Early Development of

Oil Technology

Oil Tools and Equipment

By Wanda Pratt and Phil Morningstar - 1987

Steam Power Steam engines became popular sources of power in the 1860’s, and were used for drilling and pumping. Cement rig houses were built to house these steam engines. The steam engines used for drilling were moved from one well to another, behind the Canadian pole drilling rigs. These rigs had four poles, stabilized by cross beams. To allow for easier movement in the muddy fields and roads, the rigs were equipped with runners, much like a sled. The location where the rig would get stuck in the mud, would be the site of the new oil well. Sometimes, the horses could only make it another 20 feet, and that would be the location of the next well. Back to Contents Jerker System Initially, steam engines were used to power each individual well, which proved too expensive to maintain. John H. Fairbank devised the jerker-line system, which enabled several wells to be pumped, by a single engine. Side Crank Drilling Engine The vertical wheels of the steam engines were turned into a horizontal force using a field wheel. The field wheel made back-and-forth quarter turns, which pulled the strings of the jerker-lines which fanned out in all directions. The jerker-lines were fir poles, 30 feet in length, and 2 x 2 inches in diameter. They were hooked together lengthwise, and extended from the field well to all of the other wells. The long jerker-lines were hung from wooden poles, set in the ground, along their path. Wire hangers were hooked to the top of the pole and the jerker-line, to hold the line up, and to allow it to swing back and forth. Various methods were used to change the direction of pull on a jerker-line system. If the well that needed power was less than 30 degrees off the path of the jerker-line, a spur could be attached to it, without pulling the system out of balance. To do this, a chain was attached to the jerker-rod going past, and to another rod going to the well. The one going to the well was attached to the walking beam, and in this way, the rest of the system was not disrupted. Ninety degree turns were sometimes accomplished by attaching jerker-lines to both ends of a wide V-shaped metal or wooden assembly. The point of the "V" was anchored, and acted as the pivot for the mechanism. When the jerker-line pulled on one leg of the "V", the lines coming from the other 90-degree direction, were pulled out, too. As the jerker-lines ran along a string of wells, a chain was connected from the jerker-line to the walking beam of each well. As one end of the walking beam was pulled down, the other end would rise, pulling the pump up with it. At the top of the stroke, gravity would take over, and the pump would lower back down. By having a system that was perfectly balanced, the wells actually helped to pump each other with their own weight. Back to Contents Woods' Jerker System The Morningstar Producers used a different type of system to pump their wells. They used a turn-table gearbox that would lie flat on the ground and turn, like a turntable, which would power their wells. This turntable was operated by electricity, and had ½ or ¾ inch steel cables, fanning out from the well in all directions. Walking Beam The walking beams were pieces of iron, welded into an inverted "L" shape, and braced across the corner. Size 60 chain wwould be attached to the walking beam and used to pull that column of oil up to the collection system. This system was often used in Pennsylvania oil fields, where the turntables were often powered by gas, from the very wells being pumped. Back to Contents Trimming a Walking Beam Walking beams were, and still are, the part of the oil well that nods up and down. Most walking beams were square, about 3 x 8 inches in diameter, and six to eight feet in length. Sometimes they were made of wood, and sometimes they were made of metal. There were also walking beams, or pump jacks, that were shaped like an inverted "L". If a walking beam needed to be trimmed for use on a different well, a hand adze would be used to carve the desired shape. The six-foot long timber, 8 x 8 inches in diameter, would then be dragged down a stone road, to smooth the rough edges. The final polishing would be accomplished by dragging the beam through long grass. After it was painted or oiled, it would then be ready for remounting. Back to Contents Look Tanks Every well had a tank beside it which were sometimes called "look tanks". These tanks were fitted with small lids, which would allow an oilman to look inside the tank to see how the well the well was pumping. These tanks were also called "siphon tanks" as they were fitted with two tubes or siphons. The look tank served two purposes; it was the tank where the oil and water mixture would be collected when it first came out of the ground, and it was also the place where the separation of the oil and water would begin. This separation occurred naturally, as the oil floated to the top. One pipe, or siphon, was set into the tank to remove the oil to a storage tank, and another siphon was used to drain off the water. Because the drained water would just soak into the ground around the well, the metal straps which held the tank together, would become rusted and need to be replaced. Holding tanks were made by coopers, who planed pieces of wood into staves, and then formed these staves into the shape of a circle. The staves were then strapped with a series of flat iron hoops, which would be pulled tight around the staves. These straps were fitted closer together as they neared the bottom of the barrel, in order to provide greater strength. A floor was set into the barrel six inches above the ends of the staves, and lids were made to fit tightly on the tank. When finished, the tank was set into a hand-dug hole. Back to Contents Oil Storage Tanks Early oil storage tanks, called holding tanks, were dug by hand. They were often 30 feet across and 60 feet deep. As it was important for the hole to be straight, posts were set in the ground on either side of the hole. A plum bob was mounted on one post, and a fixed bucket assembly, used to remove the mud, was mounted on the other post. The bucket assembly had a swinging boom, which reached about halfway across the hole. The wooden bucket was filled with dirt and then lifted to the surface with the use of a crank handle attached to one of the posts. In dry weather, the heavy clay was dumped onto wagons and hauled away, but in wet weather, a stone boat was used. Stone boats were flat, sled-like wagons, which could slide through heavy clay. Some were equipped with hooks on the sides, which allowed the whole sled to be dumped at one time. The storage tank holes were cribbed, or lined, with one-inch slats around the hole. The inside of the slats would be left longer than the outside slats which would create an angle which could be used to guide the next slat around the hole. To build a 20-foot tank, it would require 20, three-foot sections of slats, to make one layer of the circle. Each slat would be approximately one inch thick, making it necessary to use 12 layers per foot. Each of the layers would be offset, or staggered, from the last one, to ensure that the joints would not weaken the structure. As the supporting mud was removed, wooden support pins, or shims were put under the lining. When these pins were removed, the cribbing would slide down into the hole, and more cribbing would then be added at the top. Wooden storage tanks, which used vertical wooden staves, were a later development. They were used for both above and below ground storage. They were shipped around the world by Petrolia’s Oil Well Supply Company, in pieces, to be assembled on site. Once the vessel was assembled, it had to be carefully set into the ground. When the hole was excavated, it was filled with water, which could not seep through the heavy clay soil. Logs were set across the hole, and the storage tank lowered onto the logs. When these logs were removed, and the water pumped out, the tank would float to the bottom of the hole. Back to Contents Water Filtering System Oil that would come straight out of the ground would contain a certain amount of water. It was to the producer's advantage to separate the oil from this water before sending it to the refinery. He would receive a better price for his oil, if it was pure. In the early days, when the water was siphoned out of the look tank, it was allowed to flow onto the ground, causing extremely muddy working conditions. This improved when a proper water filtering system was devised. The first step in this process was to pump the oil and water mixture into a holding tank. As the oil rose to the top, and the water settled to the bottom, the oil was siphoned off. The oil flowed to a collecting tank, and the water was sent to a settling pond. The settling pond was covered with a coating of oil, which would keep the water from evaporating. The water from the bottom of this pond would be directed through a filter of rocks, stones, and cattails. This would purify the water on its way to a third settling pond. After settling out the last traces of oil, the water would then be pumped back into the creek. Back to Contents