So how about them mud guns!

If you have been around solids control equipment and mud mixing equipment chances are you have seen a mud gun. We have seen them in our mix tanks, vessels, offshore and land operations, Mud Guns, Swivel Mud Guns, etc. When we compare a 3" to 1" reducing swedge to a radial educator, is there a significant difference in performance?

First off the purpose of the mud gun is to promote shearing, suspension and reduce solids settling and build up within mud mixing vessels, where a mud gun has a built in swivel the mud gun can be rotated to sweep the vessel's surface further aiding in the reduction of settled solids. Mud guns are a supplement to mud agitators which are designed to mechanically maintain a homogeneous blend of the drilling mud in order to maintain solids in suspension.

But how does a mud gun wok?

Mud Guns are fed drilling fluid by a Centrifugal Pump, the fluid enters the 3" piping and exits the 1" nozzle at an accelerated rate (similar to a water jet), Simple right!

Do they actually work?

In short yes, (then keep it simple stupid) the simple design has been around for years, and these can typically be built with off the shelf parts at a low cost. This makes the conventional gun line an attractive option when designing a mud mixing system.

But is there a better way?

What about that radial educator you mentioned? What is it? More on this soon.

Resident experts please leave your comments, experiences with mud guns below.

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