53 DECEMBER 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® by Tim Rasmussen If you would like to help, contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-939-1941. For more than a year, Water for Life (WFL) has been looking to find a newer rotary drilling rig. The one we have is nearly 50 years old, and although working, spends more and more time in the shop. Parts are hard to find and often must be made. We have a crew to keep busy and the need for more wells is growing. The only answer is a newer, better, used rig. Jon Hansen and Gary talked it over, talked with other drilling professionals, and decided on the type and size that would suit our needs best. It needed to be large enough to do the work, but small and light enough to cross the many old bridges in the rural areas we go. Occasionally, our trucks must cross streams where there are no bridges. In searching the used market, we talked to our friend Merle Hoover at East West Drilling in Pennsylvania. He had a used but younger drill which he believed could be modified for our purposes. There were many emails back and forth and Jon went to Pennsylvania to look at the proposed rig. It seemed satisfactory and we decided to purchase it. Simultaneously with searching for a rig, we were searching for money to buy it. Just about the time we had found a rig, we also had collected sufficient money to buy it. Merle had been looking for a suitable truck to go under the rig and found several prospects. It needed to be old enough so we could afford it and yet young enough to have a good life ahead of it. One key feature we wanted was a mechanical injection engine without the modern electronics. We have some older International trucks which have served us well and were looking especially for similar trucks. This feature is key to our use of the trucks in Guatemala. Months went by with little success. One by one, the truck prospects were eliminated. Sometimes it seemed like a particular truck could work, but for one reason or another each truck deal became unworkable. Finally, as summer was ending, and the rig in the east was almost finished, we thought of our friend, Wes Loomis of Loomis Truck and Tractor, in Lind, Washington. Wes and Gary talked it over and a few days later, Wes called Gary and said he had found one that suited our purposes. Happily, it did not need to be shortened or lengthened, and was mechanically what we were looking for. It had a refrigerated box on it, but he could take it off. It was affordable too. We struck a deal with him for this truck and have begun making arrangements to send it to Pennsylvania for mating with the nearly finished rig. Finally, all our efforts were coming together. Shipping it to Guatemala will likely present challenges, but one by one, they will be overcome. Meanwhile, the old Mayhew is going round and round making holes in the limestone of northeast Guatemala. As I write this in September, we have drilled 35 wells so far this year. Once again, the generosity of people who have been impressed by the Good Lord to help us, has made this possible. We thank you for your continued help as WFL continues to move forward making life easier and better for the poor people in remote villages of Guatemala. If you have a heart to help us, please contact us through this publication. Tim The refrigerated box could come off this truck and suit the needs of WFL. WTR Booth 510
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