Underground Construction - October 2019 - 44

2019 CAPABILITIES GUIDE
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Power Up Your Proﬁts:
The Beneﬁts Of Lithium Batteries In Your Beacons
In the HDD business, time is money. Uptime is everything because productivity
is the key to profitability. Some operators, however, are cutting into their uptime
by trying to cut costs on the batteries in their beacons (also called sondes). It
seems like such a small detail in the context of everything on an HDD jobsite,
but the wrong batteries can grind bore progress to a halt, cutting into profits
instead of trimming expenses.
Common, off-the-shelf loose C-cell batteries can be a popular choice for
beacon operation. Not only are they cheap, they are readily available at drug
stores, gas stations, and plenty of other retailers certain to be nearby your jobsite. In contrast, the lithium batteries recommended by beacon manufacturers
such as Subsite® Electronics aren't available on every corner, and they can feel
expensive by comparison.
"But the real expense," says Levi Valdois, Subsite's Product Manager for
HDD Guidance, "is the loss of productivity by having to stop your bore due to
battery faults."
According to Valdois, C-cell batteries and sticks are not designed for the
rigors of horizontal directional drilling. They can lose connection during the
extreme vibration downhole-common on almost every drill site regardless of
drill size/type or ground condition-causing a loss of signal. Time is then wasted
retrieving the beacon and readjusting or replacing the batteries. Lithium batteries provide a more consistent power supply without such worries.
Another common fault of C-cells is power regulation issues. Lithium batteries
provide a more robust power supply which can help fight through interference
more effectively than C-cells. Valdois notes a case where drilling was occurring
in the vicinity of high-voltage power lines. The beacon, which was powered
by C-cells, was not able to operate properly due to the strong interference. By
simply switching to lithium batteries, the beacon was able to cut through the
interference and send a strong signal to the tracker.
Lithium batteries are also designed to withstand to high temperatures downhole. C-cells are not rated to perform in these temperatures and can fail.
"There's no question lithium batteries outperform C-cells on every level,"
Valdois says, "so they are worth every penny. But what people may not know is
that lithium batteries don't have to be expensive. You can pay more and get up
to 120 hours of battery life ... but you can also get quality lithium batteries with
closer to 70 hours of battery life for a fraction of the cost."
The key, Valdois warns, is getting "high-quality" lithium batteries like the
Electrochem Silver Supercell. Lower-quality lithium cells can show degraded
performance much more quickly due to the harsh operating conditions of HDD
boring. With quality lithium batteries, however, your beacon should deliver
optimum performance, helping you maintain uptime in the field.

MAKING BEACONS BETTER:
THE ADVANTAGE OF REPAIRS
Subsite® Electronics is the only manufacturer in the industry that repairs their
beacons (also called sondes). Repairs can be made at the factory or at the local
Ditch Witch® dealership, which maximizes uptime for customers and helps keep
them productive. Of course, repairing a beacon is a money-saving alternative to
buying a new one, but there are other benefits as well. While Subsite customers
have long known about the savings they pocket by repairing their beacons,
they may not know those repairs are also improving beacon performance for
everyone. According to the company, their repair process is also a built-in R&D
pipeline for future product enhancements and development.
"We collect valuable usage data on our beacons every time one comes into
the factory for repair," says Levi Valdois, Subsite's Product Manager for HDD Guidance. "Customers appreciate the savings and the incredibly quick turnaround
times, but what they may not know is that their beacon is providing real-world,
in-the-field information that we use to help improve our future products."
The company collects diagnostic data such as the software version, the high
temperature at which the beacon has been operating, the number of hours
used, and many other valuable data points. These insights give Subsite product
engineers a picture of the everyday life of a beacon beyond the design lab and
testing grounds. While the data helps technicians troubleshoot for that specific
beacon, it's also direct customer input on how future beacons can be improved.
Future Subsite customers aren't the only beneficiaries, though.
"This information is a key ingredient in new beacon designs," Valdois says,
"but we also use this data to help customers save money and get more performance out of their current beacons through product updates, performance
enhancements, and best-practice recommendations."
One such example is the use of batteries. According to Valdois, the company
sees many users relying on common, off-the-shelf loose C-cell batteries to
power their beacons. Field data gathered during beacon repair, however, shows
that high quality lithium batteries provide a more consistent and reliable power
supply downhole, which translates into improved beacon performance.
Software updates are another great example of this constant research and
development benefiting current customers. Many data-driven performance
enhancements can be added to existing beacons through software updates
available at Ditch Witch dealerships worldwide. This gives users the latest
improvements without the costs of purchasing a new beacon or the downtime
of shipping a beacon back to the manufacturer.
Future beacon technology depends on what is learned today. And it seems
one company has discovered a way to put that into practice, pushing innovation
and advancing the entire industry. It just happens to also provide customers the
more cost-effective option of repairing their beacon versus buying a new one.
Apparently, saving some green is easier with Subsite green. *
ABOUT SUBSITE® ELECTRONICS

Subsite® Electronics, a Charles Machine Works Company, is committed to providing
underground construction professionals the most comprehensive suite of electronic products in
the industry, including utility locators, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) guidance equipment,
utility inspection systems, and equipment machine controls. By utilizing innovative technologies,
extensive market feedback and outstanding customer support, Subsite has established itself
as the premier source of electronic technology to support the installation, maintenance and
inspection of underground pipe and cable. For more information, visit subsite.com.

OCTOBER 2019 | UConOnline.com

Underground Construction - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - October 2019