Eastern Power Equipment
285 Route 9 PO Box 97 Barrington, NH 03825
Phone 603/664-7776 | Toll Free 866/664-7776 | Fax 603/664-7420 | email chuck@easternpowerequipment.com
Control excavating damage with locators and vacuums
Accidental damage to underground utilities is costly and potentially dangerous, and it’s a problem that steadily has escalated during the past decade. Intensified efforts to protect the nation’s buried utility lines has prompted a growing number of A.R.A.-affiliated rental stores to add electronic locators and portable vacuum excavators to their lines of rental offerings. If your work requires excavation, trenching, directional drilling or earth boring, consult your rental pro about your “damage control” options.
As the nation’s utility easements become more crowded, there is an increasing risk of accidentally striking buried cable during construction and maintenance projects. Such utility accidents interrupt vital services, delay projects, and sometimes result in serious injury or death.
Damage to a utility frequently occurs when a line is struck by a:
Backhoe
Excavator
Trencher
Auger
Shovel
Tent Stake
Be certain buried lines at a job site are located and marked before digging!
The first step in avoiding utility strikes is to know where utility lines are buried. A telephone call to the local “one-call” center initiates the process of locating and marking buried utilities.
The request must be made 48 hours before work begins. One-call personnel must be provided with the exact location of the job site.
Know the “one-call” number in your area! Call the national “one-call” referral number -- (888) 258-0808 -- to get toll-free telephone numbers for “one-call” centers throughout the country!
It’s your responsibility!
“One-call” personnel do not perform the locating – finding and marking buried lines is the responsibility of each utility owner or operator. Some of them use their own employees; others assign the work to contract locating companies.
“One-call” legislation is not consistent in all 50 states. Some states require all underground utilities to participate in “one-call” programs; others do not. Therefore, some “one-call” systems may not have access to information about all utilities buried in the areas they serve.
Service lines (pipe or cable from a main line to a building) may not be covered by “one-call” services.
Locations of buried infrastructure on government installations and large business and industrial facilities usually are the responsibility of the property owner, not “one-call.”
Many project owners and cities require that existing utilities be uncovered before new pipe or cable is placed in close proximity.
Electronic locators are ideal damage-control tools for those engaged in boring or directional drilling work.
Basic locator components include:
Hand-held receiver
Compact transmitter unit
How they work
Different frequencies and modes are used to find locations of utility lines by detecting magnetic fields created by electrical current that passes through them. The receiving unit may be all that is necessary to locate electrical and television cable signals. Whatever method is used, the receiver processes information and displays data on a screen at the top of the unit.
To find telephone cable and metallic pipe, the transmitter unit is connected to cable or pipe and current is sent through the line, creating a signal that is detected by the receiver.
To find PVC pipe with a tracer wire, the wire is energized by the transmitter to provide a signal that is read by the receiver.
Utility crews often use locators to:
Confirm lines marked through the “one-call” process
Locate services
Make their own locates of cable and pipe of privately owned infrastructure at commercial and governmental complexes
Electronic locators also are valuable tools for screening grounds before driving tent stakes!
The versatile vacuum excavator is a dual-purpose machine:
An efficient “soft” excavator, able to dig small, precisely controlled holes with high-pressure water or air
A powerful, portable vacuum system
How they work
Portable vacuum excavators mounted on trailer or truck use high-pressure water or air to displace soil for digging potholes without the risk of damage that can be caused by mechanical equipment and tools.
Potholing is becoming a requirement on a growing number of utility construction projects where work occurs in close proximity to easements crowded with buried utilities.
Soft excavating
As a “soft” excavator, the vacuum excavates around buried pipe or cable without the risk of damage inherent with backhoes, excavators or other mechanical tools. Workers can confirm visibly the exact location of buried pipe and cable.
A 12-inch-square, 5-foot-deep pothole can be completed in 20 minutes or less, depending on the machine used and soil conditions. Most models are capable of digging deeper, but utility potholes seldom need to be more than 6 feet deep.
Excavation applications are not limited to potholing. You can:
Dig holes for signs and utility poles
Make small, precisely controlled excavations for virtually any purpose
Soft excavation offers several advantages. It:
Causes less surface damage than mechanical excavation methods
Reduces the disruption of traffic and other surface activities
Vacuuming
The machine’s vacuum capability extends far beyond potholing and excavation.
For utility contractors, the primary use is cleaning up fluid slurry that escapes from the pilot hole during horizontal directional drilling installations.
Vacuum excavators also are versatile, all-purpose machines for cleaning out:
Manholes
Catch basins
Conduit and pipe
Vehicle wash pits
Grease traps
Just about any other cleanup job
Most rental customers interested in utility and vacuum excavator rentals are contractors, including plumbers, electrical contractors and landscape contractors.
Property owners, however, should consider using these tools before do-it-yourself projects. There are utility easements running across property. Although telephone, television cable and power services are buried in most neighborhoods built in the last 30 years, many homeowners give little thought to where they are.
Consider the versatility of these machines and all they can be used to accomplish. And count on your A.R.A.-affiliated tool rental professional to instruct you about operation and help you troubleshoot on the job site.
Landscape contractors: Install and maintain irrigation systems
Plumbers: Track routes of pipes beneath floors inside structures
Swimming pool installers:
Locate valves for sprinkler systems
Find water, sewer, and telephone and electric lines before excavation
Utility contractors:
Find service lines that are not located as part of the “one-call” program
Uncover utility lines without having to dig up streets
Dig holes for utility poles, and fence and sign posts
Clean up slurry on directional drilling jobs
Environmental contractors: Use for emergency cleanups
Contractors of all types: Dig holes for fence posts