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The Rota Sludge is a manual drilling technique based on the [[Sludging - Asian Sludge sludge |Asian sludge]] technique, and adapted for harder soil types. To drill through the harder layers, a hardened drill bit and weight have been added. Just after the downward movement of the drill pipes the drill bit is rotated a quarter turn, thus chiselling the bottom of the hole. Water is circulated to bring the cuttings to the surface.
During drilling, the drill pipe is moved up and down. On the down stroke, the impact of the drill bit loosens the soil and on the up stroke, the top of the pipe is closed by hand (or a valve), drawing up the water through the pipe and transporting the cuttings to the surface. On the next down stroke, the hand (or valve) opens the top of the pipe and the water squirts into a pit, in front of the well. In this pit, the cuttings separate from the water and settle out, while the water overflows from the pit back into the well.