Deep Rock Hydra Drill

[mitchash]

I recently purchased a used Hydra Drill portable water well drill. I got a good deal on it so I won't be out much if it doesn't work. I do need a few things for it before I get started. I want to put a well in where are camp is. The first thing I need is a owners manual. I contacted the factory but haven't heard anything back yet. Has anyone have any experience with one of these? Anyone have a manual they could copy for me? Thanks

 

[Larry Caldwell]

It will work OK as long as the rock is soft shale and you don't have to go very deep. For drilling hard rock you need a professional well drilling rig.

 

[kc5dlo]

I have one that I purchased back in 1999. What all did you get with your purchase? I started out with 150' of drill stem, 2",4", and 6" bits. I bought a trash pump locally. I gathered a few pipe wrenches, A couple of large vise grips to hold the drill stem while adding or removing drill stem. I went down the whole 150' through mostly clay and shale with the occasional rock.

Do you know how far you expect to have to drill to get water and what you will be drilling through?

I am in Texas and there are few or none of the building codes and other codes and restrictions in a rural area. Water wells however have become very regulated and restricted however. Depending on what its like in your area, you might have to fly under the radar.

 

[mitchash]

I got the machine, 80' of drill stem, two 2"" drill bits ones is brand new carbide, the other is used and looks more like a reamer. I also got a 8" auger and a few pipe wrenches. The spot I want to drill is on a side hill and there are springs near by. I also dowsed the spot.

 

[mitchash]

Do you have the manual for the Hydra Drill?

 

[kc5dlo]

I dont think I still have a manual for it.

I I recall correctly, There was 2 different 2" bits in my kit. One had two straight flutes with carbide on it. The other was for clay or sand only and the flutes were curved and had no carbide on them.

The motor head I have is a 4 stroke Tecumseh. They also had a 2 stroke model that could be used to bore more or less horizontally.

There was a board with a hole in it that spanned across 2 of the uprights. It was used to keep the drill stem centered and was the vice grips were placed to hold the stem while adding or subtracting. It was a pretty important piece to keep from dropping the drill stem.

 

[mitchash]

I don't have the wood piece. Could that be made? I have the 2 stroke Tecumseh.

 

[kc5dlo]

Yes the board is easily made. In fact I had to make a second one as the first one broke. I would use a piece of a 2x6 with a notch on each end to slip between the 2 uprights on either side of the bore hole. Drill a hole just a little larger than the couplers on the drill stem. Oh, and use anti-seize on the threads of the couplers. The joints can and will get very tight after drilling.

 

[kc5dlo]

Well Drilling Hydra-Drill 29 Black Hawk Ranch - YouTube

I found this video that shows a couple of people starting on a well with on of the deep Rock units.

 

[kc5dlo]

Here is a link to deep rock. About half way down the page is some links to assembly instructions. You are looking for the #1 thru #4 pages for your unit.

Hydra-Drill - Deep Rock Manufacturing

 

[mitchash]

Thanks! This is a big help!

 

[mitchash]

Where is a good place to get more couplers and drill stem? I found out this weekend that there is a chance I could hit water at 20'. My parents house which is a little higher than our camp had a hand dug well when they moved there. Also there well is 140' but they hit water before that.

 

[mitchash]

My machine looks just like the one in the video. How do you get down pressure on the drill? I couldn't really tell in the video. My winch lifts the engine and drill stem but I don't see how it works to put down pressure on it?

 

[Egon]

Down pressure may just be the weight of the drill stem. Note the motor size and how much rotation force it may be able to supply. In softer ground it may be possible to stick the bit if it goes down too fast. On hard rock the bits may not stand up to excessive down pressure.

Please note that I've never been around this type of drill but have seen this type.
[video]http://www.rock-drill-bit.com/images/778lilancrop.jpg[/video]

 

[kc5dlo]

Egon is correct. These units don't have the power to utilize down pressure. The weight of the drill stem adds up though. I found myself with the hand on the winch handle most of the time. If a rock gets involved, you have to let it chip away at. Otherwise everything starts taking a beating.

One benefit of this much slower drilling process is it is easy to keep up with shoveling out the cuttings. I was watching a crew with a crappy but real drill rig and the one guy shoveling was getting a workout. He had to help with the stem changes so he did not get to rest then either.

I am dot trying to discourage you at all. There is a certain amount of pride that fuels me when you can get something free. One of the reasons I enjoy sailing.

 

[Egon]

One could use a screen system to eliminate the shovelling. It may also help to use a piece of say six feet by eight inch casing to start the well in. This could even be increase to about twenty feet to give protection from surface water. The out flow in the mud pit (rat hole ) will seep down and the clays will sorta seal it off. This pipe also works well to hold the pipe vise when adding/subtracting drill stem. Vise is a whole lot better than a pipe wrench that gets knocked off and gives some fishing time off.

 

[PILOON]

Bunch of years back 3 of us chipped in and purchased a Deep Rock setup.
As far as we were concerned it was a POS powered by a lawn mower engine.

Other than supplying the engine they had a cuppler to inject water
Bits were nothing but exhaust pipe with a hand full of carbide chips brazed onto the end as well as some slits for cutting sand I guess.
Instructions were to braze more carbon chips when worn off (which was like 5 mins and maybe 1 inch of drilling.)
Any loose gravel in the bore hole really did a number on the bit as they simply tumbled and mashed the bit to death.

Probably a great rig in sand and maybe clay but not in any kind of rocky soil.
At that time phone support was vague and evasive usually suggesting another add on option that they offered.

All in all we achieved about maybe 5" of drilling and retired that rig. Later on one of the guys used the engine to repower his lawnmower.

In those days they advertised in the back pages of Popular Mechanics and Mechanics Illustrated.
Really surprised that they are still around.

When phoned for advice they claimed that in granite such as we had it was a great performer just a but slower and would make a nice clean bore hole.
My 2 cents!

 

[mitchash]

I still think it will be worth a try where I want to put a well. I don't have much invested in the well drill rig.

 

[Valveman]

I still think it will be worth a try where I want to put a well. I don't have much invested in the well drill rig.

I think everyone should try to drill a well if they want. No matter if it works or not, it will give you a new respect for well drillers.

 

[mitchash]

I already do have respect for well drillers! My uncle owns a well drilling business and my cousins work for him. Unfortunately they live a ways away from us.