What is a Monument Casing & What is it Used For?
So you’re walking through a park or a forest, and you see this blue rectangular box sticking out of the ground.
What the hell is it and who put it there?
It’s ugly and it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Is it electricity related?
It’s actually a monument casing, and it’s installed by drillers to protect the monitoring well casing that extends above ground. This protective casing is installed not only to protect but as a signpost to make the well easy to find. If manhole covers were installed in fields or a forest, the consultants would have a tough time locating the wells for sampling.
In Canada, they are usually blue or red and made out of steel. This is an issue for two reasons:
- Being made of steel, these casings can be upwards of 50 lbs. This sucks if you’re a driller who needs to carry 4 or 5 out to a job site. It also doesn’t look great when these steel casings begin to rust immediately after installation.
- They are blue, which can be a pretty big eye sore if it’s placed in a forest or a recreational soccer field. (in all fairness, sometimes they need to be painted blue or red so they can be found in lush areas.)
At Alucast, we are incredible (and strangely?) committed to improving long term spinal health of drillers in North America.
Why?
Because our founder, Jeff Garby, is a former driller who absolutely hated carrying these casings out to job sites, and probably complained about them enough to drive a couple foreman crazy. But after complaining for about the heavy casings for number of years, Jeff decided to take action into his own hands. 2 years later – and we’re creating lightweight, rust-free aluminum monument casings for drillers all over the world.
So what’s the difference between Alucast casings and the rusty, blue steel casings you see all over the place?
1.The Weight Difference
Here’s where Jeff’s complaining a few years back comes into play. A comparable product, made from steel, weighs roughly 45 lbs. This is mostly due to the fact that most monument casings are made out of steel.
Alucast monument casings on the other hand are made out of aluminum, and weigh only 6 lbs!
As drillers, you are lifting more than you really need to on a daily basis (bentonite, sand, rods..) There is no need to carry sharp edge steel casings and risk losing your fingers to that finger chopping lid.
Bring the Alucast monument casings and you can usually carry all of them in one trip, maximum two. The dull and flat edges ensure that no one onsite will cut themselves and will leave the site will all their fingers(including our friends in the white hats
Unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger or JJ Watt, you might have a hard time carrying 5 steel monument casings with you on that walk (who knows, maybe JJ Watt will start a career as a geotechnical driller when he decided to hang up his cleats?
JJ Watt with Alucast 4x4x4 Monument Casing on a job Site
2. Slanted Edges & Heavy Duty Non-Tack Welded Hinge
After we created a product that was a quarter of the weight as it’s competitor – we didn’t stop there. We wanted to keep going on the idea of making a better product that was more reliable and easier to use for drillers.
- Slanted Edges on cover -This allows for better access to the well. The consultant will have an easier time removing the cap to monitoring well.
- Heavy Duty non-tack welded hinge – how many times have you walked by a drill site 2-3 years later and the above ground casing is missing a lid? We decided to install a heavy duty hinge with stainless steel nuts and bolts. Our heavy duty hinge ensures it will open and close correctly no matter the years in the field or the weather it has endured.
3. Lock Protector
Coming from Canada we know how quickly snow and ice will cause issues. If you’re a consultant, you don’t want to battle an icy lock along with the cold elements. The lock protector keeps your lock dry and your well accessible, even in the harshest of conditions.
4. Custom Logo & Branding
Last but not lease, Alucast offers free custom branding for your monument casings. When your team works hard and drills a quality well, you should be proud to leave your brand onsite.
It’s also free marketing to the consulting firms who are sampling your wells. Next time they need well supplies, you’re company can be the first business name that pops into mind. Want to see what your company logo would look like on our aluminum monument casing? Let us know and we’ll make you a product rendering for free.
The difference in product speaks for itself, but one question still remains:
Would JJ Watt be a good driller?
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