Hire gear doesn’t have an easy life. Customers have high expectations, with machinery expected to work regardless of how rough it’s treated. There’s also an expectation that the machinery is easy to use. In fact, the entire reason most machinery is hired is so