At my off grid cabin, which I live in 365 days a year, I dug my well by hand. It is 9 feet deep. The well is supplied by a perched aquifer, a small woodland swamp. I use a ½hp sump pump to supply the 55 gallon barrels in the cellar. When I shut the pump off it drains back to the well. My water I have to purify, but that's another story. Russell, you're on the right track. People that don't live off grid don't realize that you have to be a jack of all trades because repairs are going to be performed by yourself. You have to be electrician, plumber, carpenter, chemist and a whole lot more!
A couple of things you can do is make sure your blade is down to help stabilize the machine so you're not bouncing so much. You should get the thumb out of the way. If you want to go deeper you can scrape away some dirt where your machine is sitting. The lower you make the machine the deeper you can dig. I would also suggest making that hole 3 or 4 times larger and fill with clear stone. The bigger the hole you make and fill with clear stone the larger your reservoir of immediately available water. Before covering the gravel with dirt cover the clear stone with 6mm poly .
Russell go as deep as you possibly can the deeper the more water the cleaner it will be and the less likelihood of running out in the winter put your blade down to help stabilize. The machine will help a little bit just spent 30 hours on one of these learned a lot good luck.
get your rubber boots on and get into the hole and dig further down plus you really need to check that water quality ,I believe it's coming from your pond
I'm not getting in that hole to dig. I'll use Bumblebee to see how much further I can get. And if it's pond water, it's going through about a hundred feet of natural filter (it's not pond water).
When using the mini digger to dig holes you need to get the thumb retracted out the way, it's making life really difficult and preventing you from getting a decent load in the bucket, only use the thumb for grabbing and lifting. Although the little digger isn't great you need to just practise, and main tip with those stick controls is the second it starts to shake, take you hands off the sticks and let it stabilise. Also reducing the RPM can prevent it shaking.
Hey Russ how ya doing , Nice to see you searching out water with the mini , very cool that you found it, Wont that come in handy at your off grid once set up with filter and UV. and so on . Hey dig the rest out by hand . congratulations !. Hi City Girl .. This is getting exciting . can wait to see where you go from here ... Betcha Ray can give you for suggestions .
Russell, I've read a few comments below. I agree. Go as deep as you reasonably can with a hand shovel. Do it as best as possible the first time because fixing it later will be a major pain. I'm envious. I'd be fortunate to find a foot and a half of soil anywhere near my camp and a million suspended rocks if I did and that's if I could get that machine anywhere near the camp without hiring a helicopter. My trail is a challenge to say the least. Good luck.
I would go deeper, if you could dig a trough to drive your excavator in then you can dig down deeper, not sure if there are to many rocks for you to do that....Test the hole for bedrock. Remember its a wet time of year, come summer you might not have water. I went down 6' below the water level in my lake not sure you can do that with that small excavator. Thanks for the video...
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Yes you probably have too much bedrock, but if you can drive a small dia pipe/bar just to see if you can dig down with a shovel, you might be able to put in some O pipe with holes drilled in it , just to get a few more feet. Or you can go a lot wider at the depth you are at, if the ground permits then backfill with gravel. I think if you dig a ramp/trough for your excavator you might not be able to reverse out if its really muddy....I put in crocks that are approx. 2' dia. and tapered the ground to the bottom crock then backfilled with gravel worked well for me but I had more ground water than you have. what you are doing might work, if not you can always dig everything out and try something else. I also dug mine mid summer.
I once gave you two easy ways of capturing or producing drinking water (not from dirty roof gutters). You must have missed those. If you insist on using this groundwater I hope it's well (pun!) away from then open discharge underneath the cabin.
My neighbor and friend had a hand dug well. It was fine for 60 years then it got contaminated and he died of ALS which is just about the worst way to die. Whatever your doing I would strongly recommend having an expert look at the finished product
the deeper you go the better the well, as one commenter suggested try making a slope beside well so as you can see and dig deeper. Placing 3/4 in stone on bottom and around the sides is great, does your pipe have serrations in it or is it solid? A cloth you can purchase before placing stone around pipe does help filter the water. After the well is operating, I would have a kit to sample water once in a while to just check quality. Good luck and stay safe. PS the material I suggested is used on field tile to keep dirt from entering the well, but will help keep yours a bit clearer.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Yes the stone is a little denser and fills up spaces better and drainage is much better and not really much bigger but ensure whatever stone you decide ensure you pour in some then with a stick or shovel ensure you get them all around the tile and the cloth add on is or should be wrapped around tile first then stone if you go that route.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin The cloth you wrap around the tile is what they place around field tile to prevent dirt into the tiles and the larger stones on the bottom of pipe and around the sides allow better water penetration into the tile for your water storage. I also suggest a water test kit to sample your water to see how clean it is but I'm sure you will filter and possibly boil it. Hope this helps but if not cleat reach out again. Good luck.
