I have found a 200 ft deep abandoned well on my property. it is completely dry. It still has the 4" pvc casing intact. I'm thinking about using it to cool a 12 by 16 section of my barn that is alrerady well insulated, but I cool it using a small window AC unit. I thought I could cool the area by running a second 2" pipe down to the bottom and hooking up a good strong fan and pulling out the cooler air at the bottom of this well and into the workshop area. The only cost would be the 200' of pipe - which I already have on hand and the electricity to run the fan. The workshop space is well insulated and is 1536 cubic feet. My questions are: Can a 2" pipe
provide adequate air transfer to replace a 1500 cubic foot airspace in a reasonable time to make this effective? - at 300 cubic feet per minute, (which is what my fan provides) can replace 1500 cubic feet of air in 5 minutes - which seems far more than adequate, but the 2" pipe may not be able to move nearly that much air. and is 200' adequate p[ipeline length to cool down 100 degree air ( I live in Texas) to the earths mean temperature of roughly 55 degrees?

I know there are more sophisticated and expensive ways to accomplish this, but I'm hoping for a shot at some simple, free (or at least much cheaper) air conditioning from mother nature, seeing as I already have the hole in the ground and it hasn't cost me anything.

First off, pulliing air from a well casing will simply not work. Sure you may get a cool breeze but simply not enough to cool any area.
Are you sure the well is dry? they do make ground source heat pumps that use well water to cool and heat. You may want to look into this.
2nd off. Depending on the area of the country you live. Many states require that the well be professionally capped once no longer in use. This procedure must be properly done. Before you begin to play with ideas on how to use this hole in the ground, I suggest that you speak to the local building department about it and find out if you need to do anything special as per goverment regulations. You could be fined if they find out that your pumping air into the ground. Remember other people may be tapping off of the water source that this well provided at one time. Pumping anything down even air into the hole may cause polution to ruin the water quality.

Thanks for your help. But you really didnt answer my questions. I'll try not to destroy our planet by moving air with a fan.

Fortunately I live in the country, safely far away from control freaks and politico-ecology Kooks, who believe they have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own private property. I just want to know if this will work, not check with the zoning board to assure someone is getting their cut of the action.

Anyone else care to to answer the questions? - I am not an idiot, nor do I wish to destroy the Ozone or anything that I personally pay for and own. I dont think its a huge revelation that people do use the ground to cool air all the time. With or without the beaurocratic horse crap. Its just a simple heat exchanger.

FYI I do share my well water system with about a million other people so they'll just have to sue me if I spoil their dust (there is no water in this well, the water table far below 200 feet now, I have a fully funtional well about 100 feet deeper) - I happen to live where there is massive oil and gas drilling going on all the time and they have caused the water level in the aquafir to fall significantly, drying up individual landowners shallower wells - just like this one in the process. No one is suing them for sucking petroleum and chemicals though our water table.

So, In your considerably bloated opinion, how deep can I dig a hole on my own property before I am in danger of causing the end of the world as we know it?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dimbulbz,

Boy what side of the bed did you all off on.
FYI this is a forum in which Professional building contractors answer questions for those people who want to know more about their project. We do this in order to aid people like youself and hopefully give advice on how to do things correctly. Sometimes our answer is not the magic bullet the writers wanted to hear. But like many of the other folks that take the time to help others we speak with experiance on the topics we answer.
I do think I answered your question.
Once again. It will not work. Simply putting air down a hole to draw it back up in order to cool Or heat a space will not supply enough cooing effect to work. If it did, they would already be doing it in other areas.

As far as your opinion about me, say what you want. Its people lke yourself that ruin it for other folks because you do not want to follow the rules. They are there for a reason. Its against the law in most states to use a well for other things then water. But do as you wish. As far as the other guys not being sued. I am sure they have taken the necessary permits that Protect them from getting sued.
I have seen people who were like yourself with good intentions do simple things like put gravel on a low spot in their driveway and end up getting fined amost a 100K by the EPA for blocking a natural water run off from a stream.
My opinion was simply a warning that you should be carefull with your plan. If not you could end up paying a lot more then the savings of a cooling system that will not work.
If your really interested in getting the cooling effect from a deep well, Drill down deeper tap the water and use it for the cooling system. You do not need anything other then a high capacity water supply that you simply draw up pump through a cooling coil and then dump back into the ground. This was a common way of cooling for many years. But because of the water shortages throughout the country and concerns about the enviroment most have changed to ground source heat pumps.