DIY water well drilling rig

nddoublea77 · Mar 16, 2017

I need a well drilled on my property. There is another well about 400 feet from where I will be putting the new one. Need to drill down 180 feet. I got quotes for 10k and 12k to drill it so I thought I would try and build my own before paying that kind of money. I need some help figuring out what size hydraulic motor to use for the drill head and the mast. I have the mast already. It is chain driven and turned by a 1 inch shaft. I want to power the rig with my cat 236b skid steer aux hydraulics. My skid steer flows 22 gpm and has a max pressure of 3300 psi. I would like to use 2 bi-directional motors with control for each. The motors could be the same size if it makes the install easier. I dont need a rpm much more than 100 rpm. Obviously high torque low speed then. Not sure if I can power 2 motors independently from one source or not. Any help with plumbing this is greatly appreciated.

airbiscuit · Mar 17, 2017

I can't help you with that, but do you have pretty good knowledge about drilling well casing? Maybe you work on an oil rig, but things can happen - stuck casings, big rocks, broken bits, etc. Just hoping you don't have any surprises.

nddoublea77 · Mar 17, 2017

I understand there is a lot to consider. I still would like to try at least

PILOON · Mar 17, 2017

Maybe a bush hog type reduction gear box* could do the job coupled to the hydraulic drive.
I would believe compactness is not the primary requirement and using a reduction unit should open up lots of bargain possibilities

*many ratios to be had

You might even consider a HD post hole auger unit and adapt the drill shaft and hydraulic power. Craig's list might produce a suitable unit at decent $$'s.
They would be proper low RPM's and high torque needed.

nddoublea77 · Mar 17, 2017

Nice idea. Thank you

EddieWalker · Mar 17, 2017

I looked into this at one time and the amount of power you need increase dramatically the deeper you go. You can get away with 20 feet pretty easily, but 50 feet is going to be about impossible with anything home made. Whatever you spend on trying to build something will be a total waste of time and money. Keep researching, but don't spend any money on this. Eventually the numbers will add up and you'll realize why it's so expensive to hire it done.

Egon · Mar 17, 2017

My Father and Grandfather used to drill water wells with a "Baptist" type rig. It was slow compared to a rotary but very simple and cheap to make. They could probably go down to four hundred feet or so. It doesn't require large horse power or a water pump to circulate. It does need out side water to flush he cuttings but this water is recirculated and the bit has a ball and seat which do the pumping.

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CCWKen · Mar 17, 2017

You'll most likely want to use a rotary divider to split the hydraulics for each motor. These give equal volume to each circuit rather than using a priority divider. Otherwise, you may not be able to reverse/turn and lift at the same time. 22GPM (11GPM each) is plenty for running two high torque wheel motors. Make sure your "plumbing" supports the flow. I suggest wheel motors because they can be had in low speed, high torque and have large shafts that can support a side load, if necessary.

As a warning; You could be into the $2k range with just the three parts above, if bought new. That doesn't count control, plumbing or structure. You should be sure of your design and engineering before buying parts. Failure functionally or mechanically can be very expensive.

jenkinsph · Mar 17, 2017

CCWKen said:
You'll most likely want to use a rotary divider to split the hydraulics for each motor. These give equal volume to each circuit rather than using a priority divider. Otherwise, you may not be able to reverse/turn and lift at the same time. 22GPM (11GPM each) is plenty for running two high torque wheel motors. Make sure your "plumbing" supports the flow. I suggest wheel motors because they can be had in low speed, high torque and have large shafts that can support a side load, if necessary.

As a warning; You could be into the $2k range with just the three parts above, if bought new. That doesn't count control, plumbing or structure. You should be sure of your design and engineering before buying parts. Failure functionally or mechanically can be very expensive.

You can get dividers with different size flow rates on each side if that works better too. That might help after selecting the correct motors for the application.

This thread might be an exercise in futility though. Last I checked around here the price was about $30/ ft. so the $66/ft may have some room to negotiate with. Also depends on the locale and conditions, steel or pvc casing, rock to drill through.

speedbump · Mar 17, 2017

Egon has the right idea. The method he is talking about is called balling in some circles. The method I would recommend is the cable tool method. You could buy used tools reasonably priced. All the rig has to do is spool cable (5/8") or so to allow the bit to go up and down. A walking beam is needed to drill with. This is what gives the up/down movement that does the chewing up of the material your going through. Once the material gets into a gooey slurry, you drop a smaller line down with a thin wall 3" pipe with a poppett on the bottom to bail out the material. Then repeat. Driving casing as you go. PVC casing won't work with this method. The drilling tool is simply a long 3"+ bar of solid steel about 18' long with a bit on the bottom. These rigs can be mounted on trailers. Here is a you tube link: Lifewater Drilling Technology model LDT 36 Cable Tool Drill Rig - YouTube