Whether installing smaller-diameter utilities at long distances or in challenging ground conditions, or you need a go-to drill for larger-diameter electric, water, oil and gas pipeline work, you should consider using the mid-size Vermeer D100x140 S3 and R250C.
Why? The two machines working together provide a solution for HDD installations engineered for drills in the 100,000-pound class. The D100x140 S3 delivers 275 horsepower (205 kW), 14,000 foot-pounds (18,981.5 Nm) of torque, rotational speeds up to 203 rpm and a thrust/pullback of 100,000 pounds (444.8 kN). The R250C self-contained mud-recycling system helps minimize the time and cost of transporting water to the jobsite with a tank capacity of 3,690 gallons (13,968.2 L). It also offers plenty of cleaning performance with its scaled double-deck with 56 square feet (2.9 m2) of total screen surface area.
In fact, many contractors are calling the D100x140 S3 and the R250C some of the hardest working machines in their fleet. Here are just a handful of examples of how crews use this combo to make quick work of challenging HDD projects.
Eastern Utilities
Continuous bore shots of 800 feet (243.8 m) in the sandy soils of Long Island, New York, and all the machinery needed to be taken off the road at the end of each day — these were just a few of the challenges Eastern Utilities Services LLC faced on an 18,400-foot (5,608.3-m) electrical transmission conduit project on Long Island.
Maintenance holes were spaced out to 800 feet (243.8 m) on this project, the owner’s preference to do them in one pass to minimize disruptions. That meant each bore diameter needed to be between 18 inches and 20 inches (45.7 cm and 50.8 cm) to accommodate dual or triple 6-inch (15.2-cm) conduit bundles. Using a D100x140 S3, each day, the drill crew walked the machine into position, aligned the rod loading boom truck and tanker trailers, drilled out 800 feet (243.8 m), made multiple reamer passes and then pulled the conduit in on the fourth pass.
Each day, they were drilling 3,200 feet (975.4 m) of rod in only eight hours, which included swapping out rod baskets several times every pass. The Eastern Utilities drill crew achieved an average bore speed of 25 feet per minute (7.6 m/min) on the 8-inch (20.3-cm) pilot bore, 10 feet per minute (3 m/min) on the pre-ream pass and 30 feet per minute (9.1 m/min) on the ream and pipe pullback. Each drill path was bored to 18 inches or 20 inches (45.7 or 50.8 cm), depending on whether a double or triple 6-inch (15.2-cm) conduit bundle was being installed. Well over one million gallons (3.8 million L) of fluid were used on the 18,400-foot (5,608.3-m) project with a 125-gallon per minute (473.2-L/min) pumping average. The R250C supplied enough cleaned drilling fluid to maximize production.
There aren’t many fluid disposal sites in the Long Island area, and those that exist can be costly. It would have taken more than 10 large vacuum excavator trucks on a project of this size and scope, pumping and dumping, to keep pace with the drill. The R250C, though, kept pace with the drill crews’ needs the whole time.
From start to finish, Eastern Utilities completed 22 drill shots, most in excess of 800 feet (243.8 m), in less than two months, with a total of 35 drilling days. The footage Eastern Utilities could do in a day speaks volumes to the efficiency of the Vermeer D100x140 S3.
K3 Directional Drilling
The K3 Directional Drilling Inc. crew used their D100x140 S3 and R250C to install new water lines to the water bridge at Walt Disney World Resort, where ferry boats float over buses.
The job called for two 18-inch (45.7-cm) water mains to be installed to run water to the bridge and a 16-inch (40.6-cm) reclaiming line to help circulate the water. Spaced about 10 feet (3 m) apart, each bore is roughly 1,100 feet (335.3 m) long and 60 feet to 80 feet (18.3 m – 24.4 m) deep through some rock formations.
K3 Directional Drilling upgraded to the latest D100x140 S3 model and added an R250C to complete the work. After the pilot bore, they used a Vermeer 16-inch (40.6-cm) fluted reamer, then made two additional passes with a 22-inch (55.9-cm) and a 26-inch (66-cm) reamer before pulling pipe back.
Their D100x140 S3 and R250C were also their go-to combo on a massive project that involved crossing under Florida’s Turnpike 30 times. The crew’s starting elevation was around 10 feet (3 m) higher than the turnpike for this job. Within that first 200 feet (61 m), bores needed to be 30 feet (9.1 m) below the roadway. The terrain on the other side of the road was also lower and needed to be accounted for. Then, many of the bores crossed underneath a 36-inch (91.4-cm) gas distribution with a clearance of 10 feet (3 m) before exiting into a 2-foot (.6-m) pit located 40 feet (12.2 m) from the distribution line.
The K3 Directional Drilling set back their D100x140 S3 an average of 200 feet (61 m) from the turnpike and drilled out distances ranging from 600 feet to 700 feet (182.9 m to 213.4 m). The 30 bores ranged from 12 inches to 36 inches (30.5 cm to 91.4 cm) in diameter, and the ground was clay for the most part. The crew had to make several passes with drill reamers to open each bore to the required diameter before pulling back the conduit.
Today, the company has almost a nine-month backlog of large-diameter work, and they are looking forward to running up the hours on their D100x140 S3 to get it all done.
Flatirons Drilling
Flatirons Drilling Inc. is based in Eaton, Colorado. Having performed long and large-diameter pipeline work across the country, one of the most challenging places for the company to work has been its own backyard.
On a pipeline transmission line project from St. Vrain to the Latham Gas Plant in Platteville — 30 miles (48.3 km) in total — HDD was used in environmentally sensitive areas, under roads and railways, and for crossing the South Platte River. Flatirons Drilling was asked to execute 24 bores ranging from 720 feet to 2,700 feet (219.5 m to 823 m).
The project’s shorter shots were done using the D100x140 S3 with an R250C, including a memorable 1,250-foot (381-m) bore of a 24-inch (61-cm) steel pipe in ground conditions that seemed to change every 20 feet (6.1 m). There was silty sand mixed with heavy glandular gravel and groundwater to start. The bore string then made its way into a denser rock that required the crew to trip out and change tooling a few times before completing the pilot bore. Afterward, the team made a couple of passes with reamers before pulling back the heavy steel pipe.
Versatility — the Vermeer solution
When contractors need an HDD that can handle a wide variety of small- to mid-size utility work, as well as larger-diameter product like electrical, water and oil and gas pipeline, the Vermeer D100x140 S3 and R250C is an equipment solution that allows them to focus on productivity and provides a competitive edge.
Using this machine combination, the results in the field speak for themselves — contracting crews crisscrossing the country are performing utility and large-diameter bores quickly and efficiently.
For more information about the mid-size Vermeer D100x140 S3 and R250C reclaimer, contact your local Vermeer dealer.
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