I am an absolute shopaholic. I spend a lot of time patronizing literally every type of business under the sun. As an avid consumer, I believe that I have advice that I can give businesses that can help them become more successful and serve there customers better. Even though I am the only one working on this blog, much of what I write comes from endless conversations with friends and family members who have experienced frustrations when patronizing businesses, big and small. My name is Alice Stark and I hope you enjoy the journey that we will be going on together!
What is a hydrovac?
A hydrovac is a piece of equipment that can shoot high pressured water to cut and liquefy the soil of an excavation site. At the same time, it uses a vacuum to suck up all of the debris which safely exposes the underground utilities for maintenance or replacement. Both the water that is used in the excavation and the soil that the vacuum sucks up are typically stored in a truck-mounted unit. While there are several types of hydrovacs on the market, they are all very similar. The only real differences would be in capacity and range of effectiveness.
Benefits of a Hydrovac
Some of the benefits of using a hydrovac are damage prevention, safety, and utility.
Most damages in the excavation business are made by shovels. With a hydrovac, there is no need to worry about those types of damages. The ground will be made into a muddy slurry that can be safely vacuumed and removed. It takes out any possibility of accidently breaking or bending the existing utilities because of shovel strikes. This can save a lot of time money that would normally go towards repairs.
Using a hydrovac makes it so that the workers do not have to be in the trench with the excavation equipment. Instead, they can be stationed safely out of the trench. The lack of sharp shovels and backhoes reduces the pieces of hard debris that are shot into the air, so it is also safer for people that may be passing by the excavation site. Finally, hydrovacs do not disturb the surrounding soil like more standard excavation practices, so it prevents the likelihood of accidental cave-ins.
Hydrovacs have great utility. While it is still important to know where you will be able to park the truck and how far you will be working from it, many hydrovacs can be used interchangeably. They are great precision machines. If there is a need to work in a crowded street or a small backyard, using a hydrovac will allow for excellent excavation with minimal disturbance to the surrounding area. You will be able to safely expose any of the existing utilities, even if they are small wires or pipes. With the option of using hot water, they can even be used to dig in frozen soil. One other use for hydrovacs is cleaning up debris from gutters, manholes, and their surrounding areas.
Share24 March 2021
