Blank Liner FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Almost anyone can install Solinst Flute Blank Liners. We provide a free 50 minute video teaching the blank liner installation and removal procedure. Otherwise, Solinst Flute can install them for labor and travel expenses.

1400 feet is the deepest installation to date, but a much deeper installation is in planning.

Possibly as small as 2 inch diameter, under the proper circumstances, other wise 3 inch to greater than 20 inches. The smallest liner everted by Solinst Flute was ¾ inch.

Not if the washout has an actual circumference (irregularities included) larger than the liner circumference. However, the liner will seal the hole above and below the washout.

One to two hours typically, regardless of hole depth. Some are much faster. If the liner was installed extra deeply at high head for many hours, the removal will be proportionately longer.

No, not if correctly installed. Early users of blank liners installed them more deeply than necessary to seal the hole. See when to stop installing a blank liner for an explanation of how deeply the blank liner should be installed. It is also much easier with the proper equipment (a Solinst Flute “green machine”). It is not necessary to remove the water from beneath the liner as it is installed.

No, but the vault must be sufficiently large to allow the liner to be connected to the casing. Special adapters are available if needed. If a Water Flute is to be installed later, the minimum vault dimensions needed are provided in Water Flute vault dimensions.

A wellhead roller may be useful for the installation, but the removal usually requires a wellhead roller and hand winch. Several versions are available. Those are available for rental.

Not without a high risk of damage to the liner and the risk of it becoming stuck in the hole.

No However if the tension on the liner is continuously measured and within the guidelines available (liner tension limits), a lift cable system can be used.

In the same hole, yes. In another hole, yes, if cross contamination is not a concern.

Decontamination is not practical. The labor expense, water disposal, and certification that they are clean are more expensive than the price of a new liner.

Not usually, but a 6 inch liner can be installed in a 5 inch diameter hole.

No. A 4 inch liner is often installed through a larger casing. Some installations have been done through a smaller casing into a larger hole below the casing. It depends upon the casing size in that case. Generally, it is better if the surface casing size is near that of the borehole diameter.

A video is available upon request of the inside of a liner in a very rough borehole (vugs, fractures and enlargements). The liner appears to be “painted” on the borehole wall. It conforms very well to the rugosities.

Yes, in most cases. It is a common practice. Sometimes an eversion aid is needed to pass through a large cavern.

Denier is a measure of yarn weight per specific length. Low values generally produce more finely woven fabrics and of lesser strength. A 210 denier high quality nylon fabric has a tensile strength of about 150 lb/inch. Our 400denier has about a 200 lb/inch tensile strength. 840 denier is 300-400lb/inch. The higher denier are more coarse, more stiff and not suited for small well diameters (<6 inches) in most cases. Solinst Flute uses exceptionally high quality coated nylon and polyester coated fabrics.

Our single coated fabric liners are urethane coated on one side and essentially impermeable (urethane is the toughest of the various coatings available). Double coated fabrics are coated on both sides and are more expensive. Blank liners are usually single coated since most are temporary liners. Water Flutes use a double coated fabric.

The “tether” is a rope connected to the inside, bottom end of the liner. It is the same length as the liner. The standard blank liner tether is a 4000lb test, 3/16 inch woven, Spectron cord with special properties for its application. The tether is used to lower the liner into position and for its removal.

Sometimes. Solinst Flute Blank Liners are tested to be essentially air tight. However, if dragged on pavement or damaged by logging tools or other devices lowered inside the liner without sufficient precautions, the coating can be damaged to cause a slow leak. If the effective excess head inside the liner exceeds 100 ft, the liner may be ruptured in any unsupported (enlarged) portion of the hole. A sharp object in the borehole can puncture a liner (e.g., a rusted pipe section). However relatively few liners leak. Solinst Flute will remove and replace any liner leaking due to manufacturing or material defects at no cost.

Only Solinst Flute, or a licensed operator, has the expertise and the equipment to perform the transmissivity measurement.

So far, only Solinst Flute has performed a reverse head profile and usually immediately after a transmissivity profile.