Sucking It Up – How The Allvac® Handles Drill Mud

Every hydrovac operation hinges on power. Lifting saturated material up through the suction boom and into the tank demands significant vacuum for efficient completion.

However, when utilizing an Allvac® hydro vac to lift challenging materials like drill mud, you experience a surge in capability – taking performance and power to a whole new level!

Drill mud is a by-product of certain types of work. When underground boring machines drill paths for cables, ducts, and utilities, they need to be able to do it smoothly to avoid any damage to the infrastructure or the equipment. To power through tightly packed earth, crews coat the drill head with something called bentonite – a slippery clay-based product that lubricates the soil and makes it easier to bore through smoothly.

But this process isn’t without its side effects – and in particular, the problem is weight. Bentonite is an incredibly dense and heavy substance, so when the residue from the drilling – the drill mud – emerges from the opening, it’s a real problem to deal with. Drill mud can weigh anywhere from 1,000 to over 2,000 kilograms per cubic metre. That makes removal a challenge.

And that’s where the Allvac® makes a difference. A traditional hydrovac only delivers 50% vacuum power, which can easily handle light and aerated substances like ordinary mud. But 50% isn’t nearly enough to lift something as dense as drill mud.

It still has to be removed, though, so the only way to make it light enough for a traditional hydrovac to suck up is by mixing the drill mud with water. This makes the mixture lighter so that it can be removed from the worksite. But it also increases the total volume of the product, meaning the truck may have to be refilled and take multiple trips to get rid of it all.

All of this adds up to inefficiency, wasted time, and a major headache for your crew. But an Allvac® has a huge advantage here – deep vacuum and high airflow. The Allvac® Hydro excavator can pull up to 90% deep vacuum, which is powerful enough to easily pull drill mud straight from the ground without adding water. No matter how deep the hole, it manages like a champion.

Even when there’s mountains of heavy product to deal with, the Allvac® still doesn’t falter – thanks to its optimized design, you can carry up to 8 tonne of payload, making it the best in its class for payload-to-size ratio.

Don’t let drill mud slow you down! Contact us today and see how an Allvac® makes the heavy lifting easy.

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Reach out today to Maska our Specialist Vehicle Consultant for pricing and availability