Question about wellhead on my property...

[Mike in Pa]

Does anyone know anything about gas wells? I have a well on my property and can't seem to find anyone that knows enough about them to hook up my drip bottle! This drip bottle has a screen and a ping pong ball in one end. I think it shuts off the gas incase the water builds up too much. I don't know how to add more methanol to the drip either ... there's no port for it.

FYI: I am responsible from the well to my house ... the gas company that has the rights to the gas doesn't want to hear anything about my problems.

Thanks!

[Alice In TX/MO]

You need to read your lease agreement. I know in South Texas, there are some land owners who have gas from their wells going to their houses, but I'm not sure how the process is done. I do know that all the info about who does what should be in there. I'm hoping it will give you an idea about who to call. Very likely there are at least two companies involved. A producer - the company who actually maintains the hardware. An operator - the company who does the marketing, selling, and paperwork.

[Michael W. Smith]

Can't really help you with the drip bottle thing. I have one on my gas well, and need to have my father-in-law show me how exactly you add the methonol to it, to prevent the water in the gas line from freezing up and shutting off the gas.

I don't know anything about the ping pong ball.

You are right about being responsible for the gas from the well to your house. I don't know of anyone around here who has any other arrangement. When we had signed our lease, the company had told us if they drilled a well, they would set up a pipe coming from the well for our supply. It was our total responsibility to dig the ditch, lay the line, and do all the hook ups. They provide you a place to tap in to get the gas - anything else is not their problem.

If your gas shuts off in the winter, as long as the line to your tap is open is their only concern (however most companies will help you out so you can get gas to the house.)

Check around with the well tender that comes to the well. You may be able to hire him seperately to help with this. Or just find some guy who retired from a gas company and he should be able to help.

[Mike in Pa]

Originally Posted by Michael W. Smith

Check around with the well tender that comes to the well. You may be able to hire him seperately to help with this. Or just find some guy who retired from a gas company and he should be able to help.

That is EXACTLY what I've been trying to do ... good idea. However, the guy that used to come doesn't anymore and a new girl comes off and on every 2 weeks or so. I'd like to find someone like that that'd like a small side job.... I've been trying ... believe me.

[fantasymaker]

A few pictures just might jog the minds of the mechanically inclined here.

[Darren]

If the drip bottle is a separator there should be several valves associated with it. One you should be able to open to use gas pressure from the well to blow out the antifreeze solution into a container. Another will enable you to isolate the separator from the well. Then you can open a plug to refill the tank --- after closing the valve you used to drain it.

[Mike in Pa]

This has a drain plug (blow off valve) and an inlet and an outlet pipe ... that's it. The blow off valve is on the very bottom obviously. The inlet and outlet are on opposite sides of the top of the bottle. The bottle sits horizontally instead of vertically. I can't see this being a "separator" although it does separate the condensate from the gas (hopefully). I think you blow off the remaining methanol along with whatever water is mixed in.

I already have a bypass on the line. I would like to keep that in place so there's no inturruption when filling ... I would think. I just don't know how to fill it and not really sure about the screen/ball in the one pipe. Again, I would think the light ball is in the outlet side and this is to stop flow when the water level get too high. BUT, I would think this ball would block the flow (be raised high enough to clog the pipe) just from the pressure of the natural gas itself.

[texican]

I would imagine you're going to have a hard time having anyone touch an owner based gas system... the potential liabilities are unlimited.

Some companies will have a long legal document for you to sign, absolving them of every potential liability... and they also have a detailed list of every possible safety feature (designed to keep you safe and them unsueable). My parents had to spend ~2k for the separator, stink pot, regulators, and all the valves. Company installed.

Is the methanol for freezing purposes?

I've never heard of a separator with a ping pong ball... You've got problems if drip gas isn't being separated out of the gas, before it hits your pipeline. If you do have drip gas getting into your system, I'd recommend a separate separator on down the pipeline to your house, in the lowest point, with a vertical fluid separator. I had one 'incident' when the well operator used my section of pipeline to move fluids around on the well site... convenient for them, disastrous for me... my 2500' of line had drip gas in it... all the way to my house regulator. I had an extra separator in my lowest spot, and I was able to drain off the fluids.

Back to your situation......... just because the separator is horizontal now, doesn't mean it's designed to be horizontal. Mine is almost exactly the same... a 30" tank with inlet on bottom, drain valve an inch from bottom, and outlet valve an inch from the top of the tank. If I walk by and hear bubbling, I know I've got fluid, and need to drain it off. Can you turn your tank upright (vertical)?

Where does your system freeze up? at the well, or the separator? is there an obvious reduction in pipe size... that's where freezing usually occurs... if so, can you negate the reduction...

Good luck...... owning your own 'gas company' is always fun.... right now they're working on the compressor station on my well, and I've got to go twist some valves and adjust regulators, to get my system back to normal...

[Darren]

If the bypass has valves, you can use those to shutoff gas flow while you fill the tank. Just collect and measure how much fluid gets blown out. Then refill with that quantity. Our service has a vertical tank which probably eliminates the need for the ball you mentioned. The ball won't block flow in your tank as long as the tank doesn't have enough liquid in it to move the ball. You can also measure the tank and get a rough idea of how much alcohol it will hold without moving the ball. I'd fill it to within a few inches of the level of the ball. If your service shuts off, just blow some fluid out.

If I remember correctly 231 cu. inches equals one gal.