Kennards Hire has expanded its new range of trailer-mounted, non-destructive vacuum excavators available for hire.
Kennards’ versatile vacuum excavators can now be hired in Queensland, Victoria and NSW with plans to introduce the units in other areas.
The non-destructive vacuum excavators employ high-pressure water-blasting to break up the soil, using a high-flow vacuum system to extract it from the excavation area. These machines can be used to dig small, deep, precisely-controlled holes to uncover buried utilities without the risk posed by a backhoe or excavator.
A vacuum excavator from Kennards’ equipment range was hired by a major power supplier during an upgrade of the electrical system in an area following the construction of a 132,000V substation. The work included installing a 240mm 4 core XPL cable beneath a pad-mounted substation, which had terracotta water pipes running below.
According to the project supervisor, they were able to minimise risk of damage to the old and fragile terracotta pipes by using the ‘Gerni’ to dig a tunnel for the new cable. The portable design of the vacuum excavator also allowed them to tow it from site to site behind a small tipper, and unhook it when not needed.
Conventional truck-mounted vacuum excavators are about four times as big, preventing their use in space-constrained work areas, he explained.
Kennards’ vacuum excavators feature a 946-litre tank for spoil and a 378-litre water tank with attached hose and wand for jet blasting. Its 575cfm pump is powered by a 25hp Kubota diesel engine with electric start and throttle.
