Key takeaways
- Size the buffer at four hours of peak reaming flow
- One 30 m3 unit covers most rigs up to 100 tonnes
- Add a second tank when water is trucked in rather than piped
Storage is the buffer between your water supply and your pump. Too little and the rig waits for the truck. Too much and you paid for steel that stands still. The rule of thumb: store four hours of your peak flow.
Calculate the peak flow
Peak flow happens during the largest reaming pass. A 24 inch reamer at 1 m per minute needs about 1,200 litres per minute. Four hours of that is 288 m3 of total fluid, but with a recycler returning 65 percent, the fresh fluid you need to store is closer to 100 m3.
Match the tank to the supply
- Piped water on site: one 30 m3 unit is enough for rigs up to 100 tonnes
- Water by truck: two units, so one fills while the other feeds the mixer
- River crossings without road access: three units or a 60 m3 tank
What a storage unit should have
A level indicator you can read from the rig, a pump outlet on the mixer side, and a drain you can open with a gloved hand. Our units have all three because crews asked for them, not because it looks good in a brochure.
