well drilling site?

18 years ago

Not sure where to post this...irrigation seemed like it's somewhat close so I hope some of you can help me.

Years ago (10 - 15 yrs) I saw quite a few ads in magazines like Mother Earth News showing a water drilling device that seemed very simple...it used water to bore a well. If I remember right the ads indicated you could drill hundreds of feet deep until you found water. The device did not use a drill bit...simply hydraulic pressure/flow to create the well hole.

Does this ring a bell with anyone? I suspect it turned out to be bogus because I don't see those ads anymore...but if it's valid I'd like to investigate it more.

Any help? thank you!

Featured Answer

welldonewell

17 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Based on my recent experience, whatever you do, don't purchase one of the portable well drill rigs sold by hydra-jett (or hydra-fab as they are also known). In case, their manufacturing is shoddy, the rig I purchased was defective out of the box and they don't stand behind their product. As my experience suggests, their 'warranty' 'guarantee' and 'return policy' are meaningless. I recently purchased their 6.5 HP boremaster drill rig which turned out to be a worthless piece of junk. Moroever, hydra-jett has refused to offer any restitution or refund -- despite them proclaiming they warranty, guarantee and provide a refund within 10 days.

What's wrong with this rig? The short list would be that the machining was poor. The packing was deficient, and their guarantee, warranty and return policy are meaningless words. The frame and mast columns were out of alignment which prevented the drill head (motor) from exerting sufficient pressure to actually drill more than 2 feet!

Four holes that were to have been pre-drilled weren't drilled at all. One of the key welds which held the 'foot' of the rig together failed. The swivel seal leaked like a sieve and the screws holding the cheap chinese made winch to the mounting plate sheared off! The drill bit was machined so that it was about 5 degrees off, which combined with the shaft of the swivel also being off by about 5-8 degrees, causes the drill stem to deflect and wobble.

In my case, Hydra-jett refuses to stand behind their product and honor their 'warranty' and their 'guarantee'. If my experience is any guide, should you have problems with their products, they will refuse to credit you even after you've gone several extra miles to get their shoddy equipment to work, and despite multiple phone calls and documentation. Their rep, Mr. Tim King will deny any and all responsibility and assure you that nothing like this has ever happened. He will forget conversations you had with him and simply deny that your problems are real and suggest you are making things up.

Note that their web site

http://www.hydra-jett.com/index.html

says they will refund within 10 days 'less shipping' provided the equipment HASN'T BEEN USED! But how can you determine if it works if you don't use it?

Now I'm stuck with a useless bunch of junk, out not just my $2,400 purchase price and $250 shipping, but several lost days and expenses involved in trying to fix and repair the thing. It's going to take about another $1,000 - $1,500 of repairs to fix the out of square drill head frame and mast. Plus I'm going to have to buy another couple hundred dollars of decent drill bits because their's are off by about 5 degrees. This will cause even get the drill head to actually drill more than 2 feet.

If you are looking for a decent portable drill, expect to pay about $6,000 - $15,000 for something that you can count on to actually work. But based on my experience, don't expect it to be built by hydra-jett. Or, build you own with plans from drillfab. Others I would recommend for purchase are the LS 100/200/300 line from Lone Star Bit, and possibly the Portadrillmini from Midwest Machinery. Even so, be sure you get an unconditional guarantee that if it doesn't work they will refund your money.

And whatever you do, in my opinion, you should avoid Hydra-jett like the plague

Best of luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: very bad drill and poor customer service

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Comments (15)

mikie_gw
18 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Might look here, for shallow well anyhow. http://www.bradyproducts.com/faq.htm

