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Geo NR Gee · 02-15-17, 07:39 PM

Well, my experience is that when I used plain water without the drilling medium/mud, I had trouble pulling up the larger materials and my drill would jam. One of the drill bits is still in the ground.

After I used a small amount of the thickener, the cuttings came up quickly and with a lot of the bigger pieces that were probably jamming the drill bit up. I would think it would be the same as using a pvc and water drilling setup.

With out the thicker mud or viscosity, the cuttings tend to fall back down. With the drilling mud, they seem to float up and out the hole. I don't know about kitty litter though it sounds like it might work.

slippy · 02-15-17, 08:37 PM

I'll probably be reporting back tomorrow with preliminary results. I think I've got a good pump lined up (at least I hope so... it is a Pacer 5hp transfer pump, seen here

I don't know if it will be able to pump very thick fluid, and I don't know how thick the fluid should be, either.

It is pretty clear to me from my whopping 6' hole, looking at the particulates I generated, that anything bigger than a grain of sand is at the bottom of the hole. I was generating muddy water, but hardly mud, much less coarse cuttings.

Most folks don't know that bentonite and kitty litter are pretty much one in the same; even the two types of kitty litters (the magical clumping ones versus the clay chips) are akin to the two main types of bentonite. We'll just have to see how it goes. The price is reasonable, and its readily available nature ought to help other DIY drillers.

02-15-17, 07:39 PM	#11
Geo NR Gee Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Seattle Posts: 326 Thanks: 109 Thanked 23 Times in 18 Posts	Well, my experience is that when I used plain water without the drilling medium/mud, I had trouble pulling up the larger materials and my drill would jam. One of the drill bits is still in the ground. After I used a small amount of the thickener, the cuttings came up quickly and with a lot of the bigger pieces that were probably jamming the drill bit up. I would think it would be the same as using a pvc and water drilling setup. With out the thicker mud or viscosity, the cuttings tend to fall back down. With the drilling mud, they seem to float up and out the hole. I don't know about kitty litter though it sounds like it might work.

02-15-17, 08:37 PM	#12
slippy Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Charlotte NC USA Posts: 37 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	I'll probably be reporting back tomorrow with preliminary results. I think I've got a good pump lined up (at least I hope so... it is a Pacer 5hp transfer pump, seen here I don't know if it will be able to pump very thick fluid, and I don't know how thick the fluid should be, either. It is pretty clear to me from my whopping 6' hole, looking at the particulates I generated, that anything bigger than a grain of sand is at the bottom of the hole. I was generating muddy water, but hardly mud, much less coarse cuttings. Most folks don't know that bentonite and kitty litter are pretty much one in the same; even the two types of kitty litters (the magical clumping ones versus the clay chips) are akin to the two main types of bentonite. We'll just have to see how it goes. The price is reasonable, and its readily available nature ought to help other DIY drillers.