How to search an old well?

[DiggerinVA]

yep...i guess yall can see why i have done so much contimplating and not much doin thus far......lol

 

[Red James Cash]

i think the cheapest,safest,way ( if youre determined to do it)is to go the corrugated pipe route.Buy sections of it so theyre easier to lower,build a simple tripod and if you have a winch youre all set.Thats how the archs did the dig in the well at fort Ticonderoga.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

My Buddy and I were planning on hunting this old stone walled well that is slap dab in the middle of a huge development that is being built. We were there a few weeks ago trying to figure out the safest way to get down into it. We noticed there were a few parts of the wall that collasped and the dirt was starting to fill in. I was joking around and stuck my detector down there, and actually got a solid hit...I was laying on my stomach trying to move some of the stones away, when i noticed a little head peaking out of one of the crevices...lol..So after seeing it was about a 4 foot snake hiding down there..I decided to stick with the dirt ABOVE ground..lol

good Luck!..watch out for snakes!!

 

[Moresound]

Just dig a hole along side of the well.

 

[Argentium]

A very intriguing possibility - why not get into a safety harness - have a couple of buddies up top , and lower yourself down a rope ladder or
large knotted rope - I also like the idea of excavating the bottom of this - hauling buckets up and screening them for several feet deep to get
down to the earlier layers . I think this can be done safely with careful planning ,and a couple of able bodied assistants . Clearly safety has to
be the first consideration , research how similar excavations have been done - keep us posted !

 

[BC1969]

There is reasoning behind my saying it won't save you even if you have 10 buddies up top to dig if it falls in on you. that being when I was in my early 20's I worked for a company that did basement waterproofing. well part of the process included digging down to the footer all the way around the house, now thankfully being almost 7 feet tall probably saved my butt for I was in the trench at a corner putting wrap on the wall and it had been raining and the whole trench caved in on me. luckily I had my arms up near my chest when it happened, that dirt pinned me to the wall up to my neck, my arms being at chest level made it to where I could still breathe. took 8 guys an hour to dig me out of that. now imagine 10 feet of dirt coming from above you..I don't even like to think of that happening to somebody.
like RJC said a steel culvert pipe would work, there wouldn't be enough pressure to crush it, that or dig it out with a excavator. the other idea of a adjacent shaft would work provided steps were taken to prevent a cave-in.
or throw caution to the wind toss out the what if factor and dig it out.

BC

 

[Higgy]

You could always rent a huge backhoe and put a road down into it.

 

[Limitool]

Been finding many wells this summer at old cellar holes dating from the 1700s in my area.
The last one had a big surprise in the bottom. A dead deer that had fallen in.

I've had a few dead deer fall into my freezer over the years. But this dead deer that jumped into the well beats mine!!!!! I know... I'm being an ass.... I'll go away in a minute.

 

[Moresound]

I've had a few dead deer fall into my freezer over the years. But this dead deer that jumped into the well beats mine!!!!! I know... I'm being an ass.... I'll go away in a minute.

We went back to cover the well and the whole body of the deer was a rolling mass of maggots. Stunk like H3LL!