Equipment Comparison | NSF Ice Drilling Program

Equipment Comparison

Hand Augers

Name	Hand Auger, IDDO	Hand Auger, Kovacs	Hand Auger, SIPRE	Prairie Dog Drill	Sidewinder Power Drive
Type	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Power unit for hand augers
Max. Practical Depth	20 m (30-40 m with Sidewinder)	20 m (30-40 m with Sidewinder)	6 m	30 m	30 m
Hole Diameter	110 mm (4.3-inches) 132 mm (5.2-inches)		120 mm (4.7-inches)	141 mm (5.6 inches)	[NA]
Ice Core Diameter	79 mm (3.1-inches) 101 mm (4.0-inches)	90 mm (3.54-inches) 140 mm (5.5-inches)	76 mm (3-inches)	98 mm (3.9 inches)	[NA]
Ice Core Length	up to 1 m	up to 1 m	0.5 m	1 m	[NA]
IDP Driller Required?	No	No	No	Yes, 1 driller	No (while 1 person can operate the Sidewinder, a 2-person crew helps share the labor and speeds up the cycle time)
Drill Fluid Required?	No	No	No	No
Trench Required?	No	No	No	No	No
Power Requirements/Source	Hand-powered or Sidewinder	Hand-powered or Sidewinder	Hand-powered or Stihl BT121 powerhead	Hand-powered; 2 kW generator or solar cells if using the Sidewinder	2 kW generator or solar cells
Estimated Drilling Time	5 m - 2 hours 10 m - 4 hours 20 m - 7 hours	5 m - 2 hours 10 m - 4 hours 20 m - 7 hours	6 m - 2 hours	5 m - 2 hours 10 m - 3 hours 20 m - 6 hours 30 m - 9 hours	5 m - 2 hours 10 m - 3 hours 20 m - 5 hours 30 m - 8 hours
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)	<1 hour	<1 hour	15 minutes		<1 hour
Helicopter Transportable?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shipping Weight	90 lbs for 20 meter kit		85 lbs for 6 meter kit	100 lbs	180 lbs
Shipping Cube	6		6	6	6 (does not include generator or hand auger)
Comments	Current inventory: eight 3-inch (76mm) augers three 4-inch (102mm) augers	Current inventory: two Mark II (90 mm diameter core) systems one Mark V (140 mm diameter core) system	Current inventory: 3 narrow kerf kits 6 wide kerf kits The SIPRE auger is made from stainless steel and is consequently heavier than the IDDO and PICO augers.	Shipping weight/cubes does not include the generator, Sidewinder or 4-inch hand auger normally used with this drill.	Shipping weight includes generator but not hand auger. 130 lb shipping weight without generator.
Restrictions	While ethanol can be used to free a stuck SIPRE or Kovacs hand auger, only glycol should be used with the IDDO hand augers. Ethanol should not be used to free a stuck IDDO Hand Auger, as it will delaminate flights on the core barrel.

