WaterBox – A Water Pump Built For Water-Hammer Drills

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Down-the-hole (DTH) water-hammer drilling (also known as ‘Wassara drilling’) is used in sensitive drilling situations. One challenge with this kind of drilling has always been fluctuating pressure and flowrate. That’s why we created WaterBox™ – for greater precision. 

The MEDATech Borterra WaterBox is a self-contained diesel- or electric-powered unit that pumps water at the exact flow rates that DTH water-hammer drills require. A digital-control system manages pump speed and engine throttle to maximize efficiency and fuel economy.  Precise pressure, flow and other key data (up to 3,000 psi @ 120 gpm) are displayed on the colour screen of the radio remote control.

Borterra, MEDATech’s drilling division, designed WaterBox to solve one specific problem. We had built a drill with two drilling technologies (water hammer and sonic), the WS6000, for Alabama Power’s Southern Company in 2020. The drill was built for the company’s embankment-dam grouting program. It needed to penetrate the dam’s overburden and karst without destabilizing the surrounding ground. 

But the WS6000 required a more precise flow rate and pressure control than any pump could deliver at the time in order to keep holes straight, true and uniform. Inconsistent water pressure and flow rate are a big factor in drilling less accurate holes, something that we had to solve for the WS6000.

With WaterBox, the operator sets the precise desired flow rate and/or pressure. Both values are displayed in real time on the remote control and the operator can fine tune as needed, as drilling gets deeper or ground conditions change. Fine-tuning is necessary to maintain maximum penetration rates while ensuring precision and repeatability for each hole drilled. The pump can come powered either by an EPA Tier 4 diesel engine, or an electric motor.

The self-contained, self-sufficient pumping unit is built into a modified 10’ x 8’ x 8’ shipping container complete with forklift pockets, crane lifting points and an automatic ANSUL Fire Suppression system. Compact, rugged and highly portable, it is proving popular within the Wassara-drilling community. 

To learn more about WaterBox, visit www.medatech.ca/waterbox or contact us by using the form below. We will be in touch very shortly. 



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