Our Machines
Our business, and the quality of our service, depends in large part on the machinery we own and use. We commission individually designed equipment, tailored to the specific requirements of our business, enabling us to deliver fast, efficient, effective, and clean drill projects, often in challenging locations. Our plant portfolio includes drilling rigs specifically designed for geothermal boreholes, rotary hydraulic drills with pumps, loop insertion reels, and mud cleaning equipment.
Comacchio MC909GT and MC900
Our 5-strong fleet of MC900 and the newer, improved MC909GT rigs are uniquely able to drill geothermal boreholes to depths of up to 300m.
In the initial drilling phase, to 128m, the rig simultaneously installs a temporary protective steel casing within the borehole, which is specifically designed for problematic or fragile geological layers. Once the top section is stabilised in this way, the rig can then be further used to drill beyond 200m.
The Comacchio MC909GT rigs are the fastest in the market, with a borehole completion work rate of almost double those of conventional rigs. The compact dimensions of these rigs also allow for their use on smaller parcels of land, in urban environments, where GSHP’s of less than 50 kW are required.
The speed and efficiency of these rigs represent a real cost advantage to our clients, as our drilling teams need only to be onsite for shorter periods.
Comacchio MC450P/MC450P.1/Geo602
The GEO 602, formerly known as the MC450, was specifically designed to meet our geothermal engineering needs. This rig is particularly suitable for the installation of geothermal borehole heat exchangers in loose, rocky terrains and soft soils such as clays and sands. We have four of this type of rig in our fleet and, although compact, they are extremely powerful.
Much of the specifications we require enable us to minimize processing times and unnecessary delays onsite, such as the GEO 602’s rod and casing handling systems that facilitate loading and unloading operations.
Specifically customised for for Synergy Boreholes, the new-model GEO 602 is equipped with a powerful mud pump, mounted onboard, which allows the rig to drill boreholes to depths of beyond 200m, while operating in restricted spaces.
Desco 6500r
Our newest rig on the fleet is the internationally acclaimed Desco 6500r. More compact than the Comacchio rigs, this machine punches hard above its weight. It is capable of delivering boreholes to depths of up to 400m, with a 16 tonne pullback capacity, which means that it is incredibly powerful, with huge potential for speed, efficiency and range. Having only brought our new rig into the UK in the summer of 2022, we are excited every time we start it up, and we are learning new things about its capabilities every day.
Peripheral Equipment
We are passionate about making sure that our clients have the best possible experience, throughout their projects with us. From the first phone call, we work hard to deliver a process that is as easy and efficient as possible, and it is this commitment that drives us to invest in peripheral equipment such as our mud recycling units and grout pumps, which combine to deliver the optimum speed and site cleanliness.
Tibban Mud Puppy MP-170-2SC
Mud recycling units are designed to process the liquid mud, or slurry, that flushes through each borehole as it is being drilled. These American, patented, trailer-mounted units use built in de-silting cones to separate out the solid drilling waste from the water, eliminating the need to dig out large, settling pools. The remaining solid waste can then be mechanically disposed of, either on site or removed by skip.
GTD MRU
These bespoke, tracked mud recycling units have built in decanter centrifuges to refine the fluids when fines/clays dissolve into the drilling mud. They are bespoke to Synergy Boreholes and are making a big impact in the drilling world.
MGS Grouting / Loop Insertion
Once drilled, a geothermal loop is inserted into the borehole (sometimes simultaneously) and a specialised grout is used, for a number of purposes; to secure the pipework in place, to prevent the borehole filling with water, to stabilise the sidewalls and any loose surrounding geology, and to create a heat-transfer ‘bridge’ between the ground and the glycol within the pipes. For more information on how the systems work, please click here.
As part of our fleet, we have a number of mechanised loop insertion and grouting units. These machines guarantee a professional level of loop insertion and grouting to the full depths of all our boreholes.
The MGS units are towable, so easy to bring to any site, and they are fully automated, so grout is prepared, mixed and pumped directly into the boreholes, without mess or waste. The value of this highly efficient equipment should not be underestimated, as many boreholes in the past have been compromised by incomplete grouting, or fraught with delays because of impacted grout at the top of the borehole, or considerable mess from grout powder on the surface.
It is because of equipment like this that we are able to confidently rise to the challenge of even the most technically difficult job, and why we are recognised as some of the fastest, cleanest, and most efficient drillers in the business.