Geoprobe®... a brand name of high quality, hydraulically-powered, direct push machines that use both static force and percussion to advance sampling and logging tools into the subsurface. The first Geoprobe® brand machine was built for the Environmental Protection Agency in 1988.

The Geoprobe® brand name refers to both machines and tools manufactured and sold exclusively by Geoprobe® Systems in Salina, Kansas.  Geoprobe® tools are used to perform soil core and soil gas sampling, groundwater sampling, electrical conductivity and contaminant logging, grouting, and materials injection.

Soil probing techniques can be thought of as a subcategory of what are commonly referred to as "Direct Push" techniques. Direct Push refers to tools and sensors that are "pushed" into the ground without the use of drilling to remove soil or to make a path for the tool. A Geoprobe® direct push machine relies on a relatively small amount of static (vehicle) weight combined with percussion as the energy for advancement of a tool string.

Using a Geoprobe® direct push machine, you can drive tools to obtain continuous soil cores or discrete soil samples. You can drive samplers to obtain groundwater samples or vapor samples. You can insert permanent sampling implants and air sparging points. You can drive a conductivity sensor probe to map subsurface lithology. You can install small diameter monitoring wells. In fact, the Geoprobe® machine has been used to perform many of these functions to depths of 100 feet (30m) or more where the geology and soil conditions are appropriate.

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Soil probing equipment is typically used for site investigations to depths of 30 to 60 feet (9 to 18 m) depending upon soil conditions. However, this range is elusive and constantly increasing as better probing equipment is produced. Geoprobe® brand soil probing equipment has been used to depths exceeding 100 feet (30 m) in many areas of the United States and overseas.

• It's hydraulically powered either from a vehicle or an auxiliary engine.
• It uses static force and the dynamic percussion force of the GH40 or GH60 Soil Probing Hammer to advance small diameter sampling tools.
• It rearranges particles in the subsurface by application of weight and percussion to advance a tool string and produces no cuttings in the process.
• It can drill through surface pavements 12 inches (305 mm) or more in thickness and probes beneath them.
• It can be used for collecting soil cores, groundwater samples, and soil gas samples. A probing tool is also available to make continuous log of soil conductivity and probe penetration rates.

Geoprobe® probing equipment has redefined the way sites are investigated in the Environmental Industry. In many areas of the country, Geoprobe® brand machines and tools have displaced traditional drilling methods as the preferred mode of collecting subsurface samples. There are numerous reasons why Geoprobe® direct push techniques have found such wide acceptance in the field. Among these reasons are the following:

• No cuttings are produced during the sampling process.
• Probing is fast: typical penetration rates are from 5 to 25 feet (2 to 8 m) per minute.
• Mobilization is quick and economical.
• The sampling process is fast; 20-40 sample locations per day.
• Probing machines are easy to operate and relatively simple to maintain.
• Probing tools create small diameter holes which minimize surface and subsurface disturbance.
• Geoprobe® machines fold compactly and store in cargo vans or truck toppers where the unit and tools can be locked and secured.
• Geoprobe® machines have lower capital costs and are more economical to operate than rotary drilling machines and the level of effort and labor required for Geoprobe® machine operation is much less than for conventional drilling.
• Geoprobe® machines can be used to sample subsurface media including soil, groundwater, and soil gas.  Geoprobe® machines can also be used to retrieve geotechnical data via cone penetration testing.