I would say that depends on the type of Bits they were using,if the "pounders"are so great how come the people who drill oil wells use rotary heads....a pounder will go no where near as deep or as fast as a rotary...at least not where I live....A "pounder" would take about a week to go down to 200' and then they really start to slow down when it gets that deep,the rotary rig that was used here drilled 509' 8"wide hole in 24 hours total drilling time and believe me he went through a lot of rock,and he/they drilled more wells than anyone else around here.
Not nessecarily true,this rotary rig I used had 20"stems that you had to stop the rig and add another section to go deeper and you could tell during the time you added another stem if you had found water or not,have you ever been around either type of drilling rig?I have been around both a lot....
Scott:
I'm not saying one type is better than the other. If drilling a well I'd use a rotary. The issue of being able to detect small flows is about how the chippings are circulted out of the hole. A rotary uses density and velocity of the circulating fluid to get out chippings.The circulation also helps cool and lubricate the the bit. A cable tool esentially uses a PD pump metod of bringing the chippings to the surface and therefore does not require as much addition water for drilling.
As for the use of cable tools rember Spindletop?
Question. you mentioned 20 " drill stems. Does that mean you are working with a four ft. rig. Must take forever to trip out of a deep hole.
Egon..........
I agree with you about the small vane of water.Where a fast boring type of well drilling rig could seal a small vane off going through it so fast.The stem length I am talking about is be 20 feet long not 20 inches in length [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] That would constitute a big difference. [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]
Have a good day
Scott