The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

Kings of the Mountain

April 1, 2005
Dewey Wright's company drills the North Carolina peaks.

The mountains of northwest North Carolina and northeast Tennessee are beautiful, but they can be tough on water well drillers. Narrow, winding roads, steep drop-offs and deep wells all present formidable challenges.

In 1996, Dewey Wright Well and Pump Co. of Boone, N.C., finally had enough of the trouble its drill rig was experiencing. “It required a whole lot more maintenance than we liked. We were trying to get away from the maintenance problems we were having,” explains owner Dewey Wright Jr., who has taken over the day-to-day operation from the company's founder and his father, Dewey Sr.

Jerry Sherman of Rotary Drilling Equipment, Olyphant, Pa., was instrumental in bringing a new era to Wright. Sherman introduced Wright to the Driltech T25KW drilling rig. “We liked the way it operated and the way it broke out of the hole,” Wright tells us. The company now runs five of the rigs.

Maintenance Concerns

The maintenance issue is important for any equipment operator; with a family-owned business such as Dewey Wright Well and Pump, it can make the difference between a successful year and one that's much less so. “If you've got a lot of projects to do, you sure don't want to be working on the rig because it costs you a lot of time and you're spending money on parts. We haven't needed many repairs even to the original rig we bought in 1996,” Wright says.

Wright's project types break down thus: 95 percent residential water wells and 5 percent small commercial or municipal wells. The company also drills monitoring wells around underground gasoline storage tanks and has done a fair amount of drilling for the installation of residential geothermal heating and cooling earth loops. When a water well driller is parking his rig in someone's backyard, particularly in the mountainous terrain in which Wright operates, it's vital that the drilling rig be well-engineered and operator-friendly.

“That was the problem with the other units we were using. They started making them with such big derricks on them, and they became too top-heavy in this mountainous region. We needed something not quite so top-heavy,” Wright explains.

A good water well drilling crew can finish most residential jobs in a day, going down 500 feet to 600 feet. But when the drillers encounter thick clay, gravel and even boulders over solid bedrock, they need equipment that's equal to the challenge. The deepest hole drilled with a Driltech rig has been 1,200 feet. “That's pretty deep,” Wright says in his laid-back North Carolina accent.

Rig Features

The T25KW is manufactured by Sandvik Mining and Construction's Driltech product group in Alachua, Fla. It is a truck-mounted, top-drive water well drill. Pullback is up to 30,000 pounds with a typical application of 6-inch holes to a depth of 600 feet. The rig features a carousel loader and up to 640 feet of drill pipe. The drill table has a 20-inch opening for large casing. The T25KW is designed for the contractor working in areas with hard rock formations such as granite that requires maximum productivity. An optional mud pump adds capability to mud rotary drill.

All these features have been vital to keeping Dewey Well and Pump Co. up and running in the Appalachian Mountains, where tough work sites are the norm. In fact, there is one area of North Carolina, called North Cove, where other drilling companies don't even like to go. To be accurate, they may go once or twice, and then beg off from further jobs after having to deal with everything from caves to quicksand. Wright is happy to step in and help his customers get their water wells drilled.

Dewey Wright Sr. got into the water well business in 1961, after learning the industry by working for a local company that made well-drilling tools. He founded Dewey Wright Well and Pump and was its driving force for many years, until he let his sons, Dewey Jr. and John, help take over. Now the elder Wright comes in to the office three to four hours a day, down from the 15 hours a day he typically used to work. Even the two brothers don't spend much time on work sites anymore, leaving that part of the business to the company's 35 employees. Drilling season normally lasts nine to 10 months. The rest of the time, employees retool and rest while watching the snow fall in the mountains.
ND

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Geotechnical Investigation
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Oil & Gas Drilling
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Markets
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit

Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • Mountain Hydrofracture Joins the Party - Part 1

    See More
  • Mountain Hydrofracture Joins the Party - Part 2

    See More
  • Hydrofracturing in the Mountain State Adds More Possibilities

    See More
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP