Question about Peli cases (seeking advice)

[AlexR]

Interesting read as I’ve got the exact same problem, 6m sump with drill required on the other side.

An original Bosch Uneo will fit into a 6L Curtec drum like Pitlamp says, but they are not SDS but an annoying proprietary bit which is only available up to 10mm if I remember correctly. Also I don’t really trust the Uneos not to die on me any more. When you say you need something more powerful, they're no good for capping but perfectly adequate for bolting/ bolt climbing. Until they suddenly die. I believe Rob Eavis has had more joy with his.

My plan is to go with the inner tube method, the sump in question is 6m deep but very short, barely worth kitting up for. Still need to acquire a sufficiently large inner tube though.

 

[Steve Clark]

You can get a big curtec (Darren) drum with a much bigger neck. Someone gave me one but I gave it away to someone I knew with an open canoe.

Wide Neck Kegs - 3.6L to 68L - Rapid Racking

Introducing our range of Wide Neck Kegs. Both durable and chemical resistant, our kegs are ideal for both catering and industrial use. Shop Now!

www.rapidracking.com

Or maybe one of those blue barrels with the metal clamp band?

 

[AlexR]

Larger opening Curtec: I think only for 10L and above, the 6L shown on my picture above only comes with a 137mm opening, though you can get a 10L at 203mm - though I don't have one to find out if you can fit a drill in it.
10L is quite a lot of buoyancy to compensate for, I'd definitely try the inner tube method before lugging the 8kg of lead or so down the cave.

 

[Pitlamp]

Thanks all. The Uneo will not do the job; I need to get in at least five 14 mm diameter holes for plugs and feathers then use any extra battery capacity to chisel off other awkward grabby bits. It's looking like the DHR243 will be the drill of choice. It'll not go in a standard 6 litre Darren drum.
I just found a suitable Ortleib bag, purchasd to maker a Scoff bag, I'd forgotten I had in stock. I've also ordered one of those ChrisB suggested. Somewhere (deep search needed) I have a ready made inner tube bag and a friend has kindly offered to sell me a second hand Peli 1400 (which will come in for other jobs even if it fails when tested to -6 m. Between that lot I reckon I should be able to get the drill through and back, one way or another!

 

[pwhole]

I took mine through some pretty foul slop this afternoon, funnily enough, with no leakage - again, not total submersion, but given how long I've been bashing this through gnarly, wet and muddy passages, it's holding up remarkably well.

 

[SamT]

I think we ended up up with that drill 'briefcase' made of neoprene with the dry suit zip. The zip had bust so it was no longer waterproof, but its was great and if you can make one out of a dry suit etc, it would be the bees knees.

 

[Pitlamp]

Reckon I could fashion a dry bag out of my large collection of cast off / semi knackered drysuits easily enough if need be.

 

[Steve Clark]

Interesting bit of kit here :

https://hownot2.com/products/hammer-drill-sheath-set

Video included on the page.

 

[Ian Ball]

the sump in question is 6m deep but very short, barely worth kitting up for. Still need to acquire a sufficiently large inner tube though.

We have a different appreciation of passing a 6m deep sump!

 

[Steve Clark]

Seems to be other stockists too :

TEBYLON SHEATH_BAG

TEBYLON SHEATH_BAG . A dry bag specially made to keep your your hammer drill dry. . • a readied 76mm hole on it. • robust 500D PVC coated fabric. • reinforced clips for the carrying strap. • 150cm long carrying strap makes it possible to reach high points without taking out your hammer drill...

www.canyonzone.com

And a tough version :

TEBYLON SHEATH_BAG tough version

TEBYLON SHEATH_BAG tough version . a stronger version of the SHEATH_BAG.

www.canyonzone.com

Actionstash stock some Tebylon products, they may have access to it too.

 

[Pitlamp]

The second hand Peli 1400 case which I recently acquired from another forum member was kindly tested for me by a friend who was diving at Capernwray recently. He took it to -5 m and there was tolerable leakage. (The tiny bit of water that leaked in came through the seal rather than the pressure relieve valve. With the batteries and drill wrapped in zip tie bags and a towel or two, it should be OK. If the drilling job is done in very dry conditions (when the sump level falls quite a bit) the Peli case would actually only have to withstand -4 m for a few seconds. So let's have another good dry spell!

The Peli 1400 case needed just over 9 kg of lead to make it neutrally buoyant. So subtracting the weight of drill, batteries and drill bits will tell me how much lead I need to attach to it. In fact I think I'll use a bit less so it's positively buoyant. If I then attach it to myself with a 2 m lanyard (= the height of the underwater passage at the deepest point) it'll always be right up in the roof, so at the shallowest possible depth on its journeys through the sump.

I also got in touch with Peli to ask about the possibility of obtaining a replacement seal. Including postage they said they would send one for just over £10, which seems reasonable. Mentioned here in case that's useful to know for any other forum members.

 

[pwhole]

You never know, these experiments may spur them on to make a better seal eventually if you send them documentation of the project. They could call it the SumpMaster®, or something classy like that

 

[ChrisB]

Not useful for Pitlamp's purpose going through a sump, except perhaps as a backup inner layer, but might be of interest otherwise:

Waterproof drill bag, encloses all but the chuck:

 

[JAA]

Not useful for Pitlamp's purpose going through a sump, except perhaps as a backup inner layer, but might be of interest otherwise:

Waterproof drill bag, encloses all but the chuck:

Funnily enough I was also looking at those today. (And thinking I could make something using a dry bag and an old drysuit cuff )

 

[Pitlamp]

I thought some readers might appreciate a little follow up post in this topic, as we've now successfully done this drilling job. The 1400 Peli case was first tested empty in open water to -5.5 m. There was a tiny (tolerable) amount of leakage; about 2 or 3 cm cubed at most. This came in via the seal, not via the pressure relief valve. The empty case needed 9.1 kg of lead to make it neurally buoyant.

When the weight of the drill and other contents to be taken through the sump was subtracted from this 9.1 kg upthrust it suggested the filled box would then need 2.5 kg of lead to make it neutral. So 2 kg of lead was used in the sump, clipped to the handle, so the case would be slightly positively buoyant. This was deliberate; the case was attached to the diver by a lanyard and would float to the roof rather than sink to the floor if the diver let go. In this way the maximum depth the case had to withstand would be minimised.

We chose the current very dry conditions in the Dales for this job, so the sump was actually shallower than usual and the box only had to withstand 3.5 m depth. Inside the box we put a dense foam slab and a towel on top of the Makita drill, batteries, 14 mm drill bits and half a dozen plugs and feathers; this combination meant the lid was a tight fit so the towel and foam formed a rudimentary bulkhead, helping the lid to resist being deformed under pressure. It also soaked up any weepage of water into the box on its two trips through the sump.

The system worked perfectly, the job got done - and there's no need to price up any replacement drill and or batteries (phew!).