Drilling Update -- The Mud Puppy

You may have seen this device stationed near the ninth tee and just below the drill rig.  The Mud Puppy is a component of mud rotary drilling which "recycles the mud and dumps the crud."  The mud is pumped into the hole along with some water and coats the walls to provide stability and prevent contamination.

At 165 feet we found some rock in the clay.

Here is the "crud" that comes out of the mud puppy.

There were a couple of problems with the operation of the recycling system that limited progress the last two days.  A pump wasn't keeping up with the flow of debris and the mud was a bit too thick.  Today was spent working to remedy those problems and hopefully, the hole will get deeper tomorrow. Once the drill rig reaches solid rock, a metal sleeve or casing, will be installed to keep the hole from caving in.  Drilling through the rock will be accomplished with a different technique using air instead of water.  The air forces debris to the top of the bore hole.

I'll continue to update the process frequently with plenty of photos and even a video or two.  Here is the first video, a shot of the mud rotary drilling.  The crew working on the well are all wearing ear plugs for good reason.