I jetted down shallow wells,, piece of cake. But unless youre real fast with lots of available water, dont think you could go real deep without the dirt grabbing hold of the pipe sides.
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grigorec_gmail_com
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I totally agree with welldonewell, Hydra fab sell bunches of made in China pieces of scrap.
Bad thing I found all these after I paid big money for a BoreMaster Trailer Mounted Hydraulic Rig and a BoreMaster ZX-1000 Series. Yes I was that stupid. This piece of junk had nothing to do with engineering and nothing to do with common sense. If you hang the Trailer Mounted Hydraulic Rig on your car hitch you have a good chance to wreck your car for good (it pushes down on your hitch with about 700 lbs) this is away more that any SUV car can take on the rear wheels or suspension.
The next surprise I had from Hydra Fab also known as Hydra-jett is that I paid for two rigs as mentioned above and they send me only one, the trailer mounted one, with no drill pipes, no tricone drill bit (I paid for two) and the mud pump was gasoline instead of the Diesel I ordered, I have no manuals, certificate of origin or any sort of guidance. No sign of BoreMaster ZX-1000 Series what so ever. They didn't answer my E-mails or phone calls since. I am stuck with this incomplete equipment, not knowing anything about the service, hydraulic oil I need, any other oils that this piece of machinery needs. Don't believe what the say about their rigs, they look like normal human beings until you pay and they just ignore you right after. It is 3 weeks now and they are not willing to send me the missing equipment or refund my money. Think about this.
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rstock_4_hotmail_com
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
my experience with hydra fab is the complete opposite,
I purchased a zx1000 and up to this point i have completed 5 wells, I have had to do some maintainance but this is expected i had to purchase a rock bit as i was drilling into granite and shale.
the mud pump seals did fail, but this was due to the type of rock shavings that were being pumped out of the borehole,a hose or two had to be replaced from wear and the swivel had to be adjusted and greased periodically,I broke 2 drill stems because of drilling too fast into rock,
I was able to get the parts from hydra fab and got things working again.
for what i paid i am saving a bundle as wells in my area cost $11.00/foot for the hole reguardless if you hit water or not.
my deepest well so far 190 feet and the shallowest was 40 feet.all drilling through shale clay and soft granite.
well drilling is not like mowing your lawn,this is art more than science,the learing curve can be steep
Talk to local well drillers and you get a sense of why their equipment cost so much.
in my opinion hydra fab makes a very decent product
and used within its limitations it delivers as promised.
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k2marsh
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This link looks like the best way to drill a shallow well.
Looks like the drilling will cost very little with a small amount of work.
I conected my hose to copper tubing, and pushed it under my sidewalk. Very easy.
If your water pressure is week a pressure washer will increse your water pressure.

Karyl

Here is a link that might be useful: Drill Your Own Well using PVC Pipe
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brettlarkins_hotmail_com
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Russ,
I was wondering if you could tell me if you're still were happy with your boremaster well driller?
I am seriously considering buying the ZX-1000 myself and have found mixed results when searching the web for peoples experience with it.
Are you still happy with the well driller, and how many wells have you completed now?
Any tips or other advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Brett
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attakau_gmail_com
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Brett and Russ,

Just wondering whether you purchased the ZX-1000 from hydra fab? I also am looking for advice before I make my purchase of the trailer mounted rig manufactured by hydra fab. I'm guessing if I suggested to them the installment of brand name equipment for the mud pump etc it might make things perform a whole lot better. I'm from the South Pacific I am an engineer and chinese products and I do not mix especially when it comes to machinery. Hydra Fab actually brand there stuff to be made in the USA, its a shame to be putting down the old American quality made products reputation. I'm sure Snap-On won't be too happy about that. Anyway am planning to make the trip over next month to have a good look at the product. Will be pulling out any chinese made products and replaceing the gas engine with german diesel engines. Will sure as Hell operate the machinery at their factory before I make the purchase order extra seals and parts that wear out quickly as the rig will be making a long trip away to the South Pacific. Am guessing it will be ok drilling out here as most of the islands here are coral atolls so the main and pretty much only rock will be limestone. Have been drilling out here for seven years on an Australian made rig, however like to try this Hydra Fab rig out.

Thanks
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algreen
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Karl,

I have used the inforamtion on this sight to drill my own well. I was surprised how easy it actually worked. In Florida i was easily able to drill ten feet in about ten minutes. The only hard part is goign through hard pan, but after about 20 minutes you pass through it and end up hitting water bearing sand. I was really surprised how well this actually works. It almost illiminates having a professional comming out to drill.