That machine looked so wobbly I totally thought you were going to tip over. I can't believe you found water!! It is far enough away that it should not be coming from the pond either right? Great video Russell now on to find the duck raft before the lake freezes over LOL
I would dig deeper deep as you can get, even dig down a lower bench to put bumblebee low then ground level and you can dig the well hole deeper, awesome job so far
Love your videos Russell. I wouldn't go down that hole either. How would you get the dirt and yourself back out? Besides it's much more fun watching you run the bumblebee. Thank you for sharing your life with us!
You are definitely getting to be a better operator. Soon you won’t even have to think it about it , you just look in hole and your hands know exactly what to do .
Yay! YT has fixed whatever problem targeted some of us and didn't let us create our own comments. Instead only reply to other people's. It took them months to figure it out. Hopefully this isn't just a fluke. Anyhow, make sure you have a good cover for that so someone or animal doesn't fall in during the night or snow. But you probably thought out. As someone else said, wondering if that can dig deep enough for you? Best of luck. Would be so nice and healthier for you to have a well. Though it needs continual monitoring and purifying if necessary. I grew up on well water, then finally the city made it out to our home. I missed the well water. It tasted better, but supposedly city water was safer. Nowadays I wonder about that.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin I wrote to them several times. I received several replies which basically said they have no idea why some accounts were targeted with an assortment of different problems. Some accounts were even deleted by accident. They kept telling me they were working on it and hoped it'd be resolved soon. I wrote them my last mail about 1-1/2 week ago, and then around a week ago I noticed I could again create my own replies. I found it odd that I could get into live chats, I could reply to anyone else's replies, but could not create my own replies. Which is how I knew I'd not been banned. And no reason to be, because I do my best to follow the rules so that I don't get banned. I didn't test to see what I could do on my own page, because I use it only for streaming movies, sampling music, reading/replying to other people's pages, and at one time offered a bit of my attempts at trying to write music via a DAW. Offered mainly for my family and friends and a way to link them to the songs on FB. I've removed all that, until I can do a better job of it. (I studied piano and clarinet in my youth. Continued only with piano, off/on.) Anyhow, long reply, but in case anyone was curious to know the details--such as they are. Maybe AI didn't like me because of my long replies? lol Who knows. I'm just happy I again have access to everything, especially because I never did anything wrong to get the boot. Or even a slipper.
Thats great!!! You hit water. Two things I wonder if would help out, pin the thumb back out of the way, and do you think you can go deeper with your auger attachment?
@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Do you think you could drill several holes side by side, then just knock the walls between them down in the center? Water on site during the winter will be a game changer.
It's a pity that it's hard to get the well deeper. Maybe Ray has some tricks with Bumblebee? Or maybe you could dig a bit of a ramp downwards at the side of the well so you can get Bumblebee lower to dig deeper? Best of luck with it!
Russ, please hire a professional to get this done properly. It's great you tried, but you need a reliable water source. It is complicated, find it, pump it, clean it, get it indoors, heat it. Please find someone with a good reputation. ❤
I don’t see why he can’t do this himself, he’s not doing it blindly he’s been researching well digging etc. one thing I would say though would be to dig as deep as you can and preferably further away from the standing water of the lake, with the amount of wildlife in the area I would say you need to go a step further than just filtration and look at sterilising the water with UV light and reverse osmosis filtration just to be safe 😊
There is a big difference in "digging a well" and "drilling a well".... the equipment needed to "drill a well" is actually portable and simple----- you use WATER PRESSURE which Russell has plenty of water and a generator to run a pump. He might hit a rock, even several in different l places, but it can be done and without a lot of muscle power. Russ is thinking dependent on the excavator. If he would think of water power as he drill power, the well could be easier to achieve.....
This video was kinda strange! Was hoping you, Russell would have gotten an rv filter or something and was hope to see an apple pie recipe.... but oh well. Good to have heard from you both👍💖
Hello, I think I had paid someone to come and try to dig with a BIG excavator in stead of buying that little one, looks like it have a lot of problems maneuvering in the terrain??I suggest you take a look at girl in the woods or bush radical`s videos where they have videos HOW they find water, looks so so much easier, and I don`t think you can dig deep enough with that little excavator. Water can be quit deep in the ground and you have a lot of rocks around your cabin.🙏🙏Pray that you find water in one or another way.
