Geothermal Heat Pump Well Drilling
Thom
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
The post on drilling wells ( http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages/?msg=66431.1 ) got me thinking.
A couple people mentioned drilling their own wells, which brought up a subject I’ve been kicking around – the idea of drilling my own wells for a geothermal heat pump.
As I’ve been quoted about $10K to $15K for two to three wells for geothermal, I’m wondering if it is feasible to buy a drill rig of some sort, drill my own wells, and then use the equipment as a side job to do geothermal for other people.
Any thoughts?
Replies
First:
The marketing people have totally corrupted accurate technical terminology.
Unless you live in Klamath Falls OR, Sarasota NY, or Rotarua NZ or equivalent, you aint gonna be drilling any geothermal wells, maybe a water source for a ground source heat pump OK (GSHP), but please, I's so danged sick of "geothermal heat pump" nomenclature I could barf.
If you want to ask about GSHP (or live in Klamath Falls, etc), I can answer a few querries and try to give advise.
Second: See this is your first post welcome. Filling in your geographic location on the profile would help others in answering your queries that are energy or cost related.
Thank you. You are correct, I should use "ground source" over "geothermal" but have heard "geothermal" so often that I ended up using that terminology. I was actually a member before, but had not been on for awhile. When I tried to log on again, I got the message of needing to create a new profile if I had not been on since August 2005. I have looked around for adding personal information, but the profile only allows me to set up my user name, password, and a few other things. Am I missing something?
Double click on your own name, then click on "change profile" and you can add in information.
As to drilling your own, very feasible if you treat it like recreation, have the time, and are adept at machinery and welding, etc.
Built my own cable tool rig from old datsun truck, 72 Impala, and other misc parts. Took problably 2 months of 4-8 hrs per weekend to drill thru boulders to 60 ft. Big learning experience, would not be cheap unless you have a few old vehicles sitting around plus other machinery and steel.
Apart from Junkhound's clarification, when I bought my rig I was advised to do just that, ground source well-drilling. Turns out one doesn't in Va. Not allowed by the health dept (controls all drilling), too much aquifer contamination risk.
The economics can work. I paid $3k for my used rig, made in Alabama. Trailer mounted and considered a joke by the commercial drillers here. The guy I bought it from had spent around $40k on it and almost lost his house. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Worked fine for the one well I've drilled. It's still here 'cause I want 2 more wells before I send it to a new home. And, no, I ain't gonna sell it for a measly $3k. Considerably better condition than when I bought it.
Depending on your geology, drilling is very simple or very expensive. Assuming a rotary rig, is a hammer necessary in your locale? That'll determine a lot of your answer. This rig was meant for hammerless drilling, converted to an air hammer, which is required here.
Probably in your location that's exactly what I'd be doing with my rig.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Junkhound: Thanks for the info on updating my profile. I was hitting the "update profile" button at the top of the page which only had login info.I would be doing it from a "recreational" standpoint. Not the sort of thing that I would want to do as a full time business. Perhaps help out a few friends if I have good luck with my own project, word of mouth at the very most. My "workshop" contains MIG, TIG, and a plasma cutter, so I have a certain DIY mentality about fabricating things... :)VaTom: I've looked into some of the stuff here in PA. Looks surprisingly simple to get a license to drill wells. I'm going to contact the "powers to be" to see if what I've read so far is the whole story or if there is more to it than what they are putting in their publications.
Get that welder going on your scrap steel pile!
Couple of DIY well drilling pix in the reference thread, it was fun, ... really. Especially the day the flushwell pix was taken, had dumped 5 gal of bleach in a 500 gal holding tank and pumped down the well at between 400 and 700 GPM (3" pump driven by car engine) , brought up about 5 yards of fine sand. Great well today, the 400K Mcmansions paved over 7 acres next door (62 houses on 7 acres and they sold for $400K each!!!yik) but stillhave plenty good water - our duck pond usually is full by Christmas, less than 1/4 full right now, that development really revised the local water table.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=20269.1
Looks surprisingly simple to get a license to drill wells.
Virginia too. Required drilling log and inspections are pretty much a joke. What they really want to know is location.
The reason I bugged them about licensing was that I didn't figure it was reasonable to require one if I could do everything else on my house. Seems nobody had ever asked before. "You're buying a drilling rig to drill your own well?" Yup. Naturally they were thinking about the $500k ones.
Pretty sure I could find a commercial cable rig for $1-2k. Or free, if it needed work. That's what I started out looking for, ended up with a rotary.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
how about a picture. 2+3=7
Here you go. Has 2 small engines: 1 for a water pump (for soft drilling) and 1 for the hydraulics that makes the drill work. For a hammer you need a large compressor (background). Going through 23' of quartz did a number on the drill bit. $400, last I checked.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Edited 12/4/2005 11:37 pm ET by VaTom
You were a younger Tom when you took that pic.
Good ol boys here, need a license to drill your own well & you ain't gonna get a license if you're not a good ol boy.
Lot of old drill rigs sitting..........just sitting rusting, but not for sale. Gonna do something with that some day.......
Expensive here too, they're all busy and expensive.
Joe H
Younger? Well, the beard's a different color now.
The best part was hitting water. Friday night just before sundown, here on Israel Mountain.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
You showed yours so I'll show mine. Not too many years ago. Bit is the big hanging hunk of steel, bit is behind the pipe. About 500 gpm coming out the 8 inch casing. Note extensive use of old redneck car parts, tower bolted to the back of the JD 440, filled bucket with dirt first for weight.
Got comments from some neighbors about the counterweight on the pitman arm - you can see an anvil bolte up there if you look close!.
View Image
Wow. Lawn chair even. My rig kept me busy enough I didn't have time to sit down. Pretty exciting when you get that first shower, eh?
As one old driller pointed out. Pretty much anything'll make a hole in the ground. It's getting all that steel back out that's interesting.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!