Al
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eas197127_yahoo_com
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Just bought the bore master. Dissappointed in the product from the get go. Shaft seal failed in the pump 15 minutes after starting up new. Impeller was gone in less than 2 hours. Hydra fab sent me a clear water transfer pump instead of a trash/ mud pump. I called and talked to Tim. He acted like this was unusual, and something that just does not occurr. Said he was going to send me a couple more impellers and shaft seals, and to let him know if these fail. It's been 2 weeks and I still haven't seen the parts. Overall, the machine appears to be built by someone who has never drilled a well before. The drill stems are not built with edges on them to prevent them from falling back in the well as you are pulling out the stems. The drill plate isn't manufactured to safely hold the drill stems between change outs. The cheap electric winch down button has failed before the 1st well was finished. The clutch on the engine has never worked. It stays engaged all the time. You better have a 120 volt power source and battery charger, or your winch will pull down the battery.Just an overall piece of crap. Be patient and get the professional out there to put you a well down.
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wertach zone 7-B SC
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Deep rock has a good one, i bought one years ago and drilled about 20 wells. I sold it to a friend and he drilled a lot more.

http://www.deeprock.com/
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Peter2209
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Did a Hydrajett boremaster alert search and this is what I found.
Hydra Jett bormater hydrafab Tim king Alert.
After they cash your check, they do not answer calls. they have a big screen TV for called ID .boremaster tim king hydrafab hydra jett
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Hydra-Fab-Manufacturing/Phenix-City-Alabama-36869/Hydra-Fab-Manufacturing-Hydra-Jett-Lied-cheated-abused-Phenix-City-Alabama-1139737

ebay seller got burned, Hydra jett changes ebay user name to hide bad feedback.
http://www.ebay.com/gds/Hydra-Fab-BoreMaster-Drilling-Rigs-High-Quality-/10000000005232562/g.html

3# hydra jett buyers boremaster tim king hydrafab tells real story of hydra jett bormaster china junk.
http://www.yellowpages.com/phenix-city-al/mip/hydra-fab-manufacturing-823636

Hydra jett boremaster junk Swivel leaks on 1st test hole
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/water/msg0114182010617.html?13

Hydra jett rip off report boremaster tim king hydrafab
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Hydra-Fab-Manufacturing/Phenix-City-Alabama-36869/Hydra-Fab-Manufacturing-Hydra-Jett-Lied-cheated-abused-Phenix-City-Alabama-1139737

Hydra jett boremaster tim king hydrafab has 13 BBB reports in less than 1 year. With many more pending
http://www.bbb.org/columbus-georgia/business-reviews/water-well-drilling-equipment-and-supplies/hydra-fab-in-phenix-city-al-9001543/

Ebay buyers gets jipped by hydra jett bormeaster tim king
http://www.ebay.de/gds/Hydra-Fab-BoreMaster-Drilling-Rigs-High-Quality-/10000000005232562/g.html

Hydra jett rig breaks down , and No help.
http://www.complaint.tv/hydra_fab_manufacturing_inc_water_drill_scam-5844.html

Read all his replys, ITS NEVER HIS FAULT.
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bobbycan
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You have to give Boremaster hydracrap tim king credit, even though he has tons and ton of complaints, he still suckers people into buying his cheap rigs. He talks quality, but his prices are less than half of other rig manufactures.
Do the math.
I almost got suckered too, until I did a search on hydrafab.

Funny thing is, tim king keeps posting rebuttals all over web, and all this does is keep him on top of search engines and current, if he laid low, they go away in time. Thanks tim for the help, you saved me ..
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bonnie33
10 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the warning garden web, we almost bought a hydra boremaster from tim kinn. Glad I did my homework and a few simple searches.

I will have to admit, his prices are cheapest anywhere, like 1000s less. So cheap I almost lost my head.
I guess this is what lured me in.
Better stick with you get what you pay for.
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PRO
YG Engineering
last year
You can drill both shallow and deep wells by using the right machine. I found this site online, hope it helps.https://yugongengineering.com/drilling-rig-equipment/
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HU-271218948
11 months ago
DEEPROCK Mfg in Marquez texas 77865 google search them they are the real deal and they LOVE to be there when you drill your well to answer all questions you may have even on ythe weekends DeepRock DAVE answers his emails if he knows that you are needing advice yes they are a Drillers best friend at the sale and for ever when u need a question answered asap thats how it is to be old school way customer 1ST www.deeprock.com from HD-55 Pro Series to There BOBCAT RAM 10 to there Tractor RAM 10 Farm Series to there large trailer rigs they stand behind there equipment always do your homework on the companies google search Hydra fab customer issues or Boremaster customer issues or Tim King /Hydra jett customer issues
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well drilling site?

welldonewell

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mikie_gw

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