Russell, A 2" trash pump would serve your needs, and you may want to hand dig your well deeper. But be aware of possible wall collapse. If you decide to go deeper, it is advisable to build yourself a caisson for safety. As for the stone fill you need, have Home Depot deliver a full pallet to your parking area. You're going to need more than you think. Keep up the good work. Peace ✌️
In most cases, it is better to drill a well for water than to dig one, as drilled wells generally provide better water quality, a more consistent water supply, and are less likely to be contaminated due to their deeper reach and better sealing compared to dug wells, which can be more susceptible to surface contaminants; however, drilling a well typically has a higher initial cost than digging one. Key points to consider: Contamination risk: Dug wells are more prone to contamination from surface runoff like sewage or chemicals because they access shallower water tables, while drilled wells reach deeper water sources with less risk of contamination. Water quality: Drilled wells usually offer better water quality due to their depth and casing, which helps prevent contaminants from entering the water supply. Cost: While initial drilling costs are higher, the long-term benefits of a drilled well, like better water quality and less maintenance, can make it a more cost-effective choice over time.
@@Idahoprepper71you use a driving hammer and pipe. You drive the pipe in the ground by hand. Watch some you tube videos by Bush Radical. He drill for water by hand in the U.P. of Michigan plenty of times. Plus he lives in a way more rural place then Russel. He doesn't go hunting for food at Subway. Lol.
@Idahoprepper71 You can "drill a well" with very simple equipment using water power as your drill. Russ has plenty of water, a generator for power. He can buy an adequate pump and everything he needs ovr his trail. Don't think of a huge machine on wheels with a huge motor---- wells are "drilled" all over the world using water power... do your research
Can you do a point well? “Bush Radical” you tube channel did a “how to” video on this. Karl’s off the grid also did a video on it. May not work if it’s really rocky there, works better with sandy soils I believe.
I'm just guessing here but if you don't go below the frost line it will freeze. Could you some how get water from the pond behind your house and run it through a filtration system to solve your problems?
Hi Russell- ignore the naysayers - you're doing a good effort with Bumblebee. Practice makes perfect. I do think if you can get down an extra 500-600mm (about 2 feet) now with your well, it will be much better than trying to retrospectively try and get deeper later.
Russel hi don't know if any body else noticed but go back in the video to 3.3 3.4 tell me if you see an animal run by in the upperleft hand corner and it is not a dog
Why don't you make a hand dug well. Where you use a driving hammer by hand to drive pipe in the ground till you reach water? It is how you actually get to clean drinking water that doesn't freeze, becsuse in the ground the temp stays around 55 degrees fahrenheit. But, you already knew that ! You just want to do things harder, not smarter. Makes for a better show I guess /shrug. Who knows.
and after the sweage pump pumps out the water, you can dig for a few minutes with a hand showel. After you hit rock - you can't go deeper with hand tools - put a bit of gravel under and around the barrel. That should stop the clay seeping into tha barrel
I don’t think you’re gonna get the volume out of that unless you put in a holding tank then maybe but that’s not enough water to take a shower. I can tell you that much better off going off the lake water
The hole filled up to 18" overnight. By my quick math and using a 2' cylinder with 6" of gravel on the bottom, it produced 23.5 gallons. That's more than enough for me.
Hi Russell I always enjoy your videos . . . more so than any of the off-grid videos I watch. I do, however, have a suggestion: Think about ditching that “Autumn Comes Too Soon” song. It’s smarmy.
A shallow well is probably surface water. Too dangerous to drink without a lot of purification and testing. We like you without any complications. You need an expert in deeper wells and need to drill through bedrock too. Too much for a small machine. Think about Reverse Osmosis in addition to filtration. You have beavers!
Russ.... there are many UA-cam videos explaining how YOU can DRILL a well... You may need a helper, maybe 2 helpers... I really like your videos, BUT HONESTLY you just seem to like to do things HARDER than EASIER. WHY? oh well pun intended
@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Hi Russell... please Google UA-cam "How to hand drill a well" you will find 5 or 6 really good videos. Some use water pressure to actually "drill" the well. They then double up (lengthwise) 2 four ft well points to have 8 ft of well point pvc to suck in water.... several are 1 person tasks. You have a whole lake to get the water to do the drilling. It can be done. Yes, you have hard rock, but there just has to be a place where this process can get through in a "no boulder" place. The human effort is so little that even if you drill at 4 or 5 (or more) places, the result ought to be worthwhile. I would try closer to your cabin. As close as you think you might get through. Ray can likely help. Even City Girl as the "labor" is not that tasking... the water is the muscle. It can be done.... and I hate to say it, but thousands of wells have been built by this technology.
Hey Russ, after being away from social media for a while, I’ve checked back in to see how you are doing. That back hoe is awesome! The suspension is ‘a bit’ stiff but you can move things that you couldn’t before. As for that well… I wish I knew more about them. 🤷♂️ I read through some of the comments here.. sheesh, there are a lot of opinionated ppl. 🙃 I would be willing to bet that 99% of the ppl wouldn’t be able to live the life you’re living. You’re an awesome individual and should be proud of your accomplishments. I remember when you built the stairs inside for the loft. They were (are) beautiful. Hi to Alicia from us. Do you still do the Friday evening live thing? Have. SUPER day! Stay safe. 🙏
Gosh, i didn't realize that machine was so small!!! Lordy, you need to rent a real one to get your trail straight and get those stumps up..... thst little thing is about as good as an ATV...mercy....you had to grt out and do most by hand!! Smh.....
