Ah NEBOSH Dip 2 springs to mind.
Thanks for raising this one!
I have a similar situation - the well has not been used for many years. Last year I scrounged a vaste quantity of water from my neighbour who extracts from the river to irrigate his smallholding. We "topped up" the well almost daily, but is all just disappeared. After a long wet spring when nothing was poured in - it is still dry; however, for many, many years, it was the main source of water for a 10+ person household.
Having viewed the "fear" in my previous house when the pump installers were faced with maybe going down and investigating - and their refusal under any circumstances - and all the stories about German soldiers being killed and tipped down the well, I have been very reluctant to even take the cover off, let alone descend into the murky depths!
Please tell us how you get on - I will be fascinated - and perhaps encouraged to excavate mine! :-)
Thank you for the responses and advice.
Give your local puisatier a ring and ask for a devis for curage. It might not be that expensive...
if working in a confined space, such as a well, it needs to be ventilated, as you dig you do not know what is down there. there is a very slim chance of death, a basic risk assessment is required, ie two man rule, one in the well and the other on top as a safety number. a rope tied around your waist to haul you out of you loose conscious.
but enjoy your digging,
I have an old Davey Lamp and half a drum of Sperm Oil on standby. If all else fails it will be a candle by the side of me.
Dangerous business going down wells Martin. I hope you check that there's a breathable atmosphere and that you don't work alone with no one on the surface to keep an eye on you.