WorldWide Drilling Resource

How Far Will Your Camera See? Part 1 by Ray Roerick International Sales Manager, Well-Vu, Inc. Of all the questions asked at trade shows and conventions, “How far will my camera see?” is by far the most common. The best answer is, it probably all depends on the water quality, an answer most do not want to hear. Very few properly constructed wells with good quality water ever need a video inspection to see why the pump is stuck, it’s pumping sand, or the pump is sucking air after all these years of working good. First, to know how far the camera will see, we need to know what “dirt” is in the water. We need to keep in mind that total dissolved solids (TDS), to include but definitely not limited to iron, manganese, tannins, to name a few of the different dirt par- ticles we find in water wells. Of course, we don’t know what we will be dealing with as we are driving up to a well site to do a video inspection, but we do need to know this is the reason for poor visibility from the camera. All underwater cameras are subject to these same viewing problems, because no camera can see through dirt. The next problem is, those same minerals in the well casing will cause the light to be absorbed or blocked from reflecting back to the camera lens to provide the needed picture. The good news is, there is a solu- tion - unfortunately, it’s not a fast fix, but it is simple. Flocculation is the process of collecting suspended solids into larg- er particles after treatment with a coag- ulating agent. Flocking the well will set- tle out the solids to allow a clear video inspection. What is the purpose of floc- culation? In this application, it is simply to facilitate clarity within the water col- umn. Coagulation / Flocculation brings the ultrafine particles together, increas- ing the density so they will settle to the bottom. How do you know if you should use a flocking agent? By taking a sample, and from the turbidly in the sample and how long it takes to settle, wi l l tel l you a lot. Or simply lowering your cam- era into the water table and seeing your video screen go dark or have very poor visibi l ity. You can go to the l ink https://youtu.be/kKa7qqjUOIw to see a short video of a very clean well with 235 parts per million of TDS that pro- vides a clear picture. Until recently, flocking agents could not be used in domestic water wel ls because of contamination reasons and not being approved by health depart- men t s o r t he Na t i ona l San i t a t i on Foundation (NSF). But now there is an NSF certified flocculent, which means the NSF mark assures consumers and regulators the products have been rigor- ously tested to comply with all standard requirements. More on flocculation next month. Ray Ray Roerick may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com New & Used Equipment Elevators SkyRex We Support Our Troops! Stock Sizes: 1” thru 24” for casing, column pipe, tubing, and drill pipe. *Load test certificates available * Available with or without a base UsedWorldwide • Drill Pipe • Drill Collars • Manual Tongs • Spiders • RC Swivels We have elevators of all sizes, types, and weights; can build to any special applications. • Stabilizers • Bits • Bowls • Centrifugal Pumps • Crossover Subs Alignment Clamps ENV 43 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® FEBRUARY 2019