You are too far from the hole. And your movement is too jerky. I used to test Linkbelt excavators. Plus I worked for a Catapiler dealer and rented a mini excavator. You can run them pretty smooth.
I suggest you hire some experts in drilling wells rather than trying to dig a well using a kids tonic toy back hoe to do the job. I hate to inform you, you are NOT a Shawn James so stop trying to become him.
At my off grid cabin, which I live in 365 days a year, I dug my well by hand. It is 9 feet deep. The well is supplied by a perched aquifer, a small woodland swamp. I use a ½hp sump pump to supply the 55 gallon barrels in the cellar. When I shut the pump off it drains back to the well. My water I have to purify, but that's another story.
Russell, you're on the right track. People that don't live off grid don't realize that you have to be a jack of all trades because repairs are going to be performed by yourself. You have to be electrician, plumber, carpenter, chemist and a whole lot more!
Nice. So many experts, so little practical experience (from people who don't live like us). You're right about being a jack of all trades, for sure.
A couple of things you can do is make sure your blade is down to help stabilize the machine so you're not bouncing so much. You should get the thumb out of the way. If you want to go deeper you can scrape away some dirt where your machine is sitting. The lower you make the machine the deeper you can dig. I would also suggest making that hole 3 or 4 times larger and fill with clear stone. The bigger the hole you make and fill with clear stone the larger your reservoir of immediately available water. Before covering the gravel with dirt cover the clear stone with 6mm poly .
Russell go as deep as you possibly can the deeper the more water the cleaner it will be and the less likelihood of running out in the winter put your blade down to help stabilize. The machine will help a little bit just spent 30 hours on one of these learned a lot good luck.
get your rubber boots on and get into the hole and dig further down plus you really need to check that water quality ,I believe it's coming from your pond
I'm not getting in that hole to dig. I'll use Bumblebee to see how much further I can get. And if it's pond water, it's going through about a hundred feet of natural filter (it's not pond water).
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin
Dig a standing area next to water, then use a big posthole digger. A few more feet. Done.
When using the mini digger to dig holes you need to get the thumb retracted out the way, it's making life really difficult and preventing you from getting a decent load in the bucket, only use the thumb for grabbing and lifting.
Although the little digger isn't great you need to just practise, and main tip with those stick controls is the second it starts to shake, take you hands off the sticks and let it stabilise. Also reducing the RPM can prevent it shaking.
Yes I'm going to try and get the thumb out of the way. It was good for the big rocks that were coming out, but I'm not hitting too many that far down.
Thanks Russell, for your thoughtful answers to the comments. Kind of you to do that.
Thanks Karen.
Hey Russ how ya doing , Nice to see you searching out water with the mini , very cool that you found it, Wont that come in handy at your off grid once set up with filter and UV. and so on . Hey dig the rest out by hand . congratulations !. Hi City Girl .. This is getting exciting . can wait to see where you go from here ... Betcha Ray can give you for suggestions .
Thanks Sue!
Russell, I've read a few comments below. I agree. Go as deep as you reasonably can with a hand shovel. Do it as best as possible the first time because fixing it later will be a major pain. I'm envious. I'd be fortunate to find a foot and a half of soil anywhere near my camp and a million suspended rocks if I did and that's if I could get that machine anywhere near the camp without hiring a helicopter. My trail is a challenge to say the least. Good luck.
Thanks Paul. It's bedrock everywhere around here too, I just found a pocket.
I would go deeper, if you could dig a trough to drive your excavator in then you can dig down deeper, not sure if there are to many rocks for you to do that....Test the hole for bedrock. Remember its a wet time of year, come summer you might not have water. I went down 6' below the water level in my lake not sure you can do that with that small excavator. Thanks for the video...
Jed, so you did the same kind of well? I don't know how much further I can go down, this is just a pocket surrounded by bedrock.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Yes you probably have too much bedrock, but if you can drive a small dia pipe/bar just to see if you can dig down with a shovel, you might be able to put in some O pipe with holes drilled in it , just to get a few more feet. Or you can go a lot wider at the depth you are at, if the ground permits then backfill with gravel. I think if you dig a ramp/trough for your excavator you might not be able to reverse out if its really muddy....I put in crocks that are approx. 2' dia. and tapered the ground to the bottom crock then backfilled with gravel worked well for me but I had more ground water than you have. what you are doing might work, if not you can always dig everything out and try something else. I also dug mine mid summer.
I once gave you two easy ways of capturing or producing drinking water (not from dirty roof gutters).
