Every drilling job presents a new set of ground conditions, requirements for the right HDD tools, and good old-fashioned unexpected surprises. With so many years in the business, weve seen just about every HDD challenge known to man and weve got a ton of information to share. In our Ask the HDD Experts series, we answer big questions, small questions, and questions that drillers are just plain afraid to ask.
If you stop drilling and turn your fluid pump off and the pressure gauge reading doesn't drop down (or drops minimally) it is usually an indicator that your fluid nozzles are plugged. At this point, you will need to trip out or dig down to the tool to unplug the nozzles or holes. If you continually have problems plugging off (especially with the drill head) give us a call and we may be able to produce a special adapter or quick-disconnect with a check valve to prevent plugging off from back-pressure.
Wed love to say as fast as your drill rig will go! But that's not usually the best procedure. The key is to create a clean hole and make it as easy as possible to pull the product pipe, then pull it in without damaging it. Even if the reamer pulls back as fast as your drill carriage will travel, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a clean hole. You need to give the reamer plenty of time to mix and give your pump plenty of time to get enough fluid into the hole to carry the cuttings out. The bigger the hole diameter, the more cuttings you are trying to carry outso, the more fluid required. How long that takes will be partially determined by your fluid pump capacity.
Simple: don't use a fluted reamer. If the conditions are sticky or get sticky when water is added, stay away from fluted reamers. Use an open-blade style reamer and something with great mixing action instead. But, if you absolutely must use the old fluted reamer thats rolling around in the back of your truck, then be sure to spin it at high RPMs, check that all fluid ports are open, make sure your fluid recipe includes a clay inhibitor and detergent, and get the fluid coming out of the reamer up to pressure before you start pulling it back.
This typically happens when you stop drilling and turn the fluid pump off to change rods. When the connection is broken, it can create a vacuum that causes the fluid and soil from the outside to be sucked in through your drill head nozzle and plug it off. This is common in sandy conditions. Your best solution is to use a drill bit (like the Eagle Claw or Iron Fist) or a quick-disconnect with a built-in check valve. The check valve typically consists of a stainless steel ball and spring and retaining plug. When fluid pressure drops, the ball quickly drops and plugs off the drill head fluid port before a vacuum can be created. This stops the chance of a blockage.
Sure, sand is nice if you're laying on a beautiful California beach. But drill in it with the wrong HDD tools and your equipment will get shined upand worn out prematurely. Even worse, you could get stuck. Have you ever stuck your feet into a hole in the sand with water in it? No problem moving around and pulling your feet out...until the water escapes. Then that sand collapses and grabs onto your foot like a vice. The same thing can happen to your tools if you don't have the correct drill fluid mixture (mainly bentonite) to keep the water from escaping the hole. Sand can also pose major problems if youre not using the right backreamer. You need a reamer design that scoops the sand up from the bottom of the hole, mixes it with the drill fluid to keep it suspended and keeps the hole lined so water can't escape too fast. Remember that your basic fluted reamer is never a good choice for sand.
Have a question about HDD and youre not sure who to ask? Our team of HDD experts can help. Weve been designing, testing and manufacturing sturdy, reliable HDD tools for nearly as long as HDD has been around. your question to or call your local distributor and well get you an answer ASAP so you can get back to work.
As HDD professionals, we like taking money to the bottom line, not throwing it downhole. We are always looking for ways to improve our margins but is spending money on used downhole tooling the right place to save money? The answer is yes, it can be if you know what youre looking for.
In this article, we will discuss why you should be selective, what questions to ask, the used pieces that will save you the most, how to examine them and what pieces we recommend you buy new.
To save money in the long term, not just the short term, you need to educate yourself and be selective when purchasing used HDD tooling.
If you are not selective, in the short term you will save money over buying new but in the long run, the used tooling you purchase can cost you more than it would have, had you just purchased a new piece, to begin with. For example, it can be costly and time-consuming to remove and reweld adapters, face a breakoff downhole because of a loose swivel or have your hole opener stop working. In certain scenarios, some contractors may lose tens of thousands of dollars between downtime, loss of tooling and electronics downhole, tooling retrieval and now the cost of buying the new tooling you should have bought from the start. So being selective is key.
HDD tooling and pipe is not all manufactured at the same level of quality. Part of the being selective process should be to determine the original manufacturer.
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Link to SINOCOREDRILL
Does the person youre buying the rod or tooling from know the original manufacturer? Can they tell you where they bought it from? Is the person selling the pipe because of a bad experience? Or maybe they have sold their drill rig after a job and have excess pipe and lightly used tooling they are now getting rid of? Finding out where they used the tooling may also help you determine the ground condition it was used in.
Asking good questions will help you avoid inheriting someone elses headache.
When shopping for used tooling, ground condition makes a difference. If youre going to be drilling in dirt finding used tooling can be met with success, saving you money. Used drill head setups and fluted reamers used in softer ground conditions dont get as much abuse as tooling being used in rock, so they often have much less wear and they are more readily available than other more specific downhole pieces. If this type of tooling fits your needs how do you determine if you found a deal or you should pass? You need to check threads, adapters, swivels and interchangeable parts.
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Whether youre buying a drill head, reamer or drill pipe, the first step is making sure you are getting the correct threads to make the connection to your existing tooling. If it is not the correct thread an adapter or even custom adapter is an option, keep in mind to calculate this additional item into your overall cost. Then you need to make sure the thread is in good condition. Familiarize yourself with the thread profile when new, that way you can determine the extent of the wear. There are also thread template tools to help you, so its not just left up to your eye. No matter if the body of the tooling or drill stem is in good condition or not, overly worn thread can easily lead to the costly and frustrating issue of breaking off underground.
Used reamers or drill heads (also known as housings) may have an adapter at the front of the reamer or the tail of the housing. Often, on used tooling this adapter has been welded in place and this can be expensive and time-consuming to remove and reweld if needed. Finding a used housing with no welds is a great money-saving option as the blade or bit can be replaced. Pullback reamers with built-in swivels are another item to make sure to examine. You will want to make sure the swivel is tight. Worn out swivels will also eventually come apart and lead to a break-off downhole.
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Rock tooling can be especially challenging to buy on the used market since it will experience much more wear because of the harder ground conditions. If you are looking to buy used rock tooling these are the things to look for. The roller cones on a hole opener or tricone bit should feel very tight when turning; they should not roll freely. Look for side to side movement, as this will indicate the amount of wear in the bearings. If there is a lot of side to side play, the bearings quite likely are broken. Cones can be replaced but this also can be very costly and time-consuming. Also, when one cone is needing to be replaced, it is usually a sign that the other cones will also need to be replaced soon. On roller cones themselves, examine the buttons to ensure there is plenty of carbide left. Welds on the sides of a roller cone can damage the seals and bearings and are a good indicator that the reamer may be getting close to the end of its usable life.
With regards to hole openers, it is suggested that unless there is little to no wear on it you should buy new. On a high-profile job where you will likely be using a hole opener, the downtime, tool retrieval, and tool replacement cost if the used one fails is just not worth the gamble of trying to save on the initial investment.
There is good used HDD tooling to be purchased on the market. By keeping these tips in mind, you will likely find success and may save a substantial amount of money. To find savings and peace of mind, it is helpful to buy used tooling from an experienced professional who knows exactly what to look for and has given it a thorough inspection.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Hdd Tooling. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.