Page 150 - Air and Gas Drilling Manual

4-36 Air and Gas Drilling Manual
prime mover. The Model 3406 is turbocharged and aftercooled and is rated to
produce a peak 400 horsepower at a speed of 1,800 rpm (at API Mechanical
Equipment Standards standard conditions). Figure 4-21 shows a stand alone
Caterpillar Model 3406 prime mover. Unlike skid mounted, compressor system
unit which is operated with the larger drilling rigs, the integrated compressor system
on a smaller drilling rig usually shares its prime mover with the hydraulic rotary
table (rotating head) system and with the hydraulic/chain feed hoist system. That is
the case with this Sullair compressor on this Tamrock Driltech Model D25K. Thus,
when other auxiliary equipment are also being driven by the prime mover, the actual
power available to the compressor system will be less than the 400 horsepower. The
prime mover on the Model D25K drives the Sullair compressor (and the other
auxiliaries) via a chain drive transmission (often called a “compound”).
Small portable drilling rigs can have the drilling rig mounted on a trailer flat
bed, on a truck flat bed, or mounted on a tracked vehicle for operations in remote
areas.

Figure 4-19: Small drilling rig with integrated compressor system (courtesy of
Tamrock Driltech).