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Equipment Comparison

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  1. Home
  2. Equipment
  3. Equipment Comparison

Equipment Comparison

  • Hand Augers
  • Agile Ice Coring
  • Intermediate or Deep Ice Coring
  • Rock, Mixed Ice/Rock Coring
  • Non-Coring
  • Borehole Logging

 

Hand Augers

Name Hand Auger, IDDO Hand Auger, SIPRE Prairie Dog Drill Sidewinder Power Drive
Type Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring Power unit for hand augers
Max. Practical Depth 20 m (30-40 m with Sidewinder) 6 m 30 m 40 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)
  • 76 mm (3-inches)
  • 98 mm (3.9 inches)
  • [NA]
Ice Core Length 1 m 0.5 m 1 m [NA]
IDP Driller Required? 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
Trench Required?

No

No

No

No

Power Requirements/Source 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

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
40 m - 12 hours

Time to Move (breakdown and setup) <1 hour 15 minutes <1 hour
Helicopter Transportable? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable? 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:

  • 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 w/o generator.

Restrictions

Agile Ice Coring

Name 4-Inch Drill Badger-Eclipse Drill Blue Ice Drill Chipmunk Drill Electrothermal Drill Foro 400 Drill Stampfli Drill
Type Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring Ice coring
Max. Practical Depth 300-350 m 300 m 25 m (200 m for BID-Deep version*) 0.90 m 295 m 400 m 100 m
Hole Diameter 145 mm (5.7 inches) 113 mm (4.4 inches) 288 mm (11.3 inches) 64 mm (2.5-inch) 104 mm (4.1 inches) 72 mm (2.8 inches)
Ice Core Diameter 104 mm (4 inches) 81 mm (3.2 inches) 241 mm (9.5 inches) 41 mm (1.6-inch) 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 0.8 m
IDP Driller Required? Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation) Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation) Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation) No Yes, 1 driller Yes No
Drill Fluid Required? No No No No No No No
Trench Required?

No

Yes (1.5 m x 0.7 m x 1.5 m)

No

No

No

No

No

Power Requirements/Source 220 V, 5 kW generator 120 V, 3 kW generator or Solar and wind power system 120 V, 3.5 kW generator (5 kW generator for BID-Deep) 120 V, 1 kW generator 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

100 m - 60 hours
150 m - 110 hours
200 m - 150 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

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
Light Aircraft Transportable? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Shipping Weight

2600 lbs

1300 lbs

4,300 lbs

35 lbs

1200 lbs

1800 lbs

380 lbs (including tent, excluding generator)

Shipping Cube

146

70

270

2.3

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.

Complete unit operating ~800 lbs. Heaviest component is the winch (on sled) 400 lbs. Winch control box 250 lbs.

* 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.

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

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

Current drill capabilities require ice at the drill site to be free of cracks and frozen to the bed.

Current drill capabilities require the drill site to be blue ice up to the surface, without cracks, and frozen to the bed.

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

22,664 lbs

415 lbs

3500 lbs; Assembled for operation w/o fuel: 2200 lbs

Shipping Cube

2971 cube

34 cubic feet

400

Comments

Weight of drill system in operation about 20,000 lbs

Restrictions

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

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. 1836328 to Dartmouth, and sub-awards to University of Wisconsin and University of New Hampshire which support the work of the U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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