The next day with the clutch repaired-ish and the pump seals replaced we started back into it. We drilled for a while making little progress. The pump kept acting up so we talked about needing a larger pump. They made a few calls to see if they could find one, but no dice. We would have to make due with the one we have. We took out the spark plug to see if that would give us a hint as to what was going on inside the poor pump. And the end of the plug was squished against its self, a very bad sign. Tyson and I looked at at each other thinking the same thing. The engine was toast. But Roberto, in true Guatemalan form, just went to the store and got a shorter plug. We were sure this would not solve anything but guessed there was only one way to find out. With the new, shorter plug in, she started up and ran great. We started up the drill engine and began trying to make it further down. It was really slow going because we were now into a gravel bed deep below that was much harder to dig up and also harder to get to the surface. But it was a good sign for getting good clean water out of the well. The gravel bed is where the aquifer is. So we were deep enough but we wanted to get down into it a little ways. The pump suddenly started to sputter and died. We pulled the plug and could see that the new shorter plug has been smashed down just like the old one. We regapped it and inserted it back into the pump along with a couple prayers for good measure. It worked and we continued drill until the clutch couldn’t take any more and the pump was smoking enough to convince even the Guatemalans that it was fried. Then we decided that that was enough. We were at exactly 96 feet when we stopped. We then started the process of removing all the lengths of pipe and the rig. We got it all down except the frame which we would use to help lower the casing into the hole. Enough work for a Saturday.
Sunday we got started at 8 and hour later than we had been starting. We started by carrying over the 6″ pipes we would be using for the casing to protect the pump and to keep the sides of the hole from caving in. They are 20′ long PVC pipe that are extra thick. Tyson and I tried carrying two at a time together but realized that it was a poor choice. Luckily there were only five of them. Once they are all where we needed them we cut slots with a saw blade in the pipes to let the water in but not the gravel that will later go around the outside. Once that was done and all the pipes were cleaned we started standing them up and sliding them down into the hole one by one. The first two slid in, no problem. But the third one only went about 4 feet and stopped. Not good since we were not even half way. My first thought is that the mud we where unable to pump out of the hole had settled and was to thick to push through. We tried winching down but there was nothing but our body weight to hold down the rig so that only helped so much. We tried winching the pipe up and dropping it, also no good. The winch slowed it down too much on the way down. All I could think is now what, drill another hole? But this wasn’t Roberto’s first rodeo and he wouldn’t give up. One of the locals monkeyed up on top of the rig and started hanging on the pipe and I tied a rope around the middle of the pipe with a loop in it so I could jump on it. We did this and it seemed that we where only making and inch or two of progress at a time but then it started to slide a little better and a little better and sure enough, it started moving right along with all our weight on it. The guy on top just rode the pipe down and I kept moving my rope up as the pipe came down. There must have been a bend in the hole that the pipe couldn’t quite make because it was moving along fine now. Sure enough we got the pipe all the way in and the one after that as well. And then just like that it was done. What would have taken a day in the states with a well drilling truck, only takes five days in Guatemala with a homemade rig. All that remained was to add some gravel around the pipe and to slide the pump in the middle. We declined the invite to come back on Monday to add the gravel in favor of some time off and some time with our teams. But what a great week.
