Hand Powered Percussion Water Well Drilling

yep okay up dong-won for thousands of years craftsman around the world have been drilling wells in the elusive search for water their ingenuity and persistence has left behind a treasure of technical achievement while today much of this legacy appears in the form of high-powered drilling machinery there remains a substantial body of knowledge on how to drill wells using simply built to use and human strength wellspring Africa is a us-based charitable organization that is committed to researching and promoting these practical forms of world dwelling in the rural third world this program will highlight hand-powered percussion drilling this method of well drilling which has proved effective both historically and in our experience billing in West Africa remains the most capable and least expensive way to drill a well by hand since 1100 BC when the Chinese invented hardened steel that could conquer Rock humans have been drilling deep wells through every type of soil imaginable these wells provided water gas or oil to their communities many of these wells were hundreds of feet deep rich in aquifers and oil fields that otherwise would have gone on top before the advent of the combustion engine the most popular method of well drilling had been the percussion technique first utilized in China and later adopted by the Europeans after Marco Polo's travels to the Far East the percussion method of drilling is still widely used today while many of the present percussion drill rigs involved heavy tools that weigh over a ton and huge diesel engines excellent results can be found using simpler and power designs let's take a closer look at the basic percussion drilling technique the percussion drills main parts are a bit Anabella the bit is especially shaped heavy piece of steel with sharpened teeth we chew up the F the baler is a hollow tube with a valve at a bottom it is used to clean out the well hole the percussion method derives its name from the pounding action of its tools the bit is lowered to the bottom of the where hole on a rope there it is repeatedly raised and dropped inside a well hole to slowly chew away at the F while the bit chops up the soil water is poured into the hole the churning of the bit mixes the cuttings and the water into a thick mud after enough mud is created in the hole the bit is removed and the baler is lowered into the hole the baler has a flap valve at the bottom that acts as a trap when the baler reaches the bottom of the hole it fills with mud and traps the drill cuttings inside the full Bela is then raised to the surface and emptied this leaves a well whole clear and ready for the drilling process to continue the power for the lifting and lowering of the drill tools can come from various sources the simplest and most common power source is human strength using leverage and muzzle power well spring africa's trainees in liberia were able to drill 20 feet a day through the west african laterite where materials are available a driller may enjoy more mechanical methods to lift and drop the drill tools the american spring pole which uses the flex of a small tree to bounce the tools is very efficient and easily built the rotary drum method uses a trucks spinning tire rim as a power source of course there's always the option of mounting a special engine and derrick on a truck well spring Africa has concentrated on developing simpler technologies for our percussion drills as a rule we try to utilize scrap materials and locally available items to make up our drills we have several designs which we have built for less than 400 US dollars in African countries these are drill kits which can be used repeatedly providing the opportunity for local entrepreneurs to develop a trade the bit and Bella are made from common pieces of scrap steel the bit has hardened edges made from the leaf spring of a discarded automobile the baler can be fashioned from any length of scrap pipe while the most complex part the bayless valve is as simple as a door hinge a craftsman with an acetylene torch or an AK welder can build the bit and Bella in a few hours other common parts like pulleys ropes and the tripod can either be purchased off the shelf or made with local materials one design by Wellspring Africa uses a motorcycle wheel as both a pulley and a fastener for the tripod the drillers of yesteryear proved the hand powered percussion drill in the early 1800s drill s in France and the United States who have finishing Wells at over 1,000 feet deep in the early 1900s Chinese drill has completed the brine well over 4,000 feet deep all drilled by hand all drilled with simple technologies and local materials today's hand pad percussion drill Ahava enjoy several added benefits new and abundant materials like hardened steel nylon ropes and efficient bearings coupled with reliable welding technologies as you see before you make building a hand powered percussion drill easier and less expensive in addition the past centuries experienced in world drilling has shed more light on the geological and hydrological forces which affect groundwater this gives today's drilling professional the edge in determining and developing new water sources well spring Africa is on the forefront of reviving and retooling the hand power percussion drill we have developed instructional materials and field man was for what our technicians as well as communication tools for village level education well spring Africa is constantly experimenting with hand powered drill designs both old and new to improve the technology and the techniques but always with the intent that the tools can be inexpensively and locally made while hand powered percussion drilling is not the answer for every situation it provides what our development professionals with one more option to address the need for potable water sources in the rural areas of the third world which might otherwise remain answer for years hand powered percussion drills give governments and development agencies the ability to encourage self-help projects to meet community needs in an era where funds for rural water supply are becoming scarce were pressures foreign currency to import well drilling equipment is hard to come by we're development agencies are hard-pressed to meet the needs of their urban populations here is an opportunity to help rural communities help themselves and provide clean healthy water for why

Channel: Wellspring Africa

Views: 38,557

Rating: 4.818182 out of 5

Keywords: iMovie

Id: mbK_wJaf-Vw

Length: 11min 37sec (697 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 06 2016