You must have missed those.
If you insist on using this groundwater I hope it's well (pun!) away from then open discharge underneath the cabin.
while moving on the mini x keep the boom up an the bucket close to you makes it more stable
Great job Russell!! Glad you found water
Thanks Ruby!
My neighbor and friend had a hand dug well. It was fine for 60 years then it got contaminated and he died of ALS which is just about the worst way to die. Whatever your doing I would strongly recommend having an expert look at the finished product
Geez, I hope those weren't related.
the deeper you go the better the well, as one commenter suggested try making a slope beside well so as you can see and dig deeper. Placing 3/4 in stone on bottom and around the sides is great, does your pipe have serrations in it or is it solid? A cloth you can purchase before placing stone around pipe does help filter the water. After the well is operating, I would have a kit to sample water once in a while to just check quality. Good luck and stay safe. PS the material I suggested is used on field tile to keep dirt from entering the well, but will help keep yours a bit clearer.
Ken is there a reason you suggest 3/4? The local Home Hardware has 1/2, I was going to go with that.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Yes the stone is a little denser and fills up spaces better and drainage is much better and not really much bigger but ensure whatever stone you decide ensure you pour in some then with a stick or shovel ensure you get them all around the tile and the cloth add on is or should be wrapped around tile first then stone if you go that route.
@@kengardiner8106 Ken can you explain that again? LOL that's hard to read.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin The cloth you wrap around the tile is what they place around field tile to prevent dirt into the tiles and the larger stones on the bottom of pipe and around the sides allow better water penetration into the tile for your water storage. I also suggest a water test kit to sample your water to see how clean it is but I'm sure you will filter and possibly boil it. Hope this helps but if not cleat reach out again. Good luck.
Cool! That will be a huge improvement
Thanks Katie!
Dig a slope to the hole with a flat bench for the mini. You can get another four or five feet easly. You'll have to back out every bucket .
I doubt I'll be able to do that. It's bedrock everywhere here, I just found a pocket.
That machine looked so wobbly I totally thought you were going to tip over. I can't believe you found water!! It is far enough away that it should not be coming from the pond either right? Great video Russell now on to find the duck raft before the lake freezes over LOL
Happy Friday, have a wonderful weekend. Raspberry Rock ✌️ 🍲
Thanks Scott!
I would dig it deeper just in case. Better than finishing then to realize you need to go deeper and have to dig it out
I'm gonna give it a try.
I would dig deeper deep as you can get, even dig down a lower bench to put bumblebee low then ground level and you can dig the well hole deeper, awesome job so far
Love your videos Russell. I wouldn't go down that hole either. How would you get the dirt and yourself back out? Besides it's much more fun watching you run the bumblebee. Thank you for sharing your life with us!
You are definitely getting to be a better operator. Soon you won’t even have to think it about it , you just look in hole and your hands know exactly what to do .
Good soil. U guys should plant a garden in that soil. Looks rich and dark.
Tried it, not sure what's wrong but our garden was crap.
Rumour had it the mini-ex was at the bottom of the lake? Happy you still have it !!
Yup, still here.
The water table of your hole means it is just water from the pond.when winter sets in the water in the hole will freeze making it a waste of time!!!😅
It's below the frost line, David. And it's not pond water.
Good job Russell!!
Thanks Kelly!
Yay! YT has fixed whatever problem targeted some of us and didn't let us create our own comments. Instead only reply to other people's. It took them months to figure it out. Hopefully this isn't just a fluke.
Anyhow, make sure you have a good cover for that so someone or animal doesn't fall in during the night or snow. But you probably thought out.
As someone else said, wondering if that can dig deep enough for you? Best of luck. Would be so nice and healthier for you to have a well. Though it needs continual monitoring and purifying if necessary. I grew up on well water, then finally the city made it out to our home. I missed the well water. It tasted better, but supposedly city water was safer. Nowadays I wonder about that.
Huh I didn't know there was a problem with creating comments. Glad you're able to now though.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin I wrote to them several times. I received several replies which basically said they have no idea why some accounts were targeted with an assortment of different problems. Some accounts were even deleted by accident. They kept telling me they were working on it and hoped it'd be resolved soon.
I wrote them my last mail about 1-1/2 week ago, and then around a week ago I noticed I could again create my own replies. I found it odd that I could get into live chats, I could reply to anyone else's replies, but could not create my own replies. Which is how I knew I'd not been banned. And no reason to be, because I do my best to follow the rules so that I don't get banned.
I didn't test to see what I could do on my own page, because I use it only for streaming movies, sampling music, reading/replying to other people's pages, and at one time offered a bit of my attempts at trying to write music via a DAW. Offered mainly for my family and friends and a way to link them to the songs on FB. I've removed all that, until I can do a better job of it. (I studied piano and clarinet in my youth. Continued only with piano, off/on.)
