Tag: hydro vacuum excavation

Florida born and raised Vacuum Excavators

Crews use Vac-Tron unit for hydro vacuum excavation at oil field in Iraq.
Crews use Vac-Tron unit for hydro vacuum excavation at an oil field in Iraq.

Founder Don Buckner, a multi-generation Floridian, started Vac-Tron Equipment over 20 years ago in the rural areas of Lake and Sumter Counties.

“I remember when Mr. Buckner showed one of the first demonstrations to my dad at an open field in Leesburg, FL; he was pioneering the newest and safest way to dig.  The unit was on the back of a bright blue ’94 Ford Ranger.” says Jason Blount, Digital Consultant for Vac-Tron.

Flash-forward 22 years and Vac-Tron units are being used for safer excavation worldwide. Places like South and Central America, parts of Europe, and the Middle East have units in action.

Vac-Tron is now the industry’s innovative leader and one of the world’s largest producers of industrial vacuum excavation equipment. Boasting more than 30 industrial vacuum products, over 50 wet and dry uses, and located in 115 dealers in North America.

Vac-Tron’s core mission is to provide the highest quality hydro and air vacuum excavators that are Made in the USA. Vac-Tron equipment has continued to grow its manufacturing facility in Florida employing locals that help grow our state’s economy.

vactron-vacuum-exavator-key-largo
A Vac-Tron unit using a jetter system with vacuum excavation for the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District.

If you need a new vacuum excavator for your Florida company or government project, please consider a Vac-Tron unit for a job that sucks.

Municipalities empowered by Vacuum Excavators

Cities are digging safer and more efficiently by arming departments with vacuum excavators.  In the rarest of cases, fire departments are using vacuum excavators for trench collapse rescues.  The more common use though is the need for potholing, sewer jetting, storm drain cleaning, and many other applications.

Some regulatory agencies require potholing when a path of a bore trench closely parallels or crosses existing underground utilities.
  Cities are taking the necessary step in getting access to vacuum excavation equipment.  In a small city meeting recently in Kansas, permission was granted to the Water Department to purchase a VAC-TRON LP573SGT.

“Basically, Wally’s been after me to get one of these since I’ve been here, but with all the underground utilities going in and all the fiber optics, it’s become a necessity for us to pothole and find the phone lines, gas lines, before we even start digging our own main lines,” Water Department Director Calvin Burke said. “So what we’re looking at is a combination pothole VAC-TRON machine. It’s a high pressure washer where you take the wand, and you work it and then work the back part, stick the hose on the nozzle, and just suck the dirt right out of the hole.”  – leaderandtimes.com

Tri-County Electric Cooperative, a cooperative utility based in Hooker, Okla., recently put in service a truck-mounted, large vacuum excavator model.

“Being on a truck provides good mobility,” said Rick Wayman, manager of construction. “We do a lot of potholing with the machine. Many city areas we work in are full of utilities, and vacuum excavation can quickly make potholes without damaging the lines being located.

“We also are using it to dig piers for light poles,” Wayman said. “Locations where poles are being set also are in areas full of utilities, and without the new machine, they would have to be dug by hand—there are too many utilities to use mechanical equipment.” – ecmag.com

The Public Works crew in the image below in the City of Temecula, California uses a Vac-Tron PMD 500 GT vacuum truck with a 500-gallon debris tank, 225-gallon freshwater tank, and a jetter putting out 15 GPM/2,200 psi. They capture cleaning water at the outlet of the basin box to keep it from reaching the creeks.

 

The City of Temecula, Calif. use Vacuum Excavation to clean out catch basins
The City of Temecula, Calif. use Vacuum Excavation to clean out catch basins (Image Source: mswmag.com)

To learn more about vacuum excavation and adding a Vac-Tron to your fleet, go here to schedule a demo in your area.

 

Preventing the dangers of excavation (video)



A gas line strike with traditional excavation is one of the worst disasters a project can incur and happens too often. Vacuum excavation is a much safer alternative when digging around gas lines.

The cost of damaging utilities can range from environmental contamination, project delays, lost time and productivity and even more tragically, death.

