En-Gauge

What is (Horizontal) Directional Drilling?

Horizontal Directional Drilling is a way to install underground pipes, conduits and cables in an arc along a specific path by using a steerable drilling rig. It’s used when overhead installation, trenching and/or excavating isn’t practical from a cost or permitting standpoint. Not only does Horizontal Directional Drilling offer a low level of impact on the surrounding environment, but it may be required to meet federal regulatory or local permit requirements.

What wire is used for Directional Drilling?

There are two wires commonly used in Directional Drilling:

• Horizontal Directional Drilling Wire (HDD): Often called the ‘wireline,’ HDD is used in directional drilling when a wireline monitoring system is needed, rather than an above-ground, or ‘walk-over,’ monitoring system. The wire runs inside the drill string and transmits information on the angle, rotation, direction and temperature of the drilling head while it’s working underground, out of sight.  It’s manufactured to withstand the harshness of the drill pipe process and deliver reliable electrical signals to the guidance control.
• Directional Drilling Tracer Wire: This wire works the same way that traditional tracer wire works, but is made of a more durable insulation able to withstand the harsher environments associated with the drilling process.  This guarantees that your tracer will still be in one piece when you need to use it.  Drilling and pulling back only once is always the low cost answer!

Curious about Kris-Tech Wire’s Directional Drilling Products? Visit our Directional Drilling page for more information.

At the request of an OEM manufacturer of guidance systems and directional steering equipment, we’ve developed a steering wireline product specifically designed for the HDD industry.  We’ve also developed special high-breaking strength cables to withstand the critical “pull-back” of pipe after all the drill work is done.

Are you looking for our Tracer Wire? We don’t believe in THHN, so you won’t find it here….

We found this article on an old experiment we did in 1993, but the information still applies.

[This is more or less the original text from 1993!]

Tracer Wire – also known as Locating Wire – is without question underrated and underused. Used primarily by Gas, Water, Fiber Optic, and Sanitation companies, its main use is for locating buried plastic pipes and fiber optics.

Unfortunately, a lot of contractors will mistakenly use THHN for this function, although you’ll see it’s a poor choice for many reasons.

Many times, plastic pipes or fiber optics are buried underground to connect to houses and buildings.  They’re used because of their strong flexibility under adverse conditions such as excess heat or cold, rainstorms, etc.

When one of these is used underground, you’ve got to have a wire that’s durable, flexible, and has strong insulation next to the plastic pipe or fiber optics in case you ever need to locate them (hence the name Locating Wire).  For instance, if there was a gas leak, the gas company needs to dig up the pipe in order to find the exact location of the problem.

Here’s where THHN is problematic. THHN doesn’t have the insulation necessary to hold up over time. Typical underground installations are expected to last up to 30 years. Nylon, the main covering of THHN, is very susceptible to water and moisture, causing additional breakdowns in the wiring under adverse conditions.

This takes a toll on THHN, which starts to wear down and erode, becoming more-or-less useless over the course of several years (fewer years than you’d like). In all likelihood, THHN will often need to be replaced once or even twice over the course of a building project’s life span.

The solution?  Tracer Wire.

With 30 to 45 mils of Polyethylene, Tracer Wire has all the flexibility of THHN, but with far better insulation and protection against underground conditions. Therefore, when the going gets tough on underground installation, Tracer Wire will still be there in the end.

Polyethylene offers a very strong insulation, often double or even triple that of THHN, so it can withstand even the toughest of underground conditions. Just as important, companies will save thousands of dollars and hundreds of valuable labor hours because they won’t have to dig up and replace Tracer/Locating Wire the way they will with THHN.

The only real case for using THHN for direct burial (even

thought it isn’t rated for it) is that it’s inexpensive.  But when you consider future costs to repair and replace it, long-term costs often end up skyrocketing.

In addition, Tracer Wire/Locating Wire is much more affordable than a lot of people think. Even with all the added benefits, Tracer Wire costs only a touch more than THHN, with a huge upside in terms of increased insulation, heat-resistance, and durability.

Tracer Wire saves Fiber Optic, Gas, Water, or Sanitation companies thousands of dollars in the replacement of wire, and also valuable time and energy in the form of labor hours and wasted material. With Tracer Wire’s increased durability over 30+ years in an underground setting, it is by far the better choice long-term for any underground wiring project you might undertake.

Are you looking for Direct Burial Wire? Take a look at our Tracer Wire or USE-2 for more information.

Direct Burial rated wire is approved to be run in the earth in accordance with the National Electric Code (NEC), usually without the use of conduit to surround it. The combination of the insulation material and its thickness keeps out moisture and other harsh factors to protect the wires inside.

As long as it’s got the right insulation, it’ll be just fine in the ground by itself.

The most commonly referred to types of Direct Burial wire are USE (Underground Service Entrance) – with a thermoset insulation – Tracer Wire and UF, or “Underground Feeder” – both with thermoplastic insulations.  (Note: you might remember some of these terms from our post on wire abbreviations and wire insulation types).

Examples of use for Direct Burial wire use are running electricity to your home (USE-2),  connecting post lights, locating buried pipes with tracer wire, laying the sprinklers along golf courses (next time you’re playing a game, remember there are sometimes 1,000,000’ of wire running underneath you!), and, if you get fancy in the back yard, hooking up your propane grill to a propane tank in the garage!

Usually, Direct Burial wire should be buried at least 18′ underground, but check with the local enforcement officer (usually the electrical inspector) before laying anything down. Oh, and as always, make sure the power is shut off to anything electrical before working with electrical equipment , devices, or wiring!

If you need Direct Burial wire, you can call us or send in a quote on the form to the right!

Are you looking for our Tracer Wire?

Tracer wire, which is also called locating wire or locator wire,  is used to assist in locating pipes and other lines after they’ve been buried in the ground.

Once a pipe is laid down, tracer wire is placed along it’s length and buried next to the pipe.  This wire is what’s actually searched for if the pipe itself needs to be located (hence the name).  A Wire Tracer – an above-ground device with the ability to locate non-energized wire – is used so there’s no need to send electricity through a tracer wire in order for it to be detected.

After the wire is found, crews can start a much more accurate dig to reach the pipeline for maintenance, repairs or replacement, and site destruction is greatly reduced.

Used most commonly in the utilities industries (water, gas, sewer, fiber optics, etc), tracer wire can also be used in directional drilling applications, as well as irrigation systems and golf course sprinkler systems (Little Known Fact: Kris Tech Wire got it’s start by selling tracer wire to the golf course developers!).

You may be interested in more information on how tracer wire is installed or what types of tracer wire are the best to use in certain situations.