With public awareness at an all-time high and great progress seemingly being made by many international bodies and NGOs, the effectiveness of many well and groundwater projects is still marred by poor well design and incorrect drilling equipment selection. Capital is often wasted on drilling machines that are either cheap and ineffective that fail, sometimes before the completion of even a single program, or large sums are spent on complex equipment for which stretched maintenance budgets are insufficient and the rigs lie idle.

Dando Drilling Rigs have been manufacturing and supplying equipment for drilling water wells in remote rural locations for over 140 years. During this time, through involvement in many hundreds of rural water supply projects we have experienced, first-hand, the life-changing, life-saving effects of providing a community with a source of clean, safe water. As well as the rotary hydraulic drilling rigs for which they are renown, Dando also recognise the limitations that high costs, both up-front and ongoing bring. For this reason Dando actively promote the use of the Buffalo drilling rig.

This unique machine uses a engine powered cable winch to raise and lower a range of weighted tools that progress the drilled borehole. Since the percussive method does not require flushing media (water-based) or compressed air, the rig is ideally suited to drilling in remote locations. The Buffalo is also extremely simple to service and repair, minimising down-time and extending the working life. The Buffalo can be supplied with a full tooling package or with a less comprehensive package depending on the local drilling conditions. This is the ideal machine for village level operation and maintenance (VLOM) water supply projects.

Drilling Capability

6" (150mm) holes to 90m depth or

8" (200mm) holes to 50m depth

Dando Buffalo Rig offers cheapest life-cycle cost per litre of water abstracted of any drilling machine available. This means the best value for Donor's money and is due to:

• Competitive capital cost
• The ability to drill in a very wide range of geology including consolidated conditions
• Very low ongoing maintenance requirement
• Very low cost of consumables
• The ability to drill with no outside assistance in remote locations
• An integrated trailer for low-cost transportation even in tough environments
• NO PUMPS OR COMPRESSORS REQUIRED
• Unmatched longevity with rigs often lasting for generations

Training and Support:

The Buffalo is built to the same exacting standards as the Dando rotary fleet and as a drilling equipment specialist, every rig package that we provide can be accompanied by an engineer who is qualified and able to train a local drill crew on the operation of the equipment. This has been an enormously successful formula for many NGOs, funding bodies and private contractors.

Experience

In recent years, a few of the countries that Dando have supplied equipment packages to are:

Malawi
Mozambique
Sudan
Ethiopia
Egypt
Ghana
Burkina Faso
Iran
Iraq
Indonesia
Venezuela
Costa Rica
Kenya
Nigeria
Seychelles
Vietnam

Dando approach each project as a unique opportunity to not only supply equipment but also to engage with an organisation - we are able to offer advice and support by telephone at any time from our offices in the UK.

Team:

Alongside our experienced drilling engineers works a team of young sales engineers who are very aware of the difference that the ability to bring water from the ground can bring. The emphasis of all our training for UK based staff is on appropriate technology and on the life-cycle benefits of specifying the correct equipment for a project.

For more information on the most appropriate drilling technology, check out our website or give us a call on: +44 (0) 1903 731312. You can also email us on: water@dando.co.uk