WorldWide Drilling Resource

66 MARCH 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® per foot per circular mil. A circular mil is 1/1000 of an inch diameter. We have to double the 10.7 ohms/foot/CM figure to 21.4 because voltage is lost both to and from the load because the same current is flowing to and from the load. The reason high-voltage lines are used to distribute electric power is be- cause when one doubles the voltage, the amperage is cut in half per given energy unit (watt). The amperage and resistance of the conductor is what lim- its the amount of energy we can get through the conductor with acceptable energy losses. There’s nothing wrong with energy losses as long as they are accounted for. While we don’t want any energy losses, it is what we have to spend to get what we want given the physical limitations of the materials we have. Often, battery-powered drills adver- tise higher voltages, and it is implied high- er voltages are better. The fact is, the voltage doesn’t make much difference in the performance of a battery-powered drill because the battery (power source) is just a few inches from the drill motor. One could use a 1-volt battery to do the job, A 5-hp 480-volt three-phase pump motor requires 8.0 amps. The 5-hp 480-volt three-phase motor requires #10 AWG (American wire gauge) wire for a 1.5% voltage loss. The 5-hp 230-volt single- phase motor requires #4 AWG wire for a 2.1% voltage loss. Up to 3% voltage loss is acceptable for this application. Call around for prices, and you will find the cost difference between #4 and #10 wire is significant. Plus, three-phase motors are usually a little cheaper; and one does not need a control box with the capacitors (which can fail) and switchover circuitry. Both use three “hot” wires and a ground, so they are nearly identical in that regard. As with most everything, knowledge is power. In this case, you won’t save much in the way of power, but with the right knowledge you can save consid- erable sums in material. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Storkson cont’d from page 63. but the current draw would be 24 times that of a 24-volt battery at a given wattage. The wires from the battery to the motor could be a little smaller, but it would not impact the cost much since the wires are so short to begin with. Conversely, submersible pump motors are usually built for the highest voltages available because of the typi- cally long wire runs from the surface to the pump motor. The higher voltage al- lows smaller (and cheaper) wire to deliver adequate voltage to the motor. In this case, the higher the voltage the better because it reduces equipment cost. I’ve used 480-volt single phase to power a pump. You don’t see it very often, but it can be done if the power company feels like doing it and it does- n’t cost the power company any more. The power company either orders a trans- former with a 480-volt secondary output or gets a transformer with 480-volt sec- ondary taps. I run the 480-volt single- phase voltage into a 480-volt variable frequency drive (VFD) and get 480-volt three-phase power out of the VFD. The combination of the higher voltage allows significantly smaller (and cheaper) wire to be used in the installation. Going from 240 to 480 volts will reduce the size of the wire (and the amperage) by ½. Going from single-phase to three-phase power would reduce the size of the wire (and amperage) by 1.73...almost an- other ½. For comparison, we will use a 5- horsepower (hp) pump requiring 400 feet of well cable. A 5-hp 240-volt single- phase pump motor requires 23 amps. Mexico to Invest $153 Million in Irrigation Adapted from an Article by Rebecca Conan at bnamericas.com According to a release from Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA), the country’s government is con- sidering investing $153 million in irrigation works in 2014. Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), will work with SAGARPA to increase agricultural productivity and decrease waste of water in irrigation. On January 6th, President Enrique Peña Nieto vowed to improve irrigation across the country during commemoration of the 99th anniversary of Mexico's first agricultural law. The constructio n of water s torage dams, irrigation and drainage infrastruc- ture, well drilling, an d wat er distribution systems are all included in the plan. Projects will be implemented in at least 13 states, including Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tabasco, Veracruz, and Yucatán. Read the rest online! If you aren’t receiving our E-News Flash e a you missed this great article. Sign u p today by calling 850-547-0102, or e-ma iling: e-news@worldwidedr illingresource.com!