Anyhow, long reply, but in case anyone was curious to know the details--such as they are.
Maybe AI didn't like me because of my long replies? lol Who knows. I'm just happy I again have access to everything, especially because I never did anything wrong to get the boot. Or even a slipper.
Thats great!!! You hit water. Two things I wonder if would help out, pin the thumb back out of the way, and do you think you can go deeper with your auger attachment?
Oh good memory Skip. I probably could go deeper with the auger but then it would be a different well system. Like an 8" PVC thingy.
@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Do you think you could drill several holes side by side, then just knock the walls between them down in the center? Water on site during the winter will be a game changer.
That looks like a good spot Russ. Keep going.
Thanks Steve!
My dad dug our with a pick and shovel . But that was before I was born and that was 75 years ago. The well was 75 or 80 foot deep.
I'm amazed at what they used to do so long ago.
So many sparkling starburst comments - lucky you Russell 🫨
Great that you found water, looking forward to your next video! 😁
💕🦋✌️
Thanks Ms Cali!
spin down filter , then a coarse filter then a fine filter then a carbon block filter , then a better filter for drinking water
I just did a similar well 13 feet deep
I saw that Mallo!
Remove the thumb to go deeper or dig closer to you so the thumb does not hit the rock
Good idea, Jeff.
It's a pity that it's hard to get the well deeper. Maybe Ray has some tricks with Bumblebee? Or maybe you could dig a bit of a ramp downwards at the side of the well so you can get Bumblebee lower to dig deeper? Best of luck with it!
Thanks James. I bet Ray would be halfway to China by now.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin 😆
Hey Russell you may want to dig the next one in with a 600mm auger and add extension bars to it to get down deep.
I'll hit bedrock before I get too much further.
Look into what's called a "sand point" well. DIY.
Fold or retract the thumb on your mini and you will be able to dig better
I'll give it a try, Dave.
try doing a sand point well
Russ, please hire a professional to get this done properly. It's great you tried, but you need a reliable water source. It is complicated, find it, pump it, clean it, get it indoors, heat it. Please find someone with a good reputation. ❤
Well drillers cant get in there on that trail.
I don't have that option, dawg.
I don’t see why he can’t do this himself, he’s not doing it blindly he’s been researching well digging etc. one thing I would say though would be to dig as deep as you can and preferably further away from the standing water of the lake, with the amount of wildlife in the area I would say you need to go a step further than just filtration and look at sterilising the water with UV light and reverse osmosis filtration just to be safe 😊
There is a big difference in "digging a well" and "drilling a well".... the equipment needed to "drill a well" is actually portable and simple----- you use WATER PRESSURE which Russell has plenty of water and a generator to run a pump. He might hit a rock, even several in different l
places, but it can be done and without a lot of muscle power. Russ is thinking dependent on the excavator. If he would think of water power as he drill power, the well could be easier to achieve.....
Good luck on what must be an arduous task !
At least the music is soothing.. 🤞🙏
“ice on the pond” is Raspberry Rock version of Smoke on The Water!
Yup, Jennifer. More ice today.
This video was kinda strange! Was hoping you, Russell would have gotten an rv filter or something and was hope to see an apple pie recipe.... but oh well. Good to have heard from you both👍💖
LOL I told her people will think they're going to see an apple pie segment now!
Hello, I think I had paid someone to come and try to dig with a BIG excavator in stead of buying that little one, looks like it have a lot of problems maneuvering in the terrain??I suggest you take a look at girl in the woods or bush radical`s videos where they have videos HOW they find water, looks so so much easier, and I don`t think you can dig deep enough with that little excavator. Water can be quit deep in the ground and you have a lot of rocks around your cabin.🙏🙏Pray that you find water in one or another way.
Inger Marie, I'd never get a bigger excavator in here. I'm stuck with Bumblebee.
Russell, A 2" trash pump would serve your needs, and you may want to hand dig your well deeper. But be aware of possible wall collapse. If you decide to go deeper, it is advisable to build yourself a caisson for safety. As for the stone fill you need, have Home Depot deliver a full pallet to your parking area. You're going to need more than you think. Keep up the good work. Peace ✌️
John, I think you're the only one how commented on what kind of pump I need. Thanks. Unfortunately they look expensive.
In most cases, it is better to drill a well for water than to dig one, as drilled wells generally provide better water quality, a more consistent water supply, and are less likely to be contaminated due to their deeper reach and better sealing compared to dug wells, which can be more susceptible to surface contaminants; however, drilling a well typically has a higher initial cost than digging one.
Key points to consider:
Contamination risk:
Dug wells are more prone to contamination from surface runoff like sewage or chemicals because they access shallower water tables, while drilled wells reach deeper water sources with less risk of contamination.
