BALL LAUNCHER WITH PILOT BALL

摘要

An apparatus for introducing a drop ball into a well is provided. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a wellhead assembly (14, 16, 52) mounted over a well (12) and a ball launcher (18, 62) for routing a drop ball (36, 94) into the wellhead assembly. The ball launcher includes a fluid conduit (64) coupled to the wellhead assembly and a pilot ball (92) disposed in the fluid conduit. The ball launcher also includes a stop (130) positioned in the fluid conduit to prevent movement of the pilot ball past the stop while allowing movement of the drop ball past the stop and into the wellhead assembly. Additional systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.