Can't exactly remember where I left off as I came to you guys for help with changing my engine and converting an N14 to use an automatic so I'll just recap a bit. After finishing enough of the conversion to make money I only was able to have my rig out for a little over a week last year when a pinched nerve in my lower back took me out of commission. My last day working on my rig was 8/1/2022. Having spent nearly all my money on repowering my rig and just living without income, I was nearly busted from laying on the floor for 3 months. After a shot and a little on the job reconditioning driving a water truck for a friend I was back to making money in November of 2022. Getting a good wage driving a water truck but wasn't able to save any money to get insurance, my poor and lonely rig just sat there. I would start it up once a month to keep the engine alive. With my body being ready enough to get to work on a rig but still "broke", I took a job running a rig for one of my customers with great pay, two months in something major is wrong with their rigs engine, I offered to lease my rig. I rigged it up to check on everything and made a little video, watch me struggle. With getting extra money from the lease I will finally be able to finish the last 10% of the repower, like a cab window, dual mode transmission, grill guard...... little things.
The rig is amazing. Can you upload better pictures of the frame, winches, and pivots. I am working on a small water well rig and i am interested in the construction of yours. When you service an oil well , what is it that you do? How deep do you work with the rig? Thanks.
Knowing less than nothing about this, what is it a well service rig does? Like you were explaining it to a 5 year old should be about right. Joe H
Way to hang in there! Sorry for the pinched nerve, back pain can absolutely ruin a person. Glad to see you’re fighting your way back.
Just like pulling water wells, except heavier, deeper and dirtier. 5 year old version, and my 5 year old does not understand water wells any better than I understand oil wells.
Ah. So you pull the pipe and then what? Seal well, drill deeper, something else? How many feet of pipe? Joe H
Yeah plenty of operations. I've done almost every thing in our area. Common thing is just fixing the problem and running it back in. Fridays well was around 3400'. In the pictures the orange thing is the pump, and broken like that it was still pumping. The truck off the the left it the pipe tester.
Very interesting stuff, not things we get to see in this part of the country.
So that orange pipe just broke (almost) so no oil coming out? How much does 3400' of pipe weigh? Looks about 3" diameter? And the sucker rod is leaning against your rig on the right? You said "Friday's job" so one day to pull it and replace? And what is the guy with the pipe tester testing and how? Joe H
The pump was nearly broken but still was able to pump because where it was broken at, if it was closer to the top it would not been able to pump. Well went down in that picture because of a tubing leak. The rods hang in my Derrick, a guy runs a rod transfer and picks them out of my hook and hangs them. I'll have to get a video of it sometime. The picture with the broken pump is rods laid down on the rack where a guy has to run them out or in, your also limited to around 5,000' (more practically 4500') that way because it becomes a lot of work. That picture was taken when I was running what's called a pole rig, similar but not hanging or standing up. Here's a short video showing pulling rods, the paraphin that was coming out is more rare like that. 2" tubing weighs 4.5# a foot, probably around 15-20k If your decently good you can pull, test, and run back one in a day, we did in 14 hours on Friday. 3 hours to pull the well, 3 hours to test (should be closer to >2 they were going slow and coating me time) 3.5 hours to run back, rest was driving time. My crew is rather newer I think we can shave 1 hour off our time. They test by putting fittings on the top and bottom, filling the joint with water, then pressuring it to 6000 psi, every single joint individually at a time, there's like 105 joints in a well.
A few pictures from the past couple weeks
Hit a narrow crossing a little too close and it drew me right in. Driver front tire was off the ground while the passenger rear front was pushed hard against the deck. Pulled out with a dozer with no problem. We had a which truck but the driver didn't want to put out that much. Should have taken a video, missed you tube opportunity.
Two more pictures
Looks like it could have gotten a lot worse, real quick. Does that rig have full lock-up on the rears?
No just interaxle and it's not currently hooked up
Broke down today, the input shaft shot straight out of the right angle drive and was laying on the ground. I think the yoke nut on the input shaft fell off and the vibration shook everything apart. Going for a quick fix, new yoke on the shaft , tap the threads, and weld the nut. Let's see if it will work.
At least you didn't have to spend half a day figuring out what's wrong. Joe H
Yeah it's pretty simple when a $2000 part is laying on the ground. Looking at the pinion I believe the 6 half inch bolts worked their way loose and the input shaft was hanging at an angle until it couldn't hold it anymore. When it shot out at 4 gear (out of 5) at full throttle it hit the frame and broke the yoke of the input shaft. The fix is a new yoke and u joint, screwed down the nut down and weld the nut. I just need to finish the well, then I'll be spending around $5000-6000 for a new bull gear, pinion gear, input shaft, input shaft bearing housing and probably a new output sprocket. After this work is completed my rig will be in like new shape, I've almost taken care of everything.
Took the rig home and was running the company rig, 4 days later another injector went out. Drive my rig back up and did 4 jobs and my input went to vibrating in 4th gear during the end of the last job. Going to have to park it till I can fix it. I was short tubing tongs and I bought a incredibly good condition set for about half price from a friend, $4700. Tuesday night the company I was working for informed us they were shutting the rig down on Friday, took about 45 minutes to get another job for my hand and I, should be a better job with benefits. My hand left my light on in the truck, I noticed they were on when I woke up in the morning, they were on for 12 hours, here's a short.
How do you guys protect your winch cables and keep them from rusting"?
We don't lol. I pour used motor oil on the open chains and I pour some on the tubing line and sand line. The tubing lines is the big rear winch that gets used all the time. The sand line is the the big forward winch that has 6000-7000' of 5/8" line on it. It currently doesn't get used much so I put a lot of oil on it
Not much help from google. what's tubing line ? Sand line? What are they for/do ? Joe H
Here's a pic of the drums, and you can see the oil I splashed on the tubing line. This isn't my rig but it's the same. Tubing drum is for pulling the well and running it in. Has big lines (7/8") and blocks and can pull a lot (70,000#) here's a video running tubing. Sandline is for running a tool in the hole on a line, typically to pull fluid out of the hole or run a sand pump which is like a baler on a water well. I'll try to make a video about that sometime.
Thanks for the info. How long are those lengths ? Joe H
@cfherrman This thread brings back some memories of my time in the oil fields near Santa Maria, CA from 78 to 86. We moved drilling rigs, workover rigs and I hauled lots of drill collars & wash pipe to the production rigs along with a mud pump & mud pit that the rigs like yours used occasionally. I always enjoyed watching while they were coming out or going back in and a couple times I was allowed to stand on the floor (out of the way) and get a close up view.
Joints of tubing in that video are around 30' long Rods in the pictures are 25', but are in doubles so 50'
Put a window in my cab a little bit ago. Made some new pads to go under my weight indicator's
Haven't done much with the rig. I did buy new tubing tongs and put them on the rig in I think October. I'm running a rig for my friend and should be starting to film more pertinent well info and be posting it. Here's a fun video with my winch truck.
Well a lot of things has happened since March including getting fired/let go, out of work a month, making money again, getting fired/let go again, falling into a "great" job and now......drum roll...... I have insurance on my rig again! Rig has been sitting since November 2023. I signed on insurance, rigged it up in the yard, and took it on a job today.