Water quality:
Drilled wells usually offer better water quality due to their depth and casing, which helps prevent contaminants from entering the water supply.
Cost:
While initial drilling costs are higher, the long-term benefits of a drilled well, like better water quality and less maintenance, can make it a more cost-effective choice over time.
Looks like everyone is using AI these days.
@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin yes... I think it is part of Google now. Why not use it? At age 86 there are still things for me to learn.
How in the hell is a well driller going to get a truck in there 🤷♂️🤦♂️.
@@Idahoprepper71you use a driving hammer and pipe. You drive the pipe in the ground by hand. Watch some you tube videos by Bush Radical. He drill for water by hand in the U.P. of Michigan plenty of times. Plus he lives in a way more rural place then Russel. He doesn't go hunting for food at Subway. Lol.
@Idahoprepper71 You can "drill a well" with very simple equipment using water power as your drill. Russ has plenty of water, a generator for power. He can buy an adequate pump and everything he needs ovr his trail. Don't think of a huge machine on wheels with a huge motor---- wells are "drilled" all over the world using water power...
do your research
Can you do a point well? “Bush Radical” you tube channel did a “how to” video on this. Karl’s off the grid also did a video on it. May not work if it’s really rocky there, works better with sandy soils I believe.
What I said. Fell on deaf ears..
I think you should go at least 2 more feet. The deeper the better
I will try, Susan.
My first thought? That’s what she said. Lol
Looks like you have plenty of water, right there in the pond.
I'm just guessing here but if you don't go below the frost line it will freeze. Could you some how get water from the pond behind your house and run it through a filtration system to solve your problems?
I'm already below the frost line. The pond is full of sediment and beaver poop, so it's not safe.
Look at you go :))) You have much better soil than me for digging 😅
Rich and chemtrail lithium, barium, good and healthy🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️💯🤭🤭🤭
@@rods907 Aluminum, strontium and barium from fly ash.
Ain’t got no gas in it….😂😂
Hi Russell- ignore the naysayers - you're doing a good effort with Bumblebee. Practice makes perfect.
I do think if you can get down an extra 500-600mm (about 2 feet) now with your well, it will be much better than trying to retrospectively try and get deeper later.
Thanks Alex. I'm gonna try today to get down further.
I’m confused you’re looking for water, but you have a lake full of it🤔🤔🤔🤔🤭💯
Its not a lake its a pond. Full of beaver droppings.
Yup, beaver pond. Full of sediment and beaver.
Can you pump and filter water from the pond?
I could, but it's full of sediment and beaver poop. The possibility of cross-contamination is too great.
Makes sense…. Just wasn’t sure if it was legal or not…. Thanks for sharing and for the reply 👊🏼
Autumn does come to soon. 😕
Autumn goes by too soon. It just started!
Russel hi don't know if any body else noticed but go back in the video to 3.3 3.4 tell me if you see an animal run by in the upperleft hand corner and it is not a dog
👍🏻
build a base for you pump to set it 4 to 5 inches off the bottom
Why don't you make a hand dug well. Where you use a driving hammer by hand to drive pipe in the ground till you reach water? It is how you actually get to clean drinking water that doesn't freeze, becsuse in the ground the temp stays around 55 degrees fahrenheit. But, you already knew that ! You just want to do things harder, not smarter. Makes for a better show I guess /shrug. Who knows.
Drilling a well with all that water you have there you can purify okay
I think you need a sewage pump and a hand showel to dig deeper
and after the sweage pump pumps out the water, you can dig for a few minutes with a hand showel. After you hit rock - you can't go deeper with hand tools - put a bit of gravel under and around the barrel. That should stop the clay seeping into tha barrel
❤
Good start. Enjoyed the video.
Thanks Hillbilly!
if you where to dig the plateau where your machine is it would lover the ground... once your done you refill your working pad....
I don’t think you’re gonna get the volume out of that unless you put in a holding tank then maybe but that’s not enough water to take a shower. I can tell you that much better off going off the lake water
The hole filled up to 18" overnight. By my quick math and using a 2' cylinder with 6" of gravel on the bottom, it produced 23.5 gallons. That's more than enough for me.
You may have to do a bit of shovel work to finish off the hole.
russ what is the name of this song and who sings it? i was trying to look for it when you played it last year.. with no luck
Autumn Comes Too Soon by Jaydan Talley. You can find it on UA-cam.
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin thanks brother i love this song
How about using a regular old shovel to go deeper.
That sounds like work, Randy.
With as much loose stone you have laying around you could build some cool stone structures for hunting out of.
Are you on the Canadian Shield? Glad you got water so close. You want to pump out the sediment, yes? Good luck. P.S. ✌
Ernest yes I'm on the Canadian Shield. Bedrock everywhere.
Hi Russell
I always enjoy your videos . . . more so than any of the off-grid videos I watch.
