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water well drilling opinions needed

I you want a little tougher thread you can do the 1 7/8 used oilfield tubing threads they are a 8 thread per inch and quite a bit stronger have used those for fishing tools and anything else that is a one and done maybe it will work situation. Breaking the joints is always fun if you dont have the proper system. your joints will be tighter than anything you have ever dealt with
 
Hello all, I have most parts needed for drilling my own well. Most wells in my area are in the 130 foot depth range. Most small drilling rigs use 5' lengths of pipe for drill stem. I already have a lot of 1" id and 1.312 od of NPT threaded pipe. The problem I foresee is the failure of the drill stem due to the npt threading, or the inability of freeing the joints at withdrawal. I cannot baby the rig in a way to avoid the stress on the stem and joint couplings. I am thinking of making box and pin ends to place on the end of each pipe section and weld them on. What thread type would you use in this endeavor. I have viewed mayhew jr, and other types, but don't really know what might be best. It must have strength, the ability to uncouple sections after use and easy on a guy who hasn't threaded on my Hendey Lathe in 30 years. She is a 14" x 102" with taper attachment, etc.

Ideas? Thanks, Don
I have drilled 3 wells , 60'-0" average. This was for irrigation on my farm. The PVC casing was 3" on 2 wells and 4" on 1 well. I have sandy loam which needs Bentonite clay to keep the walls from caving in while drilling. I used two pumps and a mixing box I made to mix the bentonite .
I would suggest you hire a well driller if 130'-0" is average well depth in your area.
 
Well, we had a little thing down here called the Alamo where 32 Texans kicked the ass of over 50,000 Spanish and then David Bowie went on to make some bad ass knives. So we're not about to follow their laws.

Now that that history lesson is over.....it's kinda funny how people go on and on about conserving water. What that really is saying is 'We live in an area where there is not enough water to begin with, there are too many of us, and we have stolen all the water we can from our neighbors and there still isn't enough so we want our neighbors to conserve water so there will be enough for us....'

California....I went to Wyoming around 1990 and spent a week driving around with one of our guys who lived there. As you can imagine, he drove a dusty pickup and was a Marlboro Man sort. The whole time, he ragged on California. Anything bad was compared to California. After about 5 days, I asked him "Why do people here hate California so much...?

He said "Well....two reasons. First, they steal all of our water. Second, as soon as a girl turns 18 years of age, if she's at all good looking she runs off to California..."
 
It's a bitch isn't t? You ask a simple question about pipe threads and strength and what do you get ? a bunch of latrine lawyers talking about laws in foreign countries and where to buy the parts and recommendations to have the job done by "professionals" etc etc etc. :-)
...lewie...
 
It's a bitch isn't t? You ask a simple question about pipe threads and strength and what do you get ? a bunch of latrine lawyers talking about laws in foreign countries and where to buy the parts and recommendations to have the job done by "professionals" etc etc etc. :-)
...lewie...
OP didn't put "OT" in the title......:D
 
Better check with the local regulations. I have had 2 wells drilled by pro's and they had to cement in the upper casing to avoid contaminating the aquifer. The one will driller also said you need to pick a higher place to drill the well as if you drill in a low area, when it rains all the dog crap and rain water will pool around the pipe and leak into the ground. He picked an area that was 6 foot higher. My wells use a 4" casing and we put a deep well pump that is inside the casing and it's down around 180 feet down with a 100' head. (water above the submersed pump) I can't remember how deep the casing goes. I think it goes all the way down. If you have to drill 130 feet to hit water you have a DEEP Well and a regular shallow well pump won't work like a shallow well pump that only pulls up about 50 feet. You should call some local well drillers and have them give you a quote, so you learn the regulations. If you pollute the aquifer you will probably end up in jail with a $million dollar + fine.
 
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There is one other problem. The inexpensive pipe manufactured for plumbing is welded along its length. The pipe used for drilling is seamless.

The high torque applied to the pipe while drilling produces a large shear force along the pipe's length. If there are any defects in the weld the pipe may split open. You can get a idea of what happens by rolling up a sheet paper into a tube and then twisting it.
 
just my $.02
I had my well drilled, 500 ft down thru solid granite. Pretty hefty drill rig.
I got pricing to install the pump. Don't remember the numbers offhand, but I was like, what a ripoff, just to install the pump. So I did it myself. It came out good, but after adding it al up, I didn't save much over having it done.
 
