Tracks, remote control for Lone Star Drills

The LSGT+HDA drill from Lone Star Drills. (Photo: Lone Star Drills)

Little Beaver’s Lone Star Drills is offering a self-propelled tracked drill with an automatic SPT hammer for geotechnical and soil sampling applications. The LSGT+HDA drill is based on the company’s popular LST1G+HAD trailer-mounted unit. By adding tracks and a remote-controlled feature to the drill, the company said operators can now position the drill in hard-to-reach areas with delicate underfoot and maintain leveling control with hydraulics.

The company said it designed the drill to meet a growing demand from customers who must access remote or environmentally sensitive areas. National parks, delicate turf, wet or soft soil and other restricted sites often mean the ground can’t be disturbed by a truck and trailer. The tracked drill provides a solution for those sensitive areas as the design spreads the drill’s weight and lowers its ground pressure to 3.8 psi.

“We wanted to provide a solution to customers who were limited by a truck-mounted geotechnical drill,” said Joe Haynes, Little Beaver president. “The LST1G+HDA drill itself is a durable machine, but we wanted to make a more versatile version for all customers.”

Hydraulic leveling is another feature of the LSGT+HDA. Operators can raise the machine until it’s level thanks to a cylinder on each corner and a telescoping jack, said the company, while the ability to individually adjust the corners allows for operation on uneven ground. Maintaining true vertical hole alignment is critical for accurate SPT results.

Travel is remotely controlled, allowing users to operate the drill within line of sight of the rig. The remote is battery powered and includes a 50 ft. tether cord in case of battery power loss.

The drill comes standard with a 140 lb hammer and is capable of sampling down to 100 ft. The versatile machine can also be used with Little Beaver’s split spoon samplers and drilling rod for core samples or geotechnical testing and environmental soil sampling.

A Honda iGX800 gasoline engine rated 25 hp powers the drill, which includes a 3000-psi hydraulic system. The drill’s 12.5 gpm hydraulic power pack achieves a rotary speed of 100 rpm. The system provides the drill’s hydraulic winch with 1500 lb of pull for raising the automatic hammer and sampling string.

A 25 hp Kohler KDW 1404 liquid-cooled diesel engine option is also available.

See Lone Star Drills at ConExpo-Con/Agg booth S61548.