I've always said the same thing. We operate trucks, and stuff they'll throw us in jail over, a farmer can do in a half ton pick up. Knew a guy that hauled around and 850 Case dozer on a single tire one ton and gooseneck, with farm tags...
American Shade Tree Engineering at it's very best! You've got some of the most entertaining content on youtube, Zach! I love how you keep mulling things over until you've answered all the "Why'd it do that?" questions.
I just want to point out that you're fantastic at presenting this stuff. I wish you did videos more often but I understand you're taking care of all of this stuff full-time+ and RU-vid is a lot of extra work. Either way, I appreciate you showing us a glimpse into your life, it's good content and interesting to watch.
I grew up in Kilgore, Tx and was used to seeing pump jacks everywhere. They're usually massive Lufkins. In the 80s I used to drive down the road to one of the old Busby leases to listen to the hit and miss engine pulling up that oil. I always loved the sound when those old motors would get under load. I think some of those old timers would run them off the drip gas coming from the well. My first time up toward Amarillo I saw all those tiny little pump jacks out in the field and I thought they were some kind of yard art like folks in Kilgore had around the house.
The difference between a professional and a new person is not that the pro never makes mistakes. The difference is that a professional knows how to fix their mistakes, and fix them correctly.
I would see pump jacks in my travels but never knew all of the details involved in setting up and running them. Thanks for all of your videos about oil field operations.
What a blast to join you on this trip to place the pump unit! Loved the forklift ride out to the lease. it's 10:00pm, I need to get to bed, but I can't stop watching your video. The camera positions are perfect. I like the way you analyze a problem and just go for it with common sense improvising remedies. Love the motor counterweight, that is the coolest idea! Good analysis of the weight load, you did a great job setting this unit. That oil looked like Swiss Miss hot cocoa...haha, Great job as always, Zach!!
Boy this brings back a Flood of Memories.In 75 /76/77 I was a ''SWAMPER'' (worm) on a Rig-Up Truck.Truck's. We set many a Pump=Jack. Thanks Zack of bringing them back.
This stuff is interesting as hell to me. While visiting my mother in Dallas seeing them pumping really drew my attention and made me wonder how they worked. I wish I could come out and work with you for a year. Neat stuff man I'm subscribed 👍👌
Just found your channel. I have a friend who came from West Texas and she used to work as a lab tech for water disposal from the oil fields. I work in a water treatment plant, and a lot of the stuff you do (basically moving liquids) is what we do, pumps, sheaves, electric motors, etc. I enjoy you well edited productions.
I used to work for a ranch using these style of jack for stock water I loved them they were very efficient pumpers and the diesel motors we used did not have to work very hard. I had one pump that I tuned down to pump 24/7 7 GPM 10000 gallons per day and it used less than 2 gallons of diesel per day. I could never get close to this with electric submersible.
Amazing how all this was worked out over 100 years ago except for the electric motor added later. Even the separator tanks that removes water, and gas without any power or moving parts. We think so many amazing technology was created in the late 20th century. If you really look at the details of what was done in the 19th century and early 20th century it's just as impressive.
"Let me show you how rod heavy this is" Pulls the jack right to the top of the well after turning it off......I am a new subscriber and i love it.....Lots of good work on all kinds of things......do with what ya got.
The power of a thumbnail! notice how many views this vid has compared to some of your others. That engine block propped up there is hilarious, good ole American ingenuity baby! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💪🏼
When I saw that old engine for counter balance I started laughing. You are a amazing guy to piece together those old wells, stripper wells, hope you get rich working so hard.
When a guy is man enough to admit he f-cked-up and still puts it on his channel. He gets a big THUMBS UP and a new subscriber LOL. You should put an old 4-71 Detroit on the beam for the counterweight minus the flywheel. That would be closer to the 1,000 lbs. you needed and maybe hang it under the beam so it doesn't twist the beam.
Nice channel, something new for me to take an interest in. I was thinking c.ould you hang a couple barrels of the side and maybe shovel dirt into them to add weight when you are rod heavy. Best thing would is you dont have to transport as much weight around, just tip them out and leave it behind
Glorious TX! Worked for some farming bros after graduating not too far from there. Plowed all day on a JD 4020 and my plowing compadre on an 8630. The boss told us to go to another field when we finished. It was cervesa:30 for my compadre and he couldn’t wait on the boss to come get us so he dropped the plow on the 4020 and we headed home about 8 mi. No fear of cops but I should have been real afeared of the boss. Almost met a premature end to my farmhand days. Ol’ compadre got returned to sender.
Dangest "procedure" I've ever seen Zack !! SAALUTE !! However, I can readily see you're the quintessential "risk taker" with exemplary "field mechanics TALENT" ...... BUT, I'd be carefull about taking those kinds of chances ...... especially with regard to "choppin fingers off" from a mis-hap. Looks to me like from the pics of your left hand on the steering wheel, you're already missing the tip of that index "fanger" and just as a reminder, you only have 9 more of those left !! lol GREAT vid Zack !! THNKS for posting ...... WE ALL enjoy heck out of them !!
weld extra wide flange beam or I beam or scrap to end to make it longer for more counter balance to offset the extra length on the front. Then if you really wanna be cheap make some sort of sack or crate or cement block to hang on the end.
Good job. You could sure use an extra hand every now and then. I’m from North Texas too and would like to meet you some day. Take care and keep the videos coming!
