Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-07-20
HOW d WE'LL IS TORPEDOED.

But few people of the oil country
have reasonably clear idea of the
manner in which an oil well is tor
pedoed, and that such state of affairs
should exist is not strange, considering
the great amount OF danger involved in
the handling of nitro-glycerine. To
give our readers an idea of how the
operation is performed, a special report
er of the Mail spent one day last week
with Mr.. John r. Kuhn, agent of the
Roberts Torpedo Company in the War
ren district, and saw three wells shot.
Nitro-glycerine in frozen state is
kept in six quart tin cans in. an iron
safe called the magazine. The maga-
zine is generally situated in quiet
spot mile or so away from human
hab:tation. When glyceriDe is wanted
to torpedo a well it is hauled form the
magazine to the well in wagon, and
is either packed in boxes made for the
purpose or rolled in blankets Arrived
at the well the cans are placed in hot
water and glycerinc thawed SO that it
can be poured from the can into the
torpedo shell without trouble.
The torpedo reel-a heavy iron hand
reel-is fastened to the crank of the
band wheel and the line carried into the
derrick and passed over an iron pulley
suspended directly over the hole, and
to the hook in the end of this line is
hitched the lower section of the shell.
A forty quart shell is twelve feet long
and four and one-half inches in diane
ter, and is divided into two sections.
Tin tubes aboutan inch in diameter and
as long as wanted are fastened togetl;-
er and attached to the lower end of the
shell for the purpose of anchoring the
torpedo at the exact spot wished for
the explosion. Thus if the torpedo
was to be exploded twenty-seven feet
from the bottom of the hole, there
would be twenty-seven feet of anchor
attached to the shell.
When the glycerine is melted it is
poured through crooked funnel into
the shell while the shell is hanging at
the top of the hole, suspended by the
reel line. The filled shell is then
lowered until the anchor touches bot
tom, when the hook in the end of the
line is detached from the shell by
quick jerk and drawn upto the surface.
The second section of the shell is filed
and lowered in a similar manner, the
lower end of the upper shell fitting
closely into the top of the lower shell
by means of its conical shape. The
top of the upper shell is provided with
a head and three percussion caps.
An iron weight called a 'go-devil,' fall
ing on an iron disk to spindle of
which the caps are attached, cxplodes
the caps and so explodes the torpedo.
When the second shell is lowered
and the rope drawn up again. the go
devil is dropped into the hole and in
about forty seconds shock is felt and
a sound heard similar to that produced
by the discharge of q large revolver.
In three or four seconds or longer oil
begins to spout from the hole and in
another second or two column of oil is
flowing high above the derrick, accom-
panied by deafening roar of escaping
gas. When the bright, golden-colored
flow of oil has ceased, a column ofdirty,
black oil and sand shoots up, the i'm
mediate result of the explosion. There
is smell of burnt glycerine in the air
and the derrick dripps with fresh oil
from samson post to crown pulley.
The glycerine man then picks up his
tools and leaves the well ready for
tubing.
The torpedoes exploded by the Rob-
erts Company are exploded under
several hundred feet of oil or fluid
A dry shot is one made
without fluid in the hole. The Roberts
patent is on tie fluid tamping, as the
fluid acts in the well as tight wad
loes in 6 cannon The explosion opens
up the oil bearing rock and causes the
will to flow.