Because vacuum excavation is so safe and precise, it is even being used for trench rescues due to the speed and safety of removing the soil from around a victim.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS INFORMATIVE VIDEO WITH YOUR TEAM.  Here is the direct YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEEV_-ztKcs

Hydro Vacuum Excavation is Booming

Due to the continued growth in the use of hydro and air vacuum excavation for safe digging, AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) has announced the formation of a Vacuum Excavator Program. The program is made up of nine top vacuum excavator manufacturers. The main purpose of the program is to track statistics of vacuum excavator sales in the U.S. and Canada to help with trend reporting and other data.

“Throughout the United States, vacuum excavation is gaining popularity.” – Forester Daily News

Hydro vacuum excavation is a non-mechanical and non-destructive process. Using water for excavation is a growing trend that will continue to change the way that companies move earth materials. Hydro vacuum excavation is non-invasive and creates an easier way to re-distribute the moved debris.

Hydro Vacuum Excavation Industry Growth

Vac-Tron Equipment, The Industry Leader in Vacuum Excavators for over 20 years, has been manufacturing units in the United States and shipping hydro and air excavation units all over the world.  As the industry continues to grow, municipalities and large companies have been adding units to their fleets for utility locating, directional drilling, and many other safe excavation means.

Vac-Tron recently announced the first Hydro Truck Vacuum Excavator with PTO (power take off) that has been going around the U.S. on demonstrations for companies and governments.  See more details below.

A quote from a local resident seeing a vacuum excavator in action

“Blew me away seeing this in person.  The main feed to our neighborhoods transformer shorted.  After 20 minutes they located the short location. A hydro vac truck shows up, sucks a huge hole in our driveway, fixes the line, fills it back in and none the wiser like they weren’t even there other than the utility marks. They said even if the line needed replacing only three holes were needed.  We were thinking they would be tearing up our front lawn and the neighbors, but then after the entire repair was done it was minimally invasive.”

A rear action shot of the PTO - Hydro Truck Vac vacuum excavation
A rear action shot of the PTO

New Hydro Truck Vacs

The Ford or Freightliner chassis with a full line of the HTV (Hydro Truck Vac) series is available with 300-gallon to 800 –gallon size debris tanks. The PTO (power take off) of the truck drives Positive displacement vacuum blowers that produce 1,000 CFM. These units are standard with a high pressure water system, full hydraulic rear doors, reverse pressure, and the patented “Big Red” filter housing that cleans the dirty air down to 00.5 microns (best in the industry) before it passes back through the vacuum pump.

hydro vacuum excavation low profile series
The LP 873 SGT with the new strong arm for easier handling of the vacuum hose

Low Profile Hydro Vacuum Excavator

One of the most commonly used hydro vacuum units being used is the LP series manufactured by Vac-Tron.  The trailer mounted version of the LP series can easily be pulled behind a one-ton truck. The low profile units come equipped with a hydraulic rear door, which opens fully so operators can quickly empty the contents.

Schedule a Hydro Vacuum Excavator Demo

Call Vac-Tron at 1-800-822-8766 or fill out the online demo form to schedule a demonstration in your area and to learn more about how hydro vacuum excavation can help your projects.

From The Vac-Ex Files: Getting To Work

By: Brian Showley, Vice President ([email protected])

Getting to Work: Before you start any excavation project, don’t forget to call the local One-Call system in your area. You should know the purpose of all the controls, gauges and indicators on your vacuum excavator. Know the load capacity, braking and steering characteristics, turning radius and operating clearances. Check and use all available protective and safety devices. Before you begin your workday, you should inspect your vacuum excavator and have all systems in good operational condition. Do not operate the machine until all deficiencies are corrected. To ensure safety while using a vacuum excavator, be sure to use proper protective gear. This usually includes rubber steel-toe boots, safety glasses, face shield, hard hat, gloves, safety vest and hearing protection.

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The PTO Vac Truck has been rolling all over the county with the Vac-Tron team doing demonstrations. It is pictured here in Irving, TX displaying the towing package.

Favorite Unit: Vac-Tron’s HTV (Hydro Truck Vac) PTO series has debris tanks ranging from 300 to 1,500 gal in size. The power take off of the truck drives positive displacement vacuum blowers that produce 1,000 to 3,000 cfm. These units are standard with a high-pressure water system, full hydraulic rear claw door, reverse pressure and the patented “Big Red” filter housing that cleans the air down to 00.5 microns before it passes back through the vacuum pump. Air compressors and hydraulic booms are also available on most of the HTV series units.

(Source: http://utilitycontractoronline.com/vac-ex-files-vac-tron/)