Quote:
Originally Posted by dd74
Sounds tough. What do the injuries come from? The drill itself? I'm ignorant of the whole process, but it seems to me one is there, more or less, to support a drill going down into the ground. Or is there more to it.
What I'm driving toward is why is it such hard work? Other than the heat and mosquitoes and such?
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The only tool one man can carry is a 36" pipe wrench and it's rarely used. 350# tongs (giant pipe wrenches) are suspended on cables and connected by cable to a giant diesel engine. You slap one on the pipe, another hand slaps the other one on, the driller stands on the gas for a 6' tall diesel and when the slack comes out of the cable, the pipe connection breaks loose. The 600# air tongs spin the pipe loose, you swing it out of the way, and it's lowered down to the deck. You unhook it from the dereck and shove a 90' piece of pipe down a ramp where another guy rolls it to the side and waits for the next one. This happens ever 90 seconds for 12 hours. That is raising pipe. Lowering is different.