Agile Ice Coring

Name	4-Inch Drill	700 Drill	Blue Ice Drill	Chipmunk Drill	Eclipse Drill	Electrothermal Drill	Foro 400 Drill	Stampfli Drill
Type	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring	Ice coring
Max. Practical Depth	300-350 m	700 m	25 m (200 m for BID-Deep version*)	0.90 m	300 m	295 m	400 m	50 meters, depending on conditions
Hole Diameter	145 mm (5.7 inches)	98 mm (3.86 inch)	288 mm (11.3 inches)	64 mm (2.5-inch)	113 mm (4.4 inches)	104 mm (4.1 inches)		72 mm (2.8 inches)
Ice Core Diameter	104 mm (4 inches)	70 mm (2.76 inch) initially, with potential future adaptation for 64 mm (2.52 inch) core	241 mm (9.5 inches)	41 mm (1.6-inch)	81 mm (3.2 inches)	86 mm (3.4 inches)	98 mm (3.85 inches)	57 mm (2.2 inches)
Ice Core Length	1 m	1 m	1 m	0.15 m	1 m	1 m	1 m	0.8 m
IDP Driller Required?	Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)	Yes	Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)	No	Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)	Yes, 1 driller	Yes	Yes
Drill Fluid Required?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Trench Required?	No		No	No	Yes (1.5 m x 0.7 m x 1.5 m)	No	No	No
Power Requirements/Source	220 V, 5 kW generator		120 V, 3.5 kW generator (5 kW generator for BID-Deep)	120 V, 1 kW generator	120 V, 3 kW generator or Solar and wind power system	220 V, 5 kW generator		Solar panels or 2 kW generator
Estimated Drilling Time	100 m - 30 hours 150 m - 50 hours 200 m - 75 hours		10 m - 2 hours 20 m - 4 hours 25 m - 5 hours 50 m - 12 hours 100 m - 25 hours 150 m - 40 hours 200 m - 60 hours		100 m - 60 hours 150 m - 110 hours 200 m - 150 hours			20 m - 3 hr 50 m - 14 hr (100 m - 40 hr)
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)	6 hours		4 hours		4 hours			1 hour
Helicopter Transportable?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shipping Weight	2600 lbs	6,300 lbs	4,300 lbs	35 lbs	1300 lbs	1200 lbs	1800 lbs	380 lbs (including tent, excluding generator)
Shipping Cube	146	420 cube	270	2.3	70	66	200 m system can be broken down so individual pieces weigh less than 100 lbs and are under 6 ft3	Appx 37
Comments	Complete unit operating is ~1000 lbs. Heaviest component is winch (on sled) at ~500 lbs.	Shipping weight and cube listed above includes all spares, tools, two generators and shipping cases.			Complete unit operating ~800 lbs. Heaviest component is the winch (on sled) 400 lbs. Winch control box 250 lbs.	Shipping weight includes generator and 100 or 200 meter winch, depending on the required depth; complete operating weight is 800-1700 lbs; uses 4-Inch Drill system winches	Shipping weight listed above includes all spares and shipping cases. For ultra-lightweight deployments, where spares and shipping cases can be left at a base camp, the weight of the winch, tower, one control box and one sonde is estimated at 604 lbs.	Operable in ambient temperatures down to -25°C. A back-packable tent for housing drilling operations is also included.
Restrictions			* The depth capability of the BID-Deep is largely influenced by site/ice characteristics. The current equipment is likely reaching its operational limits and assuring acceptable core quality at depths of 200 m would require a re-design of the system. * IDP is discussing with the science community several approaches for drilling good quality ice core in blue ice, which may include design and fabrication of a modified BID or the development of a large-diameter thermal drill.

Intermediate or Deep Ice Coring

Name	Foro 1650 Drill
Type	Ice coring
Max. Practical Depth	1650 m
Hole Diameter	129.6 mm (wet hole) 126 mm (dry hole)
Ice Core Diameter	98 mm (3.85 inches)
Ice Core Length	2.0 m
Rock Core Diameter	[NA]
IDP Driller Required?	Yes, 3+ (number of drillers required depends on desired drilling depth and drilling schedule)
Drill Fluid Required?	Yes
Trench Required?	Yes (3 m x 0.9 m x 3.5 m)
Power Requirements/Source	35 kW, 460 V, 3-phase generator
Estimated Drilling Time	1,500 m - 85 days (assumes 24 hour operations)
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
Helicopter Transportable?	Yes (see system weight/cube below)
Light Aircraft Transportable?	Yes (see system weight/cube below)
Shipping Weight	27,000 lbs (does not include drilling fluid, generator, generator fuel, or personnel)
Shipping Cube	1,875
Comments
Restrictions

