Watson Drill Rigs by Tony Kraut
In 1923, Watson began as a house moving company or structure moving company. So they’d lift a structure from one location and transport it and put it in another location. With that required obviously the understanding of crane operation and being able to design a foundation for that structure to sit upon.
And at that time, Watson Drill Rigs actually became a contractor. We’re a contractor in three locations. And Jack Watson, when he started building drill rigs they were for Watson Drilling Company to be able to use. And later on we found that we’re better off in manufacturing than being a contractor, and we evolved into a manufacturing role from that point forward.
So we’re pleased to introduce our product that we have today, but it evolved from what started back then. And Jack Watson started with the Watson 1000, which today is now the 1100. It started with the 1000, and became the Watson 2000. The 2000 became the 2200 and also the 2500. And there was also the 3000 that became the 3100 and now the 3110.
So it’s pleased to see the evolution of these products, how they’ve advanced. And a lot of that’s attributed to the hydraulic systems that are available to us, that were available to us then, and what are available to us now, that we’re able to put more power in a smaller package.
Because ultimately, we not only have to have the power on a job site, but it’s also got to be transportable, going down the road. We need to make DOT constraints on our trucks, and it’s got to be haulable on transport trailers to be able to move efficiently and within the load parameters as the trailers are designed that are available to them out there.
We like to do a one piece load. Later on we have adopted into some two and some three piece load equipment. But we’ll start off with the Watson 1100. The Watson 1100 is available on a truck or a crawler base. These are commonly used in the utility construction market in a low mast configuration.
However, residential and some of these warehouses that are in Dallas/Fort Worth that are up down the 35 corridor, they’re using the tall mast 1100, because lot of their foundations are going to 30, 40, or even 50 foot drill depth. So the 1100 is a very economical, efficient package to be able to move down the road and be able to get on the job site and execute the project within the time constraints allotted.
The next product we’re actually in the redevelopment of, this is our 2200. So it’s going to be a little bit more than the 1100 and not as big as the 2500, but it’s a little bit larger in order to meet some diameter requirements that we’re finding out there in the utility construction market.
So with a little bit more torque power, going to be about 60,000 pounds of torque. But it’s also going to be on a transportable truck that’s going to be within legal loads where it’s going to be an annual permit load in some cases, depending on how it’s designed.
The next product up from that is the 2500. The 2500 is one of our flagship rigs for many, many years and it’s deemed to be very profitable for contractors. I’ve had contractors state the 60-foot drill depth 2500, a cycle time of 16 seconds.
That means from the bottom of the hole to advance it out at the top of the hole, clear the cuttings off the auger, and get back to the bottom of the hole. 16 seconds cycle time is very fast, and you compare that to other rigs on the market. I think it’s unsurpassed by anybody else.
Cycle time is really what we’re known for. And those features are accredited to our controlled free fall Kelly winch, our two speed raise, and the fast operation of a mechanical rotary delivered power from the flywheel right to the rotary head as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
So those are some of the attributes that have really benefited us is the fast cycle time. And at the end of the day, that means more holes. And more holes at the end of day, means more money, moving on to the next project sooner, and ultimately that’s really our goal. It’s to be efficient as we can and execute those projects in a timely manner.
From the 2500 we now introduced the 3110. And the 3110 is a larger rig. It’s made for doing 8, 10, even 12 foot diameter holes. It’s available on a truck or a crawler base as well. In a tall mast or a low mast configuration.
For those larger diameter holes, we recommend the 3110. Again, it’s very transportable. And that’s at about 95,000 pounds, so for most truckers that’s a normal haul to be able to move down the road and get on a job site.
Anything above that, you’re going to probably be breaking it down a little bit into a two-piece load. However, we do have our new 7300 and we have moved it in one piece at 107,000 pounds weight. For most people, they may want to subdivide that into smaller packages so you’ve got a primary and a fall off load and then reassemble on job site.
Keep in mind, our reassembly doesn’t require a crane. It can self-erect itself, so there’s no need for other support equipment to put that rig back together on the job site. You can be up and drilling within 40 minutes or less than an hour.
From that then we have our 4500. It’s a 220,000 torque rig. It’s a taller rig. It’s made with a three bar Kelly, round Kelly. Goes 135 foot drill depth. So if you need to be doing a 14, 16 foot diameter at 135 feet, that would be the rig we’d recommend to use.
We’ve also advanced our excavator mounted drill combinations from our early generation to our second generation, which was our EDT models. Now we’re in our EX models. EX models uses again a controlled free fall Kelly winch. We offer that on all our products. We’ve never really got away from that.
It’s a single wrapped grooved drum, so we’ve taken away the complication of having to manage that Kelly cable. The operators have got a spring-loaded roller that keeps it captivated in the grooves, so it’s just a simple up and down operation. We just have to monitor that cable for damage or crushing or crossing it over or bird nesting. So it’s very easy for him to operate.
Again, it’s controlled free fall with a foot pedal. It get down to the bottom of the hole as quickly as possible. The EX40 available in as short as a 10 foot mast, working in substations and low overhead clearance applications, or up to a 20 foot mast if you need to put deeper, longer Kelly bars on it for a deeper drilling application.
Above the 40 then we offer the 60, which is 64,000 foot pounds of torque and it’s typically on a 25 to 30 metric ton excavator. It’s again available on multiple mast heights and multiple Kelly bar configuration, both round and square.
Then we also have the EX90, which steps it up even a little bit more to a 90,000 foot pound torque rig. And we have the 130, that’s a 130,000 torque rig. Both those rigs, the 90 and 130 are very similar, except the additional motor that’s added to the 130 creates that additional torque output.
Above that, then we also have the EDT-18. It’s again, one of our very popular rigs that contractors have commented that that’s the best rig we’ve ever made. Because it’ll go places where no other rig will. Where if you can put that excavator, that Cat 349 or Komatsu PC490, you can put that drill rig.
So it can work on sloping terrain, under limited height constraints. With 180,000 pounds of torque it’s capable of doing those large monopole foundation that’s required down to the specific depth of 60, 70, 80 feet, whatever is needed.
So we’re real proud to offer a wide spectrum of products. We think we have a solution for every challenge that’s out there. We recommend and appreciate an opportunity to present you with some of the solutions that we have to best meet your drilling solutions, or drilling needs, or requirements. I’m Tony Kraut with Watson Drill Rigs. I thank you very much for your time.
This video was made courtesy of Pieresearch, “The Standard of Excellence”! Manufacturer of high-quality alignment and centralizer products for the deep foundation and earth retention industries.