Small Drilling Machine for Urban Residential Geothermal

Guardino Well Drilling goes back to 1929 with fourth-generation brothers Augie and Dominic Guardino leading the way as Augie’s fifth-generation son comes up the ranks. They focus primarily on domestic 4.5- to 5-inch water wells along the central coast of California along with some light irrigation wells up to 12-inch. Sprinkled in are ground source heat pump holes all over California.

“We’re drilling from 150 to 1500 feet. Seventy percent is residential water wells within 60 miles of our office, going to about 300 feet,” Augie, owner, said. “Twenty-five percent is residential ground source heat pumps on small sites averaging 50-feet wide by 100-feet long with several holes on those lots.”

Solving Small Residential Geothermal Site Struggles

For 50 years they’d used bigger top head rigs, but during the past 20 years they have played around with small drilling machines.

“We did our own refurb of a Deep Rock rig, so we knew small rigs could work with our market,” Augie said. “So we experimented before purchasing new.”

Guardino has a more than 30-year relationship with Donnie Wood, Geoprobe^® water well product line manager, so they had an understanding of the longevity of the DM rigs compared to other small drilling machines on the market. Dominic had also worked for Partridge Well Drilling while in school in Florida. So from a driller’s perspective, he had used legacy DM rigs first-hand, understanding their capabilities. However, from an ownership standpoint, having the backing of Geoprobe^® ultimately convinced Guardino to focus their attention on a DM250.

“We did a lot of talking to mechanics at other drilling companies about Geoprobe^® service after the sale. So we knew that once we got the rig out here and running, we wouldn’t have issues like we had with other manufacturers,” Augie said. “The tutorial videos on YouTube were an invaluable asset during our research. Ultimately from experimentation, experience, and research, we knew what we were getting into with a smaller rig, and it seemed to us Geoprobe^® has it down pat and has worked out all the kinks.”

Optimizing efficiency and mobilization on their residential geothermal sites spurred adding the DM250.

“The sites are so confined, you can’t have multiple rigs. So we needed one drill rig to be as efficient as we can,” Augie said. “The DM250 will be quicker without fatiguing the driller plus have the ability to maneuver around the small sites.”

Salesmen Experienced Running Rigs

Receiving their DM250 a few weeks prior to start-up training with Wood, they put their years of experience running rigs and months of viewing Geoprobe^® videos to the test ahead of his arrival.

“When we started it on our own, we were cautious because of issues we’d had with other small drilling machines. We thought we were pushing it before Donnie’s arrival,” Augie said. “After he arrived, we soon realized we weren’t going to break the rig doing what we were doing. The DM250 is a powerful little rig for its size.”

For their training they chose some of their harshest drilling geologies in order to understand the torque and mud pump limits. They drilled a 10-inch bore to 275 feet.

“The site was pretty unique with decent cobbles and small boulders in the formation along with loose alluvial. We were able to put the DM250 in extreme conditions right out of the gate to run it hard and know what to look out for,” Augie said. “It worked flawlessly.”

Guardino found having someone doing the training who knows the rig inside and out not only invaluable but also unusual.

"It’s unique to see a salesmen get on a rig and drill with it. He showed us what the rig could do right away,” Augie said. “We could ask him questions, and he would answer right off the top of his head. Even when we tried to throw him curve balls, he was able to give real-time answers based on what he’d seen in the field.”

Making Residential Geothermal Drillers' Lives Easier

According to Augie, key DM250 features which impress him include:

• Hydraulic circuitry: “When running the mud pump full out, we’re not losing hydraulics somewhere else like we’ve seen on other smaller rigs. I had the guys study the hydraulics to see how they were put together in order to understand what they’d be getting into if servicing it in the future. We really liked how cleanly it’s put together. It won’t be difficult to service ourselves.”
• Under Class A/B CDL chassis: “It’s no problem to jump into the DM250 on Sunday afternoon to drive 280 miles to Southern California. We loaded it up with drill pipe, and I took the mechanic to the scales and was pleasantly surprised. With a full-body mechanic and 300-feet of drill pipe, it came in at 22,000 lbs. Other smaller rigs with equipment will max out. The DM250 still had a few thousand pounds to play with.”
• Quiet operation: “On urban residential sites, the biggest complaint from neighbors is the noise. The DM250 is nowhere near the decibel limits of city ordinances.”

As a company, Guardino has focused on making life easier on the drillers, even having extra helpers on site. The DM250 aids achieving their goals of faster, easier, safer drilling.

“The DM250 is really focused on the driller. He can easily drill and handle pipe without his helper right next to him,” Augie said. “When we have had an injury on site, it’s usually the helper because of too many hands in a confined area. With the DM250, the driller can handle the pipe without extra effort and without relying on the helper while going into the hole.”