Well, we had a little thing down here called the Alamo where 32 Texans kicked the ass of over 50,000 Spanish and then David Bowie went on to make some bad ass knives. So we're not about to follow their laws.

Now that that history lesson is over.....it's kinda funny how people go on and on about conserving water. What that really is saying is 'We live in an area where there is not enough water to begin with, there are too many of us, and we have stolen all the water we can from our neighbors and there still isn't enough so we want our neighbors to conserve water so there will be enough for us....'

California....I went to Wyoming around 1990 and spent a week driving around with one of our guys who lived there. As you can imagine, he drove a dusty pickup and was a Marlboro Man sort. The whole time, he ragged on California. Anything bad was compared to California. After about 5 days, I asked him "Why do people here hate California so much...?

He said "Well....two reasons. First, they steal all of our water. Second, as soon as a girl turns 18 years of age, if she's at all good looking she runs off to California..."
Pretty sure that David Bowie couldn't do much with a knife but cut himself.
 
No, but I did collect a lot of parts to build one, all still back at the yard in SM, maybe some day I'll revisit that project, maybe. My plan was to mount a triple stage forklift mast on the back of a truck, with hyd rams to lay it down in transport. For drill stem I was going to use real drill stem, but cut and rewelded in 8' maybe 10' lengths, the leftovers would be used for fence posts. I did drill 2 starter holes, one by warehouse, another by house, I forget 10' maybe 12' deep, sleeved with 12" pvc. From the people I talked to, all said it would most likely not be potable due to ag chemicals and septic systems in the area, my main concern was water for warehouse so we could have a sink and flush toilet, not to drink. Warehouse is rented, tenant pays the water bill, and within the next 10 years it will all be bulldozed for a strip center,mall, who knows what, so I'm not worried about it anymore.

Some of the small rigs use npt threaded pipe, might be ok in sand, your mileage may vary in Houston black gumbo clay, or gravel if you can hit it.
Sounds like we both bumped into the same fantasy some years back:) I saw the hydradrill info on some magazine more years ago than i like to admit. I actually have acreage near Edna Texas and that is where this craziness will happen, once i collect the parts for the water swivel and machine the pins and boxes if i don't try to baby the npt threads. I hate the idea of getting 100 feet deep and breaking my drill stem. I do have gumbo on this acreage. With just a little rain it gets really slick. Last trip, i discovered that my three phase convertor had dead capacitors so no lathe power. I now have them in stock and will install when i go back. Been a long time since i cut threads, hopefully it is like riding a bike!
 
I don't see why the laws of Spain would apply in Texas....

My well in Houston is 221'. I think in Houston you can drill just about anywhere and hit water...so the fear of a dry hole is not that great.

My parents' house, near Austin, had a 67' deep well and the water was 100% potable.

Drilling your own well? Probably only slightly less troublesome than performing your own kidney stone operation.
Dang, you spoiled it. My next post was going to be about my kidney stone operation. I have a rusty knife I have cleaned up, have a mask and some chloroform but need a good mirror and some new specks for these old eyes. I have heard it is an easy operation. I think i will wait until after the well attempt though:)
 
Drilling gets tricky when the drilled hole grabs your pipe drill stem............long auger sections dont have this problem ,and have plenty of power to crash thru ,but you r gonna need a DTH hammer if you strike hard rock .........and you surely dont want to lose a $10k hammer.
Not only do i not want to lose a 10K hammer, but I dont want to buy one to begin with. I would have to break my piggy bank, and that's a lot of pennies. Just a simple rotary rig pushing bentonite and going slowly. Based on all the drilling reports in that area, rock should not be a concern. If i needed a rock, i could get one out of my head:)
 
