a whole lot faster and easier than a magnet. His idea is to pump it out with a septic tank pumper truck. I will still need the magnet to retrieve the weight and magnet, but the pumper idea for the flakes is cool, huh? The only problem is, I can't afford to hire a pumper truck. So why not build a pump using 3" or 6" PVC? The pump itself I can make out of 1.5" sch 120 with the 3" -6" going from the bottom of the well up and out onto the ground or into a large container. This is going to be cool, and fun.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

The only problem is head. This https://www.harborfreight.com/horsepower-cast-iron-sewage-pump-with-tethered-float-switch-68451.html pump can pump 18 feet.

It says it can pass 2" solids, but the 18 feet of head isn't gonna work, so I doubt a sewage pumper truck will work at 110 feet.

Anyway, some pumps here https://www.wastecorp.com/trashpumps/engine-driven-trash-pumps.html# can handle 130 feet. I had one course in Fluid Mechanics.

 

[ChrisP58]

You can't 'suck' water more than about 35 feet deep. You will need to push water down and let that carry the flakes back up. To get something as heavy as rusted iron flakes to stay in suspension, you will need a high flow rate.

 

[BroncoDave]

You can't 'suck' water more than about 35 feet deep. You will need to push water down and let that carry the flakes back up. To get something as heavy as rusted iron flakes to stay in suspension, you will need a high flow rate.

You are correct. That's why I came up with this. The bleeder " T " will go just above the water level to let water drain out and back into the well. When the 6' x 2.5" pipe is full of debris, I haul it up and empty it. More volume per load = fewer loads and finishing sooner. I'm tired of working on this well already. I want it DONE.

 

[alec_t]

If you have access to an air compressor an airlift dredger might work. Simpler to construct than a pump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlift_(dredging_device)

 

[BroncoDave]

If you have access to an air compressor an airlift dredger might work. Simpler to construct than a pump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlift_(dredging_device)

What a cowinkydink, I have already built this as a high pressure drill using water supplied to the 3/4" pipe with a 4500 psi pressure washer. I do have an air compressor that will do 250 psi all day long. I can connect my air hose to the 3/4" pipe easily. I will have to retrieve the lost weight and magnet before I can use this though. The weight and magnet will be blocking it's path.