Geothermal Drilling

Businesses and homeowners are increasingly honing in on the benefits geothermal energy systems offer beyond being a green, reliable energy source. Often, savings on monthly utility bills pay for financing a system. Many see a return on their investment in a geothermal retrofit. In recent years, the federal government — and even some states — implemented tax credits and incentives for the renewable energy option.

The developing demand for geothermal energy systems has generated growth in the geothermal drilling industry. Some drillers have been enticed to explore expanding into geothermal drilling. For existing geothermal drillers business is booming, while others weather fluctuations by diversifying their service lines with a single drilling rig.

Engineered to handle the speed of geothermal drilling - drilling multiple borings per day as compared to a single hole during a multiple-day process -  DRILLMAX^® drill rigs for sale exceed expectations in tough conditions. While geothermal drilling tends to prioritize overall rig size and weight, drilling speed, and cost per foot, options such as sandline winch or pipe spinner systems can be added to minimize equipment on the geothermal drilling job site.

Drill Rigs for Sale

• DM250: drill rigs for sale suited for residential geothermal drilling or small commercial jobs.
• DM450: drill rigs for sale designed for large residential geothermal drilling or commercial jobs.
• DM650: drill rigs with options to be outfitted as down the hole drill or mud drill for large residential or commercial geothermal drilling jobs.

DM250 Geothermal Drilling Game Changer

Developing demand for geothermal energy systems has generated growth in the drilling industry and a need for equipment sized to fit onto today’s urban geothermal drilling sites combined with the power to complete commercial job requirements. 

“Jobs don’t adapt to the equipment in the industry, the equipment has to adapt to the jobs,” said Kyler Erickson, drilling manager with Associated Drilling in Kansas. “We needed a rig sized to drill those residential geothermal systems.”

They found the DRILLMAX^® DM250 slips into tight geothermal drilling job sites while maintaining production pace of larger rigs. 

“We have the DM250 running five days a week from one geothermal job to the next,” Erickson said. “I thought it would be slower than bigger rigs, but we haven’t seen much change at all.”

Engineered to utilize 20-foot tooling without requiring a class A/B CDL, the DM250’s size helps expand available driller talent pool. Its smaller footprint also provides contractors a selling point, comforting clients concerns when describing something just bigger than a dually truck will complete work, leaving less mess and fewer ruts. 

“We’ve been getting more phone calls from different contractors and even the ones we’ve worked with for 20 years ask for the DM250,” Erickson said. 

The compact, comfortable chassis also equates to fuel efficiency and satisfied crews traveling site-to-site at highway speeds enjoying air conditioning and Bluetooth stereo.

“It gets into jobs much easier, is quicker to set up, and drills fast,” Erickson said. “The DM250 can definitely compete with the larger rigs in the geothermal and shallow water well market.”

Typically they would use their bigger rigs on commercial geothermal jobs due to the required hole depth, but he recently put the DM250 on a commercial site drilling 75 percent of the 96 holes to 400 feet.

“It did great,” Erickson said. “The speed of drilling 400-foot holes and tripping pipe meant it was taking maybe two hours per hole.”

Read how one company took their business to the next level and succeeded on one geothermal drilling job where COVID-19 restrictions limited them to just the two owners on site thanks to the features on the DM250, including:

• pressure consistency produced by the piston pump
• physical comfort created by the wide driller’s platform
• production capability provided by the rod loader 

Geothermal Drilling at ‘Geo-Pace’ with DM450

The speed and ability of the single rod loader to keep adding pipe make the DM450 well suited for geothermal drilling jobs.

“On average, the DM450 is 1.5 times faster than our other rig,” Skyler Wilson, Pan Terra Energy operations manager, said. “Just the top head movement on the other rig takes twice as much time as swinging the rod handler. Once you’re out of rod in the other rig carousel, adding pipe takes 10 times as long.”

The driller was impressed the DM450 kept up with the “geo-pace of drilling four to five holes a day.” He boasts the DM450 accomplished more than the combined footage of three other rigs on a geothermal drilling job in the Rockies.

Having a central U.S. service center nearby provides peace of mind. For Owner Mike Ryan, having engineers receptive to driller feedback for product improvement distinguishes DRILLMAX^® from other manufacturers.

“It’s not always the case that engineers have an open mind to suggestions from drillers,” he said. “DRILLMAX^® engineers seem to really be interested in feedback from the field. When it comes down to it, it’s about people. The DRILLMAX^® commitment to make things right is important.”

Read how they compare the features of their legacy and 2020 DM450, including:

• rollers on carriage
• sleekly laid out hydraulic lines
• power and precision from manual hydraulic controls
• rigid drill mast for straighter holes

DM650 Drill Rigs for Sale for Geothermal Well Drilling

Drillers seeking rotary drilling options - outfitted for air drilling or mud drilling - with power to pull and push in tough geologies choose the DRILLMAX^® DM650 for geothermal well drilling with 28.5-foot stroke, 40,000 lb pullback, and 8,000 ft-lb torque. 

“I don’t want to lose out on business, so the DM650 capabilities caught my eye and its similar operation to my current rig means I wouldn’t have a huge learning curve,” Robbie Barnard of J&J Water Well & Windmill Services in Texas said.

Possessing power to quickly reach depth, the DRILLMAX^® DM650 is engineered to handle up-to 24-inch holes. Top head and drill mast features contribute to its ability to quietly and smoothly drill deeper, bigger holes.

“It’s much faster, heavier, and has more pull down. I could do jobs a lot faster,” Mark Kelly of Emerald Coast in Alabama said.

Drawn to the DM650 for its attention to detail with a simple control center and clean routing of hydraulic hoses, other features catching drillers' eyes include:

• ample power, both on and off the road
• increased speed and efficiency running multiple functions without losing hydraulic power 
• speed and labor savings of the rod carousel

Don't see a feature you're looking for on your geothermal drilling rig?  

Give us a call.

Our team of engineers thrives on collaborating with drillers while they continually innovate new designs for our geothermal drilling rig line. Our goal is to help maximize your success by making your job faster, safer, and easier. Partner with us and we'll work to decrease your rig downtime while increasing your family time.

“The DRILLMAX^® geothermal drilling rig took a beating but got right through it. We doubled our production speed with the stroke and pump.The way she forces plastic clay out of the hole was pretty unbelievable. The 20-foot stroke and speed of the tophead means it goes faster for a longer distance, good for plunging clay out of the hole." - Joe Dalba, partner, Island Geo Drillers, New York