I do this for a living, if you already have the swivel just try it ahd see 140 is pretty deep with 1” pipe your flow restriction with a 35 psi trash pump and any viscosity increase in the fluid is going to be just a few gallons a minute. The threads depends on the torque load of your rotation power. Mayhew junior is way overkill unless your pushing reall torque
The trash pump i have is an 8 horse cast iron, but it is stored so i cant see output. I believe it has a 3" discharge. I am using a 14 hp gas engine, gear reduced to about 140 rpm, a steel tractor auger gearbox rated well over 20hp and i am not far from ordering the bearings and chevron seals for the water swivel. In your opinion, if Mayhew is overkill, what is better than the npt already cut in the pipe, as i can make pins and boxes to weld on. A thread type with a torque shoulder for alignment and seal was why i considered the mayhew and of course my lack of knowledge of other offerings.
 
i just finished up a little deeper one today . using a piston pump pushing 80 gallons a minute at about 150 psi that's with a fluid that is 50 vis and about 8.6 density Im also running the fluid across shaker and through desilting cones. you can do it with what you have. but 1" is too small to move enough fluid,. all you will do is be frustrated 4" hole its nice to have at least 60' per minute of cleaning, your not going to push 40 gallons a minute through 140' of 1" pipe with a standard trash pump once you mix in your bentonite. you can get by with less but up your pipe size and you will blow right through this, (as long as you don't hit river gravel, or reactive clays those screw up a day real fast). your issue is going to be cleaning the hole. thats most diy peoples issue. I have done 22" hole with only 20' per minute of flow and 400 deep but your drill fluid better be perfect and yours will not be. it doesn't take any torque unless something goes wrong most holes you can use a hand twist auger and do fine but you have to get the cuttings out of the hole, and then the cuttings out of the fluid, before its pumped back down.
I have a pile of mayhew junior on 25' sticks and its great stuff. most of what I use is internal flush 2 7/8 but with your outfit you might get 400 foot lbs of torque and only need to do it once? use pipe thread just bigger pipe if they keep moving they will eventually butt in the coupler
 
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one other thing you will need to have about 10 to 15 times your pump flow of fluid mixed up and running in a long tank so the cuttings can settle out so the mud only goes down the hole every 10 minute of so thats were the cleaning systems come in dont have near as much fluid to deal with
 
just my $.02
I had my well drilled, 500 ft down thru solid granite. Pretty hefty drill rig.
I got pricing to install the pump. Don't remember the numbers offhand, but I was like, what a ripoff, just to install the pump. So I did it myself. It came out good, but after adding it al up, I didn't save much over having it done.
I seem to see so many ripoff's these days that i too am skeptical of value for dollars. Everything seems overpriced to me. Lumber prices, diesel, groceries and the cost of labor for everything. Once i get the hole drilled, i still have lots of expenses, but i think I can shave off five or six thousand bucks that i could use elsewhere.
 
Dang, you spoiled it. My next post was going to be about my kidney stone operation. I have a rusty knife I have cleaned up, have a mask and some chloroform but need a good mirror and some new specks for these old eyes. I have heard it is an easy operation. I think i will wait until after the well attempt though:)
Good news, don4140! I've researched this and it's clear that if you perform self-surgery for kidney stones, you will never worry about kidney stones again ever.
 
You boys laugh all you want.

I've seen all sorts of badasses...guys with tattoos. Earrings. Leather jackets. Harleys. But really, wimps, all of them compared to this guy. That thing he's holding? A bladder stone. From an operation he performed in 1655. ON HIMSELF.
 

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one other thing you will need to have about 10 to 15 times your pump flow of fluid mixed up and running in a long tank so the cuttings can settle out so the mud only goes down the hole every 10 minute of so thats were the cleaning systems come in dont have near as much fluid to deal with
Man this is great information. Initially i had given little thought to the drill stem. I simplified in my mind that the pipe on hand would endure if i took it easy. On further thought I was concerned that the torque on the threads might make them difficult to impossible to separate. So then my little brain goes toward the idea of a having that type of thread with a torque shoulder that you would likely use on a bigger rotary. Local drilling reports suggest i will only be drilling in sand and clay. None of the reports within 50 miles of me suggest anything otherwise. You have really given me something to think about on the liquid flow. I thought my viscosity would likely be very lite just to keep it from caving on me before i inserted the 4" casing. Do you use a Marsh funnel or something else for viscosity determination? I did not consider that getting the cuttings from the hole might tax my system. The long tank is a great idea. Wow, i bet you have to deal with a lot of rock in Idaho.
 








 
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