MiniProbe

Direct Push for Fast Soil Sampling
Augers for Well Installs
Compact and Narrow
No SPTs

MiniProbe

Direct Push for Fast Soil Sampling
Augers for Well Installs
Compact and Narrow
No SPTs

MiniProbe

The MiniProbe is a very unique machine in that it provides exceptional direct push sampling power on a very small rubber track carrier. It is so small that it almost looks like a toy drill, but don’t let the size fool you—this machine has a very robust 201 ft/lb direct push hammer capable of driving conventional dual tube probe style tooling. That means you are getting soil sampling in a cased hole to depths commonly exceeding the 20-25 foot depths often demanded of it.

The features do not stop with the exceptional soil sampling capabilities. If groundwater sampling is also required, we can install wells in the dual tube tooling, or we can do a quick change out to convert the machine from direct push soil sampling to augering. This allows us to auger larger diameter holes and install conventional 2-inch monitoring wells in the holes.

The small size of this machine, along with the efficient diesel engine equipped with a catalytic converter, makes it very popular for indoor soil investigations for environmental assessments. Similar to our MiniMole drill, the rubber tracks on this machine can telescope, allowing the machine to get down to a skinny 34 inches width to fit through narrow doorways and gates, or expand to 46 inches to track through rough terrain and slopes. As the machine does not have a cathead and is operated from the front (no side controls), it is able to not only pass through narrow areas, but can also operate in areas much narrower than other small machines. A nifty “concrete punch” allows the machine to penetrate concrete floors without the added time and cost of a diamond bit coring machine.

Although this machine is so small that it accesses many areas unreachable by larger machines, the MiniProbe does have limitations. Augering capabilities are slower and less powerful than the larger MiniMole and GeoProbe 6620 and this machine does not do split spoon sampling, meaning that the SPTs often required by geotechnical investigations are not possible. It is popular amongst geotechnical engineers for installing settlement monitoring points, as its small footprint and augering capabilities make it appealing along boulevards and medians on road and rail transportation corridors.

This drill thrives on environmental assessment sites where rapid soil sampling to moderate depths are required. With the speed of direct push sampling, very limited setup and ancillary equipment required, it can produce an exceptional number of soil samples in a very short period of time.

In many cases, we are limited by the ability of the field technician to log and sample the cores as opposed to the productivity of the drill.