Just got my letter of acceptence into the regional pipeline traing program, I.U.O.E. local 66. I'm 59 yrs. old been in the seat of something since I was 5, farming,high nickel alloy reprossin plant, Sakrete plant, gravel pit, landfills, site preps, fly ash relocation, grubbin, reclamin, highways & biways, time to try pipelinein, never to old to learn. Any advice on the vacuworxs pipe lifter & sideboom would be Greatly appreicated. Thanks in advance for your advice & comments. Have a safe & Happy Holiday season,:drinkup Bob aka. Palmer aka. Dirty Bill aka. other names which are NOT suitable for this site LOL Allso any info TWIC card and OQ (operator quailfication) card??
Also known as sucker hoe(vacuworxs is brand, manufactuer name I think) any & all info appreciated. Thanks, Bob
Guess nobody knows about em. :beatsme
Hang in there Bob
I think there was a thread here about them earlier... I thought it mentioned that they ran off the hydraulics. Not used one on pipe... But on hollow core concrete slabs...... It was 3 flat panels, maybe 3 foot square with a rubber bladders, a small gas engine and vacuum pump The panels that i was lifting about 8' x 16'.. you would place it in the middle, then someone would flip the lever to vacuum. It would then vac down to the concrete. as rough as the concrete was, we didn't have any problems with it sticking to the panels. the only problem was the offices 18 ton crane that can lift the world idea.... another job that had to have a 35 ton delivered to do the job
Side booms ....youtube some videos.... they get scary dangerous in a heartbeat I haven't been on one since the 70's....one was a really small cat, the other a farm tractor.. so prepare for something old & cold...
Just been checking out there website www.vacuworx.com might give you some insight!
The lifter will attach to any machine with lifting capability. They come in different capacities and can lift flat or round surfaces depending on the model. I've seen some with small gas engines running the vacuum pump, the two that I bought were hydraulically operated, and were used on pipeline jobs in Wyoming. They can be rented as well as not everyone has enough work to justify the cost. They will work on steel, concrete, or coated pipe. The huge savings with them is in time saved and lower labor costs. You just lower the device onto a pipe, engage the vacuum, and lift. Set the pipe in position, cut the vacuum off, and swing round for another one. The vacuum is controlled by a switch in the cab. At the time we did not use them with pipelayers. For one thing, our older model pipelayers did not have hydraulics of a size needed to run the pump. But we felt that using a 330 Cat excavator was much faster and more efficient. This proved out to be true.
Thanks for the replies guys. cps, them kids in the vid with shiney new bibs & hats are Thanks, :drinkup Bob
Those vac pipe-lifters are very handy. They are used mostly on the stringing crews or in the pipe yard. They can be a little dangerous some times. Just make that the vac seal stays on. The ones we had where mounted on Deere 450's. They can string a lot of pipe in a hurry with one of those. Are you looking at running one?
EGS, Yep gonna give it a try. Thanks for the reply,:drinkup Bob
I think we had one of the First ones to come out up there in you neck of the woods EGS. Would have been around 1998 I think.
panhandler bob where are you at in western pa
Mercer County, Bob
The pipeline school was pretty good. I've been to two of them. Never had a Vacuworx pipe lifter at either one. Did get to run a self-propelled chipper. That was different.
Was that on a crude oil line for Enbridge? I could be wrong but didn't the old Murphy Bros. (not sure on the spelling) lay that line?
It was Crude Oil line for Lakehead. Did they change to Enbridge? Your right about Murphy being the Contractor. Between Bobby Carico running the Stringing & Jennings running the Pipe Gang I always had a lot of fun on the weekend. Those two were always together and usually into something.
They must of changed the name to Enbridge. Did that line have a existing line next to it?
The company was Lakehead Pipeline at the time. I don't think so on the existing pipeline. I think we was the first in that Right of Way. Is there about 3 pipelines in that right of way now?
It has 4 now.
Well I went to National Pipeline Training Program Vacuum Lifter Class at IUOE Local 66 training grounds, 6 days 10 hrs. a day. Very interesting & educational, learned alot about the lifter & pipeline work(not all there is to know, but hopefully enough to help get work & learn more first hand) The instructor Brian a good guy, knew his stuff, not boring, willing to share his personal stories not just outta the book. He has 18 yrs. exp. on the line, not just book learnin. I got my certifacation on the lifter, also got my OQ card (pipeline operator qualifaction card) while I was there. Highly recomend this class for anyone interested in this kinda work.:drinkup Bob aka ZZ
Vacuworx Info Request Bob, for additional information on the Vacuworx Lifting System you can visit our website at www.vacuworx.com or you can email me direct, [email protected] . I would be happy to get you any additional information you need. I am glad you enjoyed the training. Shawn