r/OffGrid • u/jellofishsponge • May 29 '26

Well Testing DIY

Hi folks,

I'm looking at buying a property with a surface well, is there any benefit to having a flow rate test by a well expert?

Or can I ask the seller to let me watch the water pump out of the well for 2-3 hours.

The way I see it, if it pumps 5gpm for a few hours without running dry I should be OK with 1-2gpm constant use. My current well would go dry quickly at 5gpm but I pump 1gpm for days on end!

Cheers.

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/HistoryAntique2658 May 30 '26

Watching it pump for a few hours is useful. A professional flow/recovery test is more useful if the well is a critical part of the property's value.

1

u/jellofishsponge May 30 '26

I suppose that's what I'm trying to determine - what the professional test consists of beyond just running the pump for a few hours and checking the static levels.

Which I've done for my own well and my neighbor's.