I just discovered your channel and I can see right now that you and I would turn the whole world upside down if we were to ever meet! Not sure where you're located at but I'm a 3rd generation oilfield baby from South Central Arkansas born and raised! We are alot alike yet totally different at the same time! Those little Americans sure are some good little units MOST times😂
I love getting things done with what you can find laying around. With that said, you only need a small amount of math and some basic engineering statics calculations for moments and you wouldn't have to guess about any of this.
I was sitting having a coffee at the local coffee shop and a pickup towing a lawn tractor drives by. Ya I get it. Normal to see weird things drive by. Seeing a oil well pump on a fork lift drive by, might get my attention though. LoL.
Since the draw pipe is bent at the top, shouldn't you move the sled further way from the well so that the pull is more vertical and hopefully will straighten it back? Or is it no big deal?
By no means am I trying to tell you how to do your job Mr. Zach. But they make a tool that you can weigh your rods, then you can calculate with a little bit of math how much counterweight you need 2 make the motor pretty much freewheel. This will save electricity and wear and tear on the motor and the bearings on the pumpjack. The only bearings that will have any weight on them will be on the fulcrum of the pumpjack. All the others will be pretty much floating. I never had the opportunity to set-up a pumpjack but I used to own a business that we serviced pump jacks in West TX and eastern New Mexico.
Yes, just think about it some and then make it work, better. Zach - watch out! A fellow that I know lost a thumb one time he was "hoping it don't let go". he found out it is harder to turn a wrench when you are a finger short of usual. Thank you.
Hard to imagine how that rig could have cracked that beam on the skid, but I guess if you have a machine running 24/7 for 25+ years, a tiny bit of flex you can't even see can eventually produce a crack like that with cold/hot/wet/dry (the one welded up @ 3:51)
Nice light brown crude oil. I bet that stuff is high in natural gasolines. Well done. That is the first time I've seen a SBC used as a counterweight. LOL.
Well there goes Zach driving down the road with his oil well pump, just another day in Texas.🤗 Someone has already said it, you need chrome valve covers on that small block, and is there anyway you can make the fan turn with the wind.😋 It took 75 years but I just bet knowing you that that power line runs right into a.....current bush.😁 With it being rod heavy doesn't that put a lot of load on your gear box?
Half the stroke the gear box is driving the load , on the other half of the stroke the load is driving the gear box, you can actually hear the electric motor loading up on the driven half of the stroke
If the problem was the cast clamp half splitting it would be easy to have some plate waterjetted or laser cut then mill any groove desired. Maybe your lasercutting bro could cut a batch. I get the 'git 'er dun part but slow systematic preparation can pay off. A bench stock of common spares saves trips to the store and time is money. BTW there's a better adjustable wrench for that job that ironworkers use ( "Crescent spud wrench" with a taper bar instead of a flat handle) that besides being longer and comfier to put a boot on fits cheater pipes with little or no wobble. Ironworker tools like sleaver bars and bull pins are so handy around the shop I keep them though I'm not an ironworker. There are many tricks from many trades and the reason I'm here is to learn some of yours! A tool/equipment skid for your truck bed (with fork pockets of course) could let ya have all the weaponry you want on-hand. Weldors fab some slick ones. I'm old, near crippled and lazy so I look to be efficient.
#1. AMAZING! Glad to see you remembered your mittens! What sort of production does this well produce, and what kind of oil is it considered to be? On this particular lease how many well pump to the storage area? Your right about the farmers the can get away with murder.
Haha this lease has 4 well and make a total of 2 bbls per day. I would estimate this well at about 3/4 or so of a bbl/ day. We produce light sweet crude.
You need to change direction of rotation on your gearbox. The motor turns the input shaft, the input turns the intermediate shaft which turn the bull gear on the crankshaft. The way they are made on the inside, the bull gear picks up the oil, carries it over the top and squirts it out between the gears onto the crank bearings. The way it is rotating now, the oil just squirts off the intermediate back into the crank case. Pull the cover and watch it run. Been there, done that, more than once.
Small box Chevy only weighs like $275 lb to 300 so you need a couple more hundred pounds I can tell by listening to your rig that it's actually pulling real hard so you get it balanced out to where you don't hear that buzz as it tries to pull up so it's nice and smooth both ways so put some more weight on the back a couple more hundred pounds
love your channel…i worked during college on a bunch of stripper wells in southern Illinois…curious what kind of pricing you get??. The Illinois guys I knew got WTI less $30 a barrel or so…much bigger discount than i would have imagined…much less than larger operators.
Is there a reason the front (well side) of the frame base doesn't extend closer to the well? If two "legs" extended forward just past the center line of the well.... It couldn't ever flip forward and bend the brass rod. I assume it's not done that way because it would block well access for some other maintenance procedure. Or the cost of the extra steel. I know very little about oil wells; just a little more about geometry and physics.
On a properly weighted unit it's simply not necessary, but on a lot of them they actually are like that. The problem is that if any substantial weight is put out on the cantilevered part it will put a high amount of stress on the skid under the sampson post. This coupled with the fact the stress is applied and released 12 or so times a minute will quickly metal fatigue and stress fracture the skid.
What happens with the oil when you pump it up? Into a big tank and then a truck comes along and pick it up once in a while? Or? Great video btw, we got nothing like this where I live!
It looks like you'd have better balance if you rotate the motor in the other direction. It will hang the crankshaft linkage further away from the beam's fulcrum when it's lifting the rod. (Near the end of the video- the pump that has the v8 on it.)
Maybe you could put a radiator in front of the fan on the engine to make it balance better, and if that doesn't work, maybe some fenders a front bumper and a grill. 😄
