DTH and Rotary Drill Pipe
Single-wall pipe for air hammer and rotary drilling, from small-diameter water well work through production blasthole strings.
Down-the-hole and rotary drilling put different loads through the same looking pipe. A DTH string carries high-pressure air to a hammer at the bottom of the hole and spends its life in tension, torsion and vibration from the hammer itself. A rotary string transmits torque and weight to a bit and is asked to hold the hole straight while doing it. The pipe that survives either job is chosen on wall thickness, joint strength and thread form long before anyone looks at price per foot.
Republic supplies Perforator DTH and rotary pipe with seamless tube bodies and friction-welded tool joints in the sizes where that construction applies, up to 219 mm outside diameter. The same programme carries the rest of the string — drill collars, stabilisers, subs, check valves, casing, hoisting plugs and fishing tools — so the components above and below the pipe are specified together rather than sourced from three suppliers with three tolerance stacks.
Send the rig, the hole and the thread you run. We will spec the string and quote it.
DTH and rotary sizes
The factory programme is wider than what is shelved. If your size is not listed, it can still be quoted.
| Item | Outside diameter | Connection | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 76.1 mm | 76.1 mm | 2 3/8" API REG, 2"Z, GG2", MAYHEW JR, RD50x1/6", #19 | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 88.9 mm | 88.9 mm | 2 3/8" API IF/NC26, 2 3/8" API REG, 2 7/8" API REG, 2 1/2" Z, RD70x1/4", #21, #24 | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 101.6 mm | 101.6 mm | 2 7/8 API REG, #24 | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 114.3 mm | 114.3 mm | 2 7/8" API IF/NC31, 3 1/2" API IF/NC38, 3 1/2" API FH, 3 1/2" API REG, API NC35, #28, 3" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 127 mm | 127 mm | 3 1/2" API IF/NC38, 3 1/2" API FH, 3 1/2" API REG, 3 1/2" BECO, #28 | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 139.7 mm | 139.7 mm | 4 1/2" API REG, 4" API FH/NC40, 3 1/2" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 152.4 mm | 152.4 mm | 4" API IF/NC46, 4 1/2" API FH, 4 1/2" API REG, 4" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 159 mm | 159 mm | 4 1/2" API IF/NC50, 4" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 168.3 mm | 168.3 mm | 4 1/2" API IF/NC50, 5 1/2" API REG, 4" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 177.8 mm | 177.8 mm | 5 1/2" API FH, 5 1/2" API REG, 4 1/2" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 193.7 mm | 193.7 mm | 5 1/2" API IF, 6 5/8" API REG, 5 1/4" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 203 mm | 203 mm | 5 1/2" API IF, 6 5/8" API FH, 6 5/8" API REG, 5 1/4" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 219.1 mm | 219.1 mm | 6 5/8" API REG, 7 5/8" API REG, 6" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 235 mm | 235 mm | 6 5/8" API REG, 7 5/8" API REG, 6" BECO | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 254 mm | 254 mm | 8 5/8" API REG | Specs → |
| Perforator DTH/Rotary Drill Pipe — 273 mm | 273 mm | 8 5/8" API REG, 8" BECO | Specs → |
The rest of the string
- Drill collars
- Weight where it belongs — at the bottom — to keep the pipe in tension and the hole straight.
- Stabilisers
- Hole gauge and deviation control on deeper rotary work and angled holes.
- Subs and crossovers
- Bit subs, saver subs and crossovers between thread forms already in the yard.
- Check valves
- Protecting the hammer and the compressor when the string is broken.
- Hoisting and fishing
- Hoisting plugs, taps and overshots for the day the string parts.
Spec decisions that matter
| Decision | Light duty | Heavy duty |
|---|---|---|
| Wall thickness | Standard wall for shallow air work | Heavy wall where torque and pulldown are high or holes are deep |
| Rod length | Shorter rods for tight access and low masts | Longer rods to cut connection count on production patterns |
| Thread form | API REG or BECO on smaller water well strings | API NC / FH / IF where joint strength governs |
| Hard facing | Skip in soft, non-abrasive ground | Add where abrasive formations wear tool joint shoulders |
Manufacturing quality and material traceability
Perforator builds drill pipe in Germany from seamless tube. Tool joints are friction welded to the tube body across the sizes where friction welding is the right process, which puts a forged-grade bond at the joint instead of a fillet that has to be re-cut after a few hundred hours. Larger and heavier strings are supplied as machined-from-solid or welded assemblies where that construction suits the load case better.
