NOV BX drilling elevator

A drilling elevator hangs from the links under the top drive or the hook and latches around the pipe, which is how the rig picks up a stand. The BX is NOV’s hydraulic elevator. The driller closes it from the console. An interlock and a closed signal are part of the published controls, so it is not a manual latch the floor crew swings shut.

It fits the links and the load the body is rated for. Published BX bodies include 350, 500, 750, and 1,000 short tons, depending on the column in the spec sheet. Hydraulic supply is 2,000 to 2,500 psi at 5 to 7 gallons per minute. One person runs it. The 350-ton column is a body about 40 by 54 by 18 inches and 2,445 pounds. Tubulars include casing and plain drill collars, and a rotator can be used. The elevator is built to API 8C.

A manual side-door elevator is a different tool: the crew latches it, and there is no hydraulic close signal. The letters BX do not tell you the tons. A 350-ton BX under a 500-ton top drive does not make the elevator or the links 500 tons. The lowest rated piece in the load path is the rating.

Read the load rating on the elevator and on the links, and confirm the inserts match the pipe you run. Ask for the API 8C paperwork. Check that the closed-signal switch works. An elevator that latches and does not tell the driller it is latched is not the control system this tool was built around.