Finally Set Up to Drill the Well

[Ruffneck]

It has been a long journey to just get to this point. Water is the last piece of infrastructure need on the property. I feel pretty confident with the rigging.
http://youtu.be/jIIsLfY401M

I actually ran it for the first time in October, seemed to be working OK. I need to get the 13 inch bit down to five feet and then connect the 20 foot stem to get some real weight behind it.
Should be doable to get some water this year, I hope
http://youtu.be/6BvEoxe7b_0

[beenthere]

Looks like it is going to be quite an adventure. Thanks for including us..

IIRC, the old neighbor well driller (Mr. Landgraff) had a guide or something rigged up to hit the ground in the same place more times than not. But don't recall just what it was.

Going to get back at it soon? or waiting for better weather?

[Remle]

Ruffneck
Did you Witch the location for the well, or just pick a spot.  Although I can-not do it I am a believer ;)..

[Paul_H]

Good stuff,looking forward to your progress as always.

[Magicman]

I always enjoy your videos.  I hope that you had better success with your well drilling after you stopped the camera.   ;)

[LeeB]

I had a water well drilled once with an old spud rig. Took two weeks to drill a 750' well. I ran the thing for a couple of hours. nothing like the drilling rigs I work on for a living.

[r.man]

I am not familiar with that type of rig. What do you end up with in the ground and how does it get there?

[LeeB]

R-man, basically you beat a hole in the ground with a large star point chisel( the piece that you see being pound into the ground in the video). As you go a little deeper another piece of stem is added to the drill string to give you more weight.  You beat a few feet then pull the drill string out, pour an amount of water in the hole and then run what is called a baler. The baler is a hollow piece of stem with a flapper valve near the bottom of it. You run that to bottom and work it a couple of times to load it up with the cuttings debris from the bit and pull it out and empty it. This is done a few times until the hole is clean and the process starts over and is repeated until you find your water producing zone. Depending on local formations, the well is then either cased or the pump run in open hole.

[Peter Drouin]

Good luck, But I thought they had a slide weight to pound with .

[r.man]

Thanks Lee, have never seen one like it but I am in the land of bedrock, bottom edge of the Canadian shield. I did see one farther south that was like a giant forstner bit. That thing must have been 40 some inches across at the end of a drill shaft on a small truck rig. Made to drill a hole for cement well tiles.

[LeeB]

The spud rig is an old tech that has not been used a whole lot for many years and you won't see too many of them around. I'm sure at some point in time there were some in Canada and they even managed to drill in hard rock, just took a little longer.
I would imagine roughneck probably knows more about them than I do.

[Ruffneck]

Hello Forestry Forum Friends,

The rig has been sitting since last October, that was when I did the drilling in the video. After getting things set up I couldn't help but try and drill a little. I do need to get the starter bit down to five feet and then attach the drill stem ( a 20 foot length of solid steel) to  get some real weight behind it.

Beenthere, I am not going to do any well drilling unless the weather is good and I'm having fun doing it. This has been a work in progress for over nine years now, why hurry know? :D I have seen the a guide being used on some rigs on you tube, but one video showed a guy guiding it as another guy operated it. I think I'll have my brother help once I get the drill stem connected. At the rate I'm going in the video I'll have a hole five feet wide 

r-man, couldn't explain it any better than Leeb did. Every day on the drilling rig floor has been my first day doing whatever it may be.  ;D

Remle, I did hire a water dowser for $100, I have a video of him doing it. I think I've posted it a while ago somewhere here, I'll tr to find it and post where it can be found.

I always enjoy your videos.  I hope that you had better success with your well drilling after you stopped the camera.   ;)

It went better Magicman, I walked away :D

[LeeB]

I am a little curious about your bit size. Is this just what size you bought with the rig or is there another reason for it? The driller that did my well back then used a 6" bit. will you case the well or leave it open hole? What size casing? Is a permit required? Is there any possibility of shallow gas? Not much well control equipment on a spudder.

[Ruffneck]

LeeB, The bit I'm starting with is 13 inches in diameter. I'm hoping to drill down to 19 feet with it and set the 8 inch casing for the surface seal. The two inch void space will then be filled with the bentenite to seal the well against surface contaminants. I will have to attach more casing and go deeper if I don't find a solid layer to set the surface seal casing in.
After the surface seal is drilled I'll switch to a six inch carbide bit and drill to total depth with that, hopefully.
This is a very fluid operation for me, being I've never drilled a well in my life, but that is how I'm picturing it now.
Watching the machine actually working for the first time was a monumental task.  :D
I have paid my dues working on this thing in some miserable weather. I am not going to be drilling unless the weather is nice  smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce

[LeeB]

I would recommend you make your surface seal with concrete. How will you suspend the 6" csg or do you pan to complete open hole? Open hole completion gives you no well bore protection should your production pipe develop a leak. Csg will also help protect your pump if you develop a tbg leak. Learned this from experience on the well I had before getting a new one drilled by the guy with the spud rig. Have you done any drilling before? Do you know how to recognize the water bearing sands? There's quite an art to it all. I wish you best of luck.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

...
I have paid my dues working on this thing in some miserable weather. I am not going to be drilling unless the weather is nice  smiley_blue_bounce smiley_blue_bounce

So, ya been cold as a well-diggers ....

Oh, you're not in Montana! Some would say you don't know what cold is...

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Just kidding. Good luck with your well.

Herb