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Portable vacuum excavators have been a staple on jobsites for years. These unique units were originally used to clean septic tanks and car wash pits and to remove the resulting slurry from horizontal directional drilling projects. Now contractors are discovering that these machines have a wide range of uses on the jobsite, from potholing for utilities, to cleaning valve boxes, to digging post holes.
“The vacuum excavator has come of age,” says Dave Gasmovic, president and CEO of McLaughlin. “Contractors are discovering that vacuum excavators have multiple uses to help reduce labor costs and speed up projects.”
Vacuum excavators are self-contained units that use pressurized air or water to displace spoil and a pump to remove the displaced spoil. The displaced dry or wet spoil is stored in a holding tank on the vacuum. Vacuum excavators can be mounted to a trailer or the back of a truck and range in size from 100 to 1200 gallons (379 to 4542 L) of capacity. Since vacuum excavators use air pressure or water to remove spoil, they are ideal for potholing or identifying existing utilities during underground construction projects.
“Damaging existing utilities can be costly, resulting in project downtime and potential contractor fines,” says Brian Showley, vice president of sales for VAC-TRON Equipment. “Water pressure and air are more forgiving than a backhoe, compact excavator or shovel around utilities. In addition, the air and water move around the existing utilities, giving the operator a clearer view.”
Operators can select the amount of air or water pressure depending on the utility. For example, lower pressure may be used for fiber and higher pressure for water or gas lines.
New uses -
Some contractors are even using these units to remove grain and coal trapped in the corners of barges, clean gutters and remove chips from stump removal projects. An expanding market for vacuum excavators is their use in excavating post holes for highway guard rails and installing fencing in residential or commercial areas. Using a vacuum helps reduce the chance of damaging an existing fiber line with an auger along a highway or existing utilities in a residential or commercial development.
According to Gasmovic, today’s vacuum excavators are well suited for these applications because they are more portable compared to units of the past. The displaced spoil can be moved up to 200 feet (60 m) from the source, and only one person is required to operate the unit.
Selecting the right unit
On the other hand, spoil from air systems can be directly returned to the site, but these systems do not cut as well in hard ground conditions, such as clay. “I encourage contractors to look for a unit with a good quality vacuum pump,” says Showley. “They should also select a tank that has the capacity to hold one-half day’s worth of spoil. This will reduce the number of trips needed to dump the holding tank.”
When you have a vacuum excavator, the number of uses will just multiply with a little creativity, adds Gasmovic.
Vacuum excavators come in all sizes and options, so it’s important to select a unit that will best fit your intended use. Water-based units typically dig faster through a wide variety of spoil types and reduce the volume of the material, meaning you can get more displaced wet spoil into a holding tank compared to an air system. However, the displaced spoil is wet and cannot be returned to the site immediately without drying.Contractors are continuously finding new uses for vacuum excavators that help save time and labor. For example, the units are being used to clean out valve boxes for routine exercising and storm sewer catch basins.
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