Boreholes

[Maizefarmer]

Don't let things get "nasty" - things like this can fast escalate out of control with sometime very unpleasent results all round (let the missus do all the talking so things like culturale differences and language barrier don't come into play).

Good for you for standing up - most ex-pats I know would fold.

I would guess you have not had too much personal experience with the old guard oil field ex pats.

er ... nope - none at all.

[Boksida]

Hope to see you at the TV get together in CM next month

Slapout, I will be trying to make it to the party but have an overseas job on in the second half of May. If I'm back in time, I'll be there. Looking forward to swapping some lies.

[Beardog]

Hard to believe........ somehow he came up with a real overshot device & was able to fish out the destroyed bit. He stopped at 27 meters & claimed it is adequate & will guaranty the job for a year . The owners wife agrred- Even though I tried to stress the neighbor at 25 meters ran out & Derik's is strong at 30 meters. They did hit 2 rock shelves. Time will tell.

Tomorrow they will finish the job & get the pump in & run it for 24 hours to make sure. I think he could run it for weeks as the water table s high & is a poor way to gauge the success. Boy howdy they did a great job of desecrating that poor drill bit. Hopefully metal bits must be strewn around the property.

Thanks to all of the heavy hitters on this site to help with ideas & the post you linked to Boksida was quite educational.

I will post one more time when they have it hooked up again. Our Klong is done & the new fence is just about complete so Alisa & I can go shopping for some great fruit trees! Can't wait to complete the irrigation system & relax!

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barry

[Beardog]

It looks like the bore is adequate for now. Although it does not seem to be 1/2 as strong as Derick's 30 meter bore with a 1 hp Franklin , They have had it running nonstop for 14 hrs. They will run it for 24 hrs to be sure. I think this test would be better at the lowest point in the season. Time will tell....................

Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Barry.

[Boksida]

Beardog, does the contractor have a device to measure depth to water level while pumping ("tee what radup narm" might do it)? If not, you may be able to make a makeshift one with some electrical cable and a multimeter. Drop the cable with a small weight on, and the ends of the wires exposed, down beside the pump column. If you have the wires connected to your meter at the surface, you will see a resistance drop when they short in the water. If the water level is still dropping at a noticeable level while pumping, you may have a problem. You also need to measure the water level after the pump has stopped and the level recovered so that you can monitor seasonal changes.

You can also do this to other wells in the area for a comparison. The smaller the difference between pumping and static levels, the better the well.

Edited May 9, 2009 by Boksida

[slapout]

Another informative little tid bit from boksida for checking fluid levels, it really makes no difference if you drill the well in wet or dry season if you are drilling to/thru and producing from a real water aquifer (source), which will not be greatly influenced by local rainfall. A water level in the borehole will normally stand at a level (static) equal to the height of the source of the water supply (there are exceptions). That is one reason for drilling during the dry season, it (water level) can be seen or measured from surface. With a pump installed and running you can quickly determine if the water aquifer will produce the amount of fluid that is required and is within the pump capacity. The 24 hour test which seems common here. probably should be based on max. volume requirement vs time required by the purchaser. The irrigation wells I have had drilled for personal use, I paid only for drilling and setting pipe. I installed pump and we pumped max of pump (same size as casing) for 48 to 60 hours (dry season) to insure pipe , screens etc were adequate.

[sorensen]

Try not to do this.....

Blowout_GW_5989_Maturin_Venezuela.wmv

[jay-uk]

are boreholes viable and economic to use for rice farming when wanting to grow 2nd crop per year out of season. any info: would be appreciated. thanks.

[Maizefarmer]

Yes and No - but more than likely No

The 5 criteria that are going to have to be factored for are:

Crop Area

Borehole Diameter

Borehole depth

Flow Rate from Borehole

Depth of Borehole

Criteria 1 will detrmine the cost of Criteria's 2 -5 - cost in the sense that it will cost money to sink the borehole to whatever depth, to get whatever water flow will be required to service the crop area, and the depth and flow required will determine your ongoing energy costs.

I can't see a combination of any of the above that will allow you to lift the amount of water needed from any depth quite frankly, that is going to allow you to cultivate a rice crop and come out at the end of the season with a profit. As it is, most small scale rice farmers live in a never ending debt cycle cultivating rice relying on rainfall (i.e free water).

Some do indeed get a 2nd crop supplimenting natural irrigation/rainfall with klong/irrigation canal water (and many of the North Eastern provinces have canal structures for just this purpose). However, even in these cases, the profit potential is very much dependant on getting the pump size right (i.e. understanding pump size/fuel consumption for a given area and selecting the correct pump type), and the height the water has to be lifted from the canal (the greater the height the more fuel has to be used to lift a given volume of water).

But you are not talking about water from an irrigation canal - you are talking about water from a borehole and not having supplimental rainfall (correct?) - so, unless you are going to be able to lift water from the borehole at no greater depth than you would be able to lift it from a canal (if one existed, meaning: at no more energy cost), and the cost of digging the borehole could be spread out over a good few years, I'd say once labour/time is factored in, your profit is going to be negligable - not worth doing quite frankly.

I grow forage crops (maize and grass) some years, and during some parts of the year in some years, using only borehole water (lifted into a dam, and then pumped onto the crop through rain guns running at around 7bar - 8bar - huge energy cost!). That crop has a farmgate price some few hundred percent higher in value than rice for the same given area - but the only way I can justify the cost is by using the forage crop myself to feed diary cattle (i.e. the cost of production is offset by what it would cost me to buy in forage of the same quality in the dry season).

Note - have no experiance cultivating rice, but running the figures through my head what it costs me to grow forage crops using only borehole water, the amount of water needed and the value of the forage crop (even if I exclude the cost of running pumps to irrigate through sprinklers), then comparing thsoe figures with cultivating rice and the respective value of the crop, the water required ect ect .... I just can't see you been able to realise a profit, certainly not one that would justify the amount of time and effort you had to put in.