To make an analogy, large-diameter drilling and residential service line installation drilling are similar to the difference between a Green Beret sniper and a quickdraw lawman of the Old West. Would you expect that sheriff wielding a long-barreled rifle with a scope to outdraw an opponent for each draw? Nope, he will need something lighter, easier to maneuver and able to get several shots out quickly. Drillers similarly rely on their different tools to deliver specific results.

Drillers who are looking to bore deep and far in ground conditions of varying difficulty will opt for something like a 4 1/4-inch thread-on universal transmitter housing with DCI’s 19-inch transmitter, using a tri-cutter bit such as the Eagle Claw SD. This setup will ensure stability and consistency and get the job done on a 1,000- to 2,000-foot shot. On the contrary, using that same setup for a street-to-house service line bore will be just as clunky as that sheriff trying to quickdraw with a sniper rifle. 

A residential driller will need something faster and more agile. He’ll need quick setup, agile steering, fast pullback and speedy cleanup. There are systems such as Melfred Borzall’s Service Shot System that can give that driller the “quickdraw” production he’ll need for the day to be successful, but let’s break down why on a more general level.

Setup

Let’s face it, setting up the job is much of the work, but it’s not the most interesting part. Companies can brag about long bores and dead-on shots, but never mention the time-sapping setup that precedes the actual boring: Establishing safety protocols, digging pilot and exit pits, positioning the rig, mixing the mud recipes, getting the vac in place, connecting the tooling and clocking your locating equipment. When your day includes 15-20 residential shots, this setup becomes problematic for production time. 

Using tooling that doesn’t require mud mixing or fluid will dramatically reduce the time to set up and eliminate the cost and time of a vac. Coupled with the right tooling, this elimination of fluid, when appropriate and safe, can also remove the time you’ll need to dig those entry/exit pits.

Pilot shot and pullback

Now that you’re set up properly (and quickly), it’s time to start drilling. This is when you’re maneuvering through the ground, which has to be performed quickly and with agility. Because you’re in a residential area, one minute you may be next to a water main only to find yourself a few inches from an abandoned irrigation system someone buried. This requires a smaller diameter housing and bit combination with minimal ground resistance and maximum steerability to dodge quickly without much clearance.

In residential, forgiving soil, you can either opt for a direct pullback, which can speed up production considerably, or have a quick-disconnect option for your tooling. Either way, avoiding the timely threading on and off of lead rods and reamers will be crucial if your job allows for that. Look for something that can bolt onto your pilot bore housing/blade combo or has a quick-disconnect type that you can just knock out a roll pin, swap out the bit for a reamer, and start pullback.

Cleanup and reset

Once a bore is complete, the crew needs to quickly move on to the next shot on the block. Using a housing with optional drill fluid gives the possibility of not having to clean or dispose of messy mud — especially when the ground and conditions are such that fluid is not needed. 

Melfred Borzall has developed HDD tools to make directional drilling more productive and profitable for 75 years. The company’s Southern California design and manufacturing plant is ground zero for the HDD tools that changed the way an entire industry drills.

800-558-7500 or 805-739-0118 (outside U.S.) | www.melfredborzall.com