Perforator operates an ISO 9001 quality management system and manufactures to API-approved practice for the API thread forms it cuts. Material traceability runs through the process, so heat and lot documentation can be requested with an order when a mine or a municipal job requires certification on file.
- Seamless tube body
- Pipe bodies start as seamless tube, not rolled and welded stock.
- Friction-welded joints
- Tool joints are friction welded to the body in the sizes where that process applies.
- ISO 9001 / API practice
- Quality management is certified and API thread forms are cut to API practice.
- Documentation on request
- Heat and lot traceability can be supplied with the order when specified up front.
- Optional hard facing
- Tool joint hard facing is available where abrasive formations chew shoulders.
- SpecificationPerforator drill pipe overview (PDF)Full drill string programme: pipe, collars, subs, stabilisers.
- SpecificationDTH & rotary drilling programme (PDF)Pipe bodies, thread forms and drill string accessories.
- SpecificationReverse circulation programme (PDF)RC pipe, seal systems, subs and non-magnetic options.
Stocking, shipping and technical support
Republic stocks and ships from four locations — Pflugerville, Texas; Cabot, Arkansas; Tahlequah, Oklahoma; and Lisbon, Connecticut — which covers the Gulf, the mid-continent, the Southeast and the Northeast without routing every order through one warehouse. Stocked items ordered by 3pm CST ship next day. Non-stock sizes are built to order and quoted with a stated lead time.
Technical support is the same people who sell the pipe. If a string is backing off, washing out at the shoulder or failing early, we will work through torque, thread compound, make-up practice and the tooling above and below the pipe before we sell you more of it.
- Four stocking points
- TX, AR, OK and CT, so freight lanes are short in most of the country.
- NEXT-DAY SHIP
- Stocked items ordered BY 3PM CST ship the next business day.
- Field service
- Republic service techs support the rigs the pipe runs on, not just the pipe.
- Failure review
- Send us the failed joint and we will read the break before you re-order.
How to get pipe quoted
Send the rig make and model, the hole diameter and depth you are drilling, the hammer or bit sub thread you are running, and the rod length your mast and handling system can take. That is enough to price a string. If you are replacing pipe on an existing rig, a photo of the box and pin and a thread gauge reading will confirm the connection faster than a part number from a previous supplier.
Quotes come back with pipe, connection, wall and any subs or crossovers required to make the string work with tooling you already own. Where a size is not on the shelf, the quote states the build and transit lead time rather than an availability promise we cannot hold.
- Rig and hammer
- Make, model, top drive or rotary head thread, and the hammer or bit sub in use.
- Hole program
- Diameter, target depth, angle, and the formation you expect to fight.
- Handling
- Rod length the mast, carousel or rod handler can accept, and single vs. double.
- Existing string
- Connections already in the yard, so crossovers keep the old iron working.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between DTH and rotary drill pipe?
Open
Both are single-wall, but a DTH string mainly conveys air to a downhole hammer and lives with hammer-induced vibration, while a rotary string transmits torque and weight to the bit. Rotary strings more often need collars and stabilisers to control weight on bit and deviation.
What diameters are available?
Open
Republic publishes the Perforator DTH and rotary sizes it carries on this page. The factory programme runs from small-diameter pipe up through large production sizes, with friction-welded construction available up to 219 mm outside diameter.
Do you supply collars, subs and stabilisers as well as pipe?
Open
Yes. Drill collars, stabilisers, bit and saver subs, crossovers, check valves, casing, hoisting plugs and fishing tools are part of the same programme and are quoted with the pipe.
Is hard facing available on tool joints?
Open
Yes, hard facing is an option and is worth specifying where abrasive formations wear tool joint shoulders faster than the pipe body.
Keep reading
Send the rig. We'll spec the string.
Rig model, hole diameter and depth, hammer or bit sub thread, and the rod length your mast can take. That is enough to price pipe.