A modification of the PICO hand auger, the Prairie Dog includes a stationary outer barrel that allows operations in solid ice as well as firn. The stationary outer barrel also enables more efficient drilling – better core quality, fewer trips in and out of the hole, easier breaks from the hole bottom, better chip collection, and less energy to turn – than the simple single barrel design of the PICO auger. Limit of depth of use is approximately 30 - 40 meters (with a Sidewinder).
The performance of the Prairie Dog is limited in very soft snow and firn. At present, in order to overcome this limitation, the borehole is initiated with a PICO 4-inch hand auger core barrel and continues to the depth where the firn is dense enough for the Prairie Dog anti-torque blades to grip the borehole sidewall.
Hand Augers, Prairie Dog Operator Manual
| Type: | Coring |
| Number in Inventory: | 0 |
| Max. Practical Depth: | 30 - 40 m |
| Core Diameter: | 102 mm |
| Crew size: | 1 person (but two people helps share the labor and further speeds up the cycle time) |
| Power Requirements/Source: | hand auger; 2-kW generator or solar cells if using the Sidewinder |
| Shipping Weight: | 100 lbs |
| Comments: | Shipping weight does not include Sidewinder or PICO 4-inch auger normally used with this drill. |
