The Prospector Hammer System by Pioneer One was designed and built by a drilling contractor, for drilling contractors. It isn’t an engineer’s lifeless drawing on a blueprint – it’s the result of a lifetime of drilling experience that brings the innovation to the Prospector Hammer System.
At Pioneer One, we know firsthand the challenges you face with each drilling project. We’ve designed the Prospector Hammer System to make your job way easier.
The Prospector offers you more aggressive and controlled steering than ever before. Together with our specialty hammer drill bits, Pioneer One has designed an advanced steering mechanism for drilling hammers. The Prospector Hammer System is simple, easy to set up, and easier to operate. It also has unmatched speed, strength, and agility to traverse in varied soil conditions.
In head-to-head competition, the Prospector has outperformed every competitor, every time. Operators in the field prefer the extra steering flexibility the Prospector provides and its ease of handling.
If you are operating the Prospector air hammer in rock and you encounter clay and need to steer or rotate, the air hammer has no problem making the transition in soil conditions. The Prospector air hammer works fine in all soils, including cobble. However, in sand and gravel we recommend using One Shot Plus with our hammers.
The air hammer is easily installed on the lead drill rod using a crossover connector. The oiler comes with two lay flat air hoses (2-Inch). One hose connects the oiler to the air compressor; the other connects the oiler to the rig. The oiler is powered with an electrical cord connected to the rig's 12-volt battery. All fittings are included when you purchase our air hammer system, except for the crossover sub. A simple crossover sub and air line connection change is all that is needed if you're switching drill size. The airline connection is typically one fitting installed on the drill’s mud pump. Some early model drills may require more fitting.
Hammer to Drill
A crossover sub is necessary to connect the air hammer directly to the drill’s lead rod. This type of connection gives you the maximum air flow needed to operate the hammer properly. Our 3” hammer has a 2.375" Reg Pin connection. Our 4" hammer has a 2.875" regular pin connection.
Support Pack to Air Compressor (Air In)
One of the provided air hoses connects to the air compressor with a provided hammer lock adapter. The hose then connects to the support pack on the end marked AIR IN. That connection is made with a provided hammer lock adapter.
Support Pack to Drill (Air Out)
Hose to Support Pack: the second provided air hose connects to the Support Pack on the end marked AIR OUT with a provided hammer lock adapter. The other end of the air hose connects to the drill with a provided hammer lock adapter and any additional fittings necessary based upon the make and model of drill.
Water Hose to Water Tank
The provided water hose connects to the customer’s water tank. Our connection end is a male 1” cam lock. This can be adapted based upon make and model of mixing tanks. The other end of the water hose is connected to a filter that will be located 1' prior to the connection to the support pack. Connection is made with a provided 1” female cam lock to the already attached 1” male cam lock on the support pack.
The drill does not need to be anchored down and rods can be exposed if needed. We have had as many as four and one-half rods exposed on a D24x40 and one and one-half on a D100x120. The front end of the drill can be elevated off of the ground. The engine can be operated on idle and occasionally up to 1500 rpm.
Our bits are also purposefully designed to handle the side-load often encountered during HDD. The cutting matrix allows each carbide to work independently of each other, ensuring new rock is always crushed, allowing better steering ability and rate of penetration. Our sonde housing design and internal components, which consist of an outer tube and an inner tube with shock springs, protect the sonde throughout the drilling process.
- Turn any existing drill into a rock drill with our products
- The Prospector Hammer Systems and support packages are economical, meaning you’ll see a return on your invest quickly
- Cost per foot is lower than traditional methods of rock drilling
- Our Prospector is unmatched in HDD production rate; our system averages 200 feet (61 m) per day in extreme hard rock
- The Hole Control and One Shot Plus fluids for the air hammer are environmentally safe; frac-outs are not a threat to the environment
- Using air with oil injection reduces internal wear on a hammer (versus using a mud motor that uses recycled fluids that can still have high solids contents)
- Monthly rental cost of an air compressor is roughly 1/3 of the monthly rental cost of a recycler
- Air only requires 1-2 gal per minute of Hole Control/One Shot Plus. The type is determined by the drilling conditions.
- Air only requires a 2-man crew: an Operator and a Locator
- Only items that require monitoring are the oil level, Hole Control/One Shot Plus.
- Air compressor, drill rig, and service truck does not require a large area for set up (versus a traditional mud motor)
- 24/7/365 Availablility to reach a Pioneer One representative. We pride ourselves in offering unmatched service.
Pioneer One offers a trade in discount on any size system or hammer purchase.