I do, however, have a suggestion: Think about ditching that “Autumn Comes Too Soon” song. It’s smarmy.
Come on, it's a good song, Thomas.
A shallow well is probably surface water. Too dangerous to drink without a lot of purification and testing. We like you without any complications. You need an expert in deeper wells and need to drill through bedrock too. Too much for a small machine. Think about Reverse Osmosis in addition to filtration. You have beavers!
Fold your thumb all the way back when digging will help.
arent you to close to the pond and bever feaver???
I'm about 100 feet away from the pond. Lots of natural filter in between.
Great video Russ. Thanks for sharing. Great to see the mini excavator at work.
Thanks Gord!
why not do a sand point well?
I think you need a professional just saying love from Michigan 🖐️♥️
Are you boosting this weekend? I think I lost my subscription too.
Nope, no booxing for a while.
dig a trench back the size of your digger . also didn't you get a post hole digger with your purchase ?
Trash pump best will remove some of sediment
Good call, Rob.
Great work Russell🎉🎉🎉🎉 Enjoyed the video❤❤❤ It's always wonderful to see you🎉🎉🎉 Take care🥰😍🤩
Dirty pond water
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
fold the thumb up and out of your way !
Russ.... there are many UA-cam videos explaining how YOU can DRILL a well... You may need a helper, maybe 2 helpers... I really like your videos, BUT HONESTLY you just seem to like to do things HARDER than EASIER. WHY? oh well
pun intended
I'm doing the only thing I can do here, Ernie.
@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Hi Russell... please Google UA-cam "How to hand drill a well" you will find 5 or 6 really good videos. Some use water pressure to actually "drill" the well. They then double up (lengthwise) 2 four ft well points to have 8 ft of well point pvc to suck in water.... several are 1 person tasks. You have a whole lake to get the water to do the drilling. It can be done. Yes, you have hard rock, but there just has to be a place where this process can get through in a "no boulder" place. The human effort is so little that even if you drill at 4 or 5 (or more) places, the result ought to be worthwhile. I would try closer to your cabin. As close as you think you might get through. Ray can likely help. Even City Girl as the "labor" is not that tasking... the water is the muscle. It can be done.... and I hate to say it, but thousands of wells have been built by this technology.
Russell, I’m laughing my head off watching you on the bumblebee. It’s almost useless. Sell it and buy a foot long.
You and I have very different opinions on 'almost useless'. What's a foot long?
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin Oh, careful. I'm fully anticipating the answer to be "my d*ck".
@@RaspberryRockOffGridCabin A foot long is a 12 inch hot dog. I think he is saying your excavator is worthless.
Why did u take those big stones out. That was nice drive way.
Not easy to see in this video, but they were a big nuisance.
Looks like a death trap if it rolls over
Yep.
Hey Russ, after being away from social media for a while, I’ve checked back in to see how you are doing.
That back hoe is awesome! The suspension is ‘a bit’ stiff but you can move things that you couldn’t before.
As for that well… I wish I knew more about them. 🤷♂️
I read through some of the comments here.. sheesh, there are a lot of opinionated ppl. 🙃
I would be willing to bet that 99% of the ppl wouldn’t be able to live the life you’re living. You’re an awesome individual and should be proud of your accomplishments.
I remember when you built the stairs inside for the loft. They were (are) beautiful.
Hi to Alicia from us.
Do you still do the Friday evening live thing?
Have. SUPER day! Stay safe. 🙏
Why not try using dalsing rods
I expect that dalsing rods are too wide to fit in his hole.
Gosh, i didn't realize that machine was so small!!! Lordy, you need to rent a real one to get your trail straight and get those stumps up..... thst little thing is about as good as an ATV...mercy....you had to grt out and do most by hand!! Smh.....
Are you making a road or drilling a well
Hey Russ it may have been your dog.If you do check out the video could you let me know if you think it's a dog thanks
Russell- You need someone to train you on that mini excavator. You could seriously injure yourself the way you run it.
What am I doing wrong, Robert?
You are too far from the hole. And your movement is too jerky.
I used to test Linkbelt excavators. Plus I worked for a Catapiler dealer and rented a mini excavator. You can run them pretty smooth.
Fold that thumb.
I suggest you hire some experts in drilling wells rather than trying to dig a well using a kids tonic toy back hoe to do the job. I hate to inform you, you are NOT a Shawn James so stop trying to become him.
How is it going to get a drill truck back there
There is no need to be rude. How do you think Shawn learned how to do things.
@ calm down, Karen💁🏼♂️💁🏼♂️
He may not be Shawn James but he is doing more than most people would or could do. Give him a break! How else do you learn unless you try?
He’s a bot
It that a toy ??? It looks like a tonka truck. Lolol
U r a freaking root on this. !!
It's small but it gets the job done, Marlene.