Pumpjack

I have no idea why this thing stopped pumping oil during my recording - there were no people around, no security systems, nothing to stop it as far as I could tell!

Anyway, a "pumpjack" can also be called a "nodding donkey," "pumping unit," "horsehead pump," "beam pump," "sucker rod pump (SRP)," "grasshopper pump, ""thirsty bird," and "jack pump." These types of pumps are used to mechanically lift liquid out of a well if there's not enough bottom pressure to naturally force the fluid up.

I found this particular unit near the town of Rangely, Colorado, about 440 kilometres (270 miles) west of Denver.

In December, 2010 lucincutoff provided this info:

Some wells have timers, others are controlled remotely etc.. I know exactly where this well is. It is about 2 miles west of the town of Rangely. This particular pump is one of the older styles found in the Rangely Weber Sand Unit and is more than 60 years old.

In January 2011 hefley4 added this info:

"This pump is a conventional "walking beam horsehead" type manufactured by Lufkin Industries, probably in the 1950's. Once found in Rangely by the hundreds, Lufkin conventional pumps shared the field with "Bethlehem," "National," "Continental EMSCO," and "Oil Well Supply" model pumps on original placements, many under silver derrick towers. Most were black back than, before environmental rules mandated the sand paint. All ran continuously back then, but have auto-on-off "load-sensors" now. There was a picture on the Colo. School of Mines website of this same wellsite with a wooden derrick over a 'National Oil Supply' 1940's oil pump..."

In October 2011 hefley4 provided this additional info:

"Rangely is located in the great Uintah Desert in the extreme northwest corner of Colorado -- the desert stretches deep across the border into Utah, and much of Dinosaur National Monument is found on or near it. It is reputed to be the bed for an ancient inland sea, not surprising as many large oil deposits are found beneath former oceans that provided the immese pressure to crush the fossil remains into oil over long periods of time."

"hefley4" added this information in October 2011 as well::
Artesia's named was changed to Dinosaur somewhere around 1960 to capitalize on the growing tourist trade coming to view the amazing bone discoveries and spectacular scenery of Dinosaur National Monument. In my days in Rangely in the '60's, Dinosaur had no high school, and their kids were bussed the 20 mi into Rangely -- Dinosaur was the Rangely "suburbs" ... !

Here's my personal web page about fossil fuels and Peak Oil:
http://www.rogerwendell.com/fossilfuels.html

08-23-2010

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• pumpjack
• nodding
• donkey
• pumping
• unit
• horsehead
• pump
• beam
• sucker
• rod
• srp
• grasshopper
• thirsty
• bird
• jack
• oil
• well
• fossil
• fuels
• gas
• (SRP)

[hefley4]

Artesia's named was changed to Dinosaur somewhere around 1960 to capitalize on the growing tourist trade coming to view the amazing bone discoveries and spectacular scenery of Dinosaur National Monument. In my days in Rangely in the '60's, Dinosaur had no high school, and their kids were bussed the 20 mi into Rangely -- Dinosaur was the Rangely "suburbs" ... !

[zeekzilch]

@hefley4

Thanks again for more interesting info on the area! I've added your note the video's description below the others you provided. I'm back in Denver now and miss the area!

[hefley4]

Rangely is located in the great Uintah Desert in the extreme northwest corner of Colorado -- the desert stretches deep across the border into Utah, and much of Dinosaur National Monument is found on or near it. It is reputed to be the bed for an ancient inland sea, not surprising as many large oilo deposits are found beneath former oceans that provided the immese pressure to crush the fossil remains into oil over long periods of time.

[zeekzilch]

@hefley4 @hefley4

Thanks for the additional info! It's very interesting and I've posted it beneath the description

you provided in January. I just passed through Dinosaur, a couple weeks ago, to climb Kings

Peak (Utah's highest) in the Uinta High Wilderness. Even though it's spelled differently I assume it's the same or similar geologic area...

[gazelam]

I spent a fair amount of time in Rangely during my youth. My uncle (Richard H. Angus) was the superintendent of the gas plant, refinery, and oil field there. There was probably a few hundred of these pumps all over the oil field - we called them rocking horses. My aunt was a school counselor in the high school there. My aunt and uncle had a house in the camp housing there, and I fondly remember going to sleep in the basement with the light of the gas flare dancing on the wall.

[zeekzilch]

@gazelam

Thank you for sharing a very interesting/pleasant memory of Rangely!

[zeekzilch]

@chrisso011

Thank you for the explanation! Your explanation makes perfect sense. Nevertheless, it surprised me at the time I made the recording!

[hefley4]

The town of Dinosaur, last stop in CO on US40 Westbound before entering Utah, owes much of its existance to Rangely and the 40's oilfield boom. Oil had been produced in Rangely since 1900 (shallow wells Mancos Shale), and the Raven A1 deep Weber test of '33 proved a huge deep deposit, but there were no roads into the basin. WWII made road building necessary. The town of Artesia sprang up on US40 at the point where the oilfield trucks would turn south to drive the remaining 20mi to Rangely.

[hefley4]

. The Rangely field itself was drilled in the 1940s-50's on "40-acre spacing," with the wells spaced checkerboard-like, 40 acres between wells. In the 1960's, a fifth well was drilled in the center of the square formed by each four wells, "20-acre infill spacing." There were over 400 such pumps at one time; many are gone but some remain. They pose a number of safety hazards, so one should give them a wide berth, but an operating one may be seen just ouside the local museum east of town.

[zeekzilch]

@PumpManufacturers

Nope, doesn't bother me!