DM250 'Big Rig' in a Little Package

As owner of the 50-year-old family-owned Roy Simmons & Son Well Drilling, Steve Simmons focuses on keeping customers happy ­— some of whom they've had for the life of the company. Working around Lake Michigan, their compact, user-friendly 2005 DM250 helped them service many of their customers. Seeing the latest DM250 at the Las Vegas National Ground Water Association show convinced him to sell his older model and purchase a new one.

“I knew what it could do based on the 2005 model, but this new DM250 is light years better,” Simmons said. “Not that the old one was bad, but this one is just so much better. Just a lot more of what I had.”

From the smoothness of the head gliding up and down the derrick to the 4 X 3 centrifugal mud pump, he has the capabilities of a big rig, in a small package. So much so, he now calls the DM250 his “big rig".

“The dam broke, so the lake and water wells have been dry. New wells now have to be put on the lake side,” Simmons explained. “The DM250 gave me a leg up on the competition because I can get places they can’t go and go as deep as I need to go. 280-feet? No problem.”

A recent job had him maneuvering between big trees and within an inch of the house for a 280-foot well.

“I figured I’d be there a week, and it took a day,” Simmons said. “The rig really opened up more area, more spots where a big rig wouldn’t fit. But now I can get there.”

When comparing to his older model, the faster speed of the head, longer jacks, and addition of the helper side controls are just some of the reasons the new DM250 drills 90 percent of their wells. 

“The rig doesn’t use much fuel and per foot it’s cheaper to operate. Upfront cost is less, and maintenance is less because parts are cheaper and it’s easier to work on,” Simmons said. “Maintenance wise, it’s really simple. Essentially it’s maintenance free. I can use hand tools to fix what I have to fix. If a hydraulic hose breaks, you can use common stuff you find at an auto parts store.”

When he did run into an issue, he learned a simple phone call results in a rapid response by the service team.

“The response time to get back up and repaired was phenomenal. I was impressed with how fast they could get things turned around,” Simmons said.

HELPING THE COMPETITION
“Lots of driller were inquiring after seeing it,” Simmons said. “If I can make it possible for any company to do better, I want to help.”

So Simmons coordinated with Donnie Wood, DRILLMAX^® by Geoprobe^® general manager, to conduct a demonstration during one of their July jobs.

During the demonstration Berg Well Drilling, which purchased Simmons 2005 DM250, was represented by their general manager Stephen Fulton, two drillers, and a helper. 

“It’s a nice running rig. The boys were beating me up all the way home why we didn’t have another one already,” Fulton said. 

Serving summer folks with lake cottages their grandfather’s bought, it’s important to Fulton to have the small footprint.  

“In Northern Michigan we have woods, trees, hills, valleys, and marshes — you can’t get a big rig in those places,” Fulton said. “The new DM250 had a lot of good improvements — bigger compressor, helper’s controls, switch to a centrifugal pump. We have a piston pump, and for clay the piston pump works really well. But the centrifugal ran well.” 

As an owner of a DM400, Wayne King, president of King Water Wells, wanted to see a compact rig perform. 

“We’re looking at something more compact — easy to get in and out of jobs but has the meat and potatoes to do the job,” King said.

Impressed with the size and performance of the DM250, he appreciated how smoothly and quietly the rig performed.

“The demonstration let me know there is something out there,” King said. “DRILLMAX^® [by Geoprobe^®] has probably been at the forefront of small rigs that can maneuver in and out of areas we can’t get into with other equipment.”