Tips and Tricks

While most laboratories have become familiar with no-purge sampling and with the sample volume limitations that no-purge, passive sampling entails, we still have some who require large quantities of sample volume for certain analysis.  So, for those customers who cannot change labs and who must deal with difficult sample volume requirements, we have developed a new extra-long version of our SuperSleeve.

We recently had calls from 2 different consulting firms doing initial installations of HydraSleeves at 2 different sites.  Coincidentally they happen to be working with the same laboratory and both firms were required to provide 3 to 7 liters of sample volume.  They were both working with 2-inch wells and just 10 feet of well screen.  Keep in mind that the total volume of water available in these wells is only 6.4 liters.  In some cases they were asked to submit more sample volume than the water that is available in the screen.  Even 3 liters can be difficult to obtain in this situation.  So, we have developed a good solution for obtaining large sample volumes from small screened zones.

Drastic requirements call for drastic solutions!  We are pleased to introduce the newest in our SuperSleeve line - the TurboSleeve (also known as the 4-liter SuperSleeve).

The size of this new TurboSleeve may seem excessive, but it will retrieve the largest no-purge sample volume possible from a 2-inch Schedule 40, 10-foot saturated screen.  Period.

The TurboSleeve is 8 feet long and holds 4 liters of sample volume.  It will require the new, extra-long top weight which is 18-inches long and weighs almost 4 pounds.  Just like the other SuperSleeves you will also need a small, 5-ounce, bottom weight to help guide the sleeve to the bottom of the well.

The TurboSleeve will compress to within 3 feet from the bottom of the well.  It will require 7 feet of saturated screen above the sampler in order to fill the 4-liter SuperSleeve.

We strongly recommend a 2-person sampling team to recover the TurboSleeve.  As you can see, it will be a bit difficult to handle when the sampler is full. 

Click here for more product information and specs.

Click here to view the TurboSleeve videos.

Please call 800-996-2225 for pricing.  Limited quantities available now, online ordering for this product will be added soon.

Since 2009 we have had 2 sets of test wells on our property.  However, with the recent drought conditions plaguing most of the United States and more specifically here in the desert southwest, our water table has dropped substantially in the last 2 years.  This was making the testing of our products very difficult using our existing wells.

We knew that it was time to have another monitoring well installed so that we can continue to research and develop HydraSleeve products.

Special thanks to Ralph, the driller, with Southwest Engineering here in Las Cruces.  Ralph and his crew managed to put in the 4-inch well to 70 feet using a large I.D. hollow stem auger.  A major accomplishment considering the well was installed in over 30 feet of fine grain flowing sand.  The entire installation was completed in less than 6 hours.  We highly recommend Ralph and Southwest Engineering, please give them a call (575-526-3381) if you ever need environmental drilling or well installation done in the Las Cruces area.  

Our new well will be instrumental in testing and developing new HydraSleeve products, such as the exciting new items you will see in these newsletters.  Each of these products will have been tested using these on-site wells.

A few months ago we heard it through the grapevine that a new HydraSleeve study was being conducted by the United States Geological Survey and that we would we pleased with the results.  Well, the report has been released and, we are very pleased with the results.

The USGS compared 3 no-purge sampling devices.  Our HydraSleeve (U.S. Patent No. 6,481,300; No. 6,837,120; others pending) called a tubular grab sampler in this report, rigid porous polyethylene diffusion samplers and regenerated-cellulose membrane diffusion samplers.  The report evaluates the results of these no-purge samplers for monitoring concentrations of explosive compounds in groundwater, including perchlorate, when compared to pumped samples.  The results confirm that no-purge sampling can be a useful alternative to pumped sampling.

We have included links to the new study on our Independent Studies page or you can view the report through the USGS website.

This is the latest independent report to confirm that HydraSleeves provide comparable data to low-flow pumping - this time for explosive contaminants.   One of the reasons we are so excited about this study is that the HydraSleeves were used alongside other no-purge samplers.   According to the study, the 1-liter Hydrasleeve and 2-liter SuperSleeve provided the largest sample volume of the no-purge devices that were tested, and took the least amount of effort to assemble and install in the field. 

Some of the greatest benefits of no-purge sampling are the low cost to try it and the simplicity of use.  There are no large investments in time, energy or materials.  Another less-obvious benefit is that using HydraSleeves for groundwater sampling does not have to be a full-time commitment.  No-purge sampling does not have to be all or nothing. 

Think of it this way - "You can use no-purge sampling in some of the wells all of the time; and you can use no-purge sampling in all of the wells some of the time, but you don't have to use no-purge sampling in all of the wells all of the time."  Our apologies to President Lincoln. 

Unlike low-flow and volume purging with pumps there are no permanent modifications needed to the well, and there is no impact to the aquifer when using no-purge sampling.  The non-committal relationship with no-purge sampling can leave you free to sample with other methods at any time. 

Some HydraSleeve users incorporate no-purge sampling for routine groundwater sampling events but will return to pumping when the time comes to recalibrate a model which was set up using volume purging or low flow sampling. 

We encourage you to have a non-committal relationship with no-purge sampling.  The HydraSleeve can compliment your other groundwater sampling methods.  Please consider it a friend - with benefits!   Even part-time use of HydraSleeves for your groundwater sampling will result in savings.

If you can't totally curb your purging, ease your way into no-purge sampling by trying the HydraSleeve along with other sampling methods.