Drilling Technology

[Klause]

Man,this iron just keeps getting better.

Rig #417 got traded in on #422.


The 100-140,000 lb rig market is so congested right now... Rates are low so we pivoted to running 200,000 lb+ rigs.

Larger crews needed more technical expertise & skill requirements, and higher risk keeps guys out of this market.


This is a brand-new American Augers 240. Biggest rig built with on board mud pump. Automatic rod loader. Wireless telematics.


It's safe, fast, quiet, and costs only a little more than a new 8800 lexion.

[Klause]

Last bore I did before harvest. 554m long. 48" diameter 11 meters deep.

[DaneG]

Fancy looking piece of iron, does the operator seat swivel or do you climb over the back to sit in it.

[Klause]

Fancy looking piece of iron, does the operator seat swivel or do you climb over the back to sit in it.

Swivels 270 degrees and slides in both directions.

[rumrocks]

Typically, do they pull or push the pipe through after the boring is done and what would be the maximum distance for boring underground.

[furrowtickler]

Neat piece of engineering 👍

[Klause]

Typically, do they pull or push the pipe through after the boring is done and what would be the maximum distance for boring underground.

Pull. Because the forces are in your favour, as you pull the pipe in, the drill is being pulled towards the ground. There's a swivel attached to the end of the reamer, and we pull the product in after the hole is completed.

It takes a bit of force sometimes to pull a pipe in. This drill can exert a direct line pull of 240,000 lbs. The biggest rigs are 2 million lbs. That pipe pulled in at about 75,000 if I remember right... That's more pull than a D10 dozer can muster.


Bores are getting crazier. They've done 5 km by drilling from each end and intersecting underground. Typically we stay under a km. 500-800m is typical. 800m is a quarter section' worth.

Nowadays, in sensitive areas whole pipelines are bored. Just dig a connection pit every kilometre or so, and drill again. Never disturb a tree, fish, frog, or shrub.

[rumrocks]

Two more questions, what would the cost of boring a km versus trenching.
How much bigger is the bore size usually, compared to pipe diameter or does that depend on angle change within the bore.
I'm an inquisitive guy.

[Herc]

But does it have a fridge....

No after treatment on the engines and still meets Tier 4 Final?

[Klause]

But does it have a fridge....

No after treatment on the engines and still meets Tier 4 Final?

Eu tier 5.

MTU diesel engine. Uses def but doesn't Regen and no filter. Pretty neat power plant.

[Klause]

Two more questions, what would the cost of boring a km versus trenching.
How much bigger is the bore size usually, compared to pipe diameter or does that depend on angle change within the bore.
I'm an inquisitive guy.

Cost depends on ground type, depth, size, etc.

We have put 500m of 6" gas pipe in, in one day.

We've also spent 3 months drilling thru granite for a 8".


Standard dirt rate is $10 per inch of diameter per meter. Rock rate is $100 a meter per inch and it goes up from there.

Hole diameter is dependant on ground, bend radius, length etc.

Smaller pipe rule of thumb is 1/3rd to 1/2 more diameter than pipe. I e 12" reamer, 6 or 8" pipe

[WiltonRanch]

So if you can bore a 48” line and have to dig a pit every km, traditional pipeline builders will be out with the horse and buggy and Ford vacuum pressure controls. I have a question for you klause. Say I have a body of water that is flooding my farm and I have a place to drain it but have a 30’ cut to make 3 furlongs. How would you bore into the body of water or do you bore up to it and put a pump on it to get it going and let natural siphoning take over. There’s enough downslope. I’ve priced out pump and hose rental which is atrocious and not a long term solution. Or do I buy a hoe and start digging?

[Klause]

So if you can bore a 48” line and have to dig a pit every km, traditional pipeline builders will be out with the horse and buggy and Ford vacuum pressure controls. I have a question for you klause. Say I have a body of water that is flooding my farm and I have a place to drain it but have a 30’ cut to make 3 furlongs. How would you bore into the body of water or do you bore up to it and put a pump on it to get it going and let natural siphoning take over. There’s enough downslope. I’ve priced out pump and hose rental which is atrocious and not a long term solution. Or do I buy a hoe and start digging?

Oh I've done a few of those. You drill up to it from the final exit. Then you pull in like a 8" HDPE pipe, that has weeping tile inside of it. Then you put tie the other end of weeping tile securely so it doesn't come with when you yank the HDPE out.

Presto. Tile drain installed without digging up anything.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Oh I've done a few of those. You drill up to it from the final exit. Then you pull in like a 8" HDPE pipe, that has weeping tile inside of it. Then you put tie the other end of weeping tile securely so it doesn't come with when you yank the HDPE out.

Presto. Tile drain installed without digging up anything.

So, if there is a glut of smaller size drills out there, are there any bargains to be had in hiring some drainage done by this method right now? And what is the slowest time of year to take advantage of?

[Taiga]

At $80/m (plus the cost of the 8” pipe?) how could that ever be affordable for a farmer to do though, cheaper to just live with the wet hole and work around it, no?