Rock, Mixed Ice/Rock Coring

Name	Agile Sub-Ice Geological Drill	Winkie Drill
Type	Rock coring; ice coring/augering	Rock Coring; Ice Coring/Augering
Max. Practical Depth	700 m (maximum drilling depth through ice)	120 m using standard AW34 drill rod. Designed as a rock drill so should also be possible with enough time and fluid to drill 120 m of rock core.
Hole Diameter	62.5 mm	50 - 52 mm (augering), 86 mm
Ice Core Diameter		33.4 mm, 71.7 mm
Ice Core Length		1.5 m
Rock Core Diameter	39 mm	33.4 mm
Rock Core Length	1.5 m	1.5 m
IDP Driller Required?	Yes, 2 drillers (4 people required for drill assembly)	Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)
Drill Fluid Required?	Yes	Yes
Trench Required?	No	No
Power Requirements/Source	120 V, 5 kW generator	Generator 2.5 kW
Estimated Drilling Time	Ice: 1m/minute Rock: 0.15 m/minute rate of penetration	Augering Ice: 0.4-0.5 m/min rate of penetration Coring Ice: ? Rock: 0.02-0.05 m/min rate of penetration Above values do not include rod tripping time (can be significant in deep holes)
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)	2 days	3 hours (set up time)
Helicopter Transportable?	Yes (see system weight/cube below)	Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?	Yes (see system weight/cube below)	Yes
Shipping Weight	19,000 lbs (200 m); 30,000 lbs (700 m)	6,800 lbs (120 m)
Shipping Cube	700	110
Comments	Intermittent ice coring possible by replacing non-coring bit with core barrel assembly
Restrictions	In light of use of a drilling fluid, it is critical to select sites where the ice is frozen to the bedrock and is free of cracks and/or the presence of liquid water. Any voids within the ice or near the bed will result in a pressure drop and loss of fluid flow and would halt drilling. In addition, site selection should favor areas where the bed geometry and ice flow minimize pre-existing stresses present in the ice, reducing the risk of hydro fracture during drilling.	In light of use of a drilling fluid, it is critical to select sites where the ice is frozen to the bedrock and is free of cracks and/or the presence of liquid water. Any voids within the ice or near the bed will result in a pressure drop and loss of fluid flow and would halt drilling. In addition, site selection should favor areas where the bed geometry and ice flow minimize pre-existing stresses present in the ice, reducing the risk of hydro fracture during drilling.

Non-Coring

Name	Rapid Air Movement Drill	Sediment Laden Lake Ice Drill	Small Hot Water Drill
Type	Non-coring	Hot Water Drill	Hot Water Drill
Max. Practical Depth	95 m (the depth being limited by the length of the hose)	6 m	Reliable and efficient to a depth of 25-30 m
Hole Diameter	100 mm	76mm - 250mm (3 inches - 9.8 inches)	Variable (10 cm nominal)
IDP Driller Required?	Yes, 2 drillers	No	Typically at least one IDP driller (total of 2 people required for drill operations)
Drill Fluid Required?	No	No	No
Trench Required?	No	No	No
Power Requirements/Source		2 kW Generator	120 V, 5 kW generator
Estimated Drilling Time		5" diameter x 6m deep in 30 minutes	30 m - 15 minutes
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)		30 minutes	20 minutes
Helicopter Transportable?		Yes	Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?		Yes	Yes
Shipping Weight	18,853 lbs	415 lbs	3500 lbs; Assembled for operation w/o fuel: 2200 lbs
Shipping Cube	1649 cube	34 cubic feet	400
Comments
Restrictions	Optimization of the compressors (small or large) and the hose and sonde are required to meet the revised science requirements for RAM 2. Even with the large compressors, however, the drill system is not reaching the 90 m depth range of the original RAM Drill.

Borehole Logging

Name	Deep Logging Winch	Intermediate Depth Logging Winch	Logging Tower	USGS Deep Logging Winch
Type	Logging	Logging	Accessory for borehole logging operations	Logging
Max. Practical Depth	4000 m	1750 m	[NA]	4400 m
IDP Driller Required?	Yes (usually)	Yes (usually)	No	Yes (usually)
Power Requirements/Source	208 V (L21-30) and 125 V (L5-20); 8 kW generator	120 V, 3.5 kW generator	[NA]	208 V (Hubbell 231A) and 120 V; 10 kW generator
Helicopter Transportable?	No	Yes	Yes	No
Light Aircraft Transportable?	No	Yes	Yes	No
Shipping Weight	Winch crate is 3500 lbs Winch control case is 400 lbs	Winch crate is 900 lbs Winch control case is 75 lbs	180 lbs	4,260 lbs
Shipping Cube	Winch crate is 86" L x 60" W x 68" H Winch control case is 48" L x 48" W x 36" H	Winch crate is 57" x 42" x 35" Winch control case is 39" x 24" x 12"	58" L x 18" W x 16" H	135
Comments	Weights and dimensions above do not include a generator or fuel	Weights and dimensions above do not include a generator or fuel		Weights and dimensions above do not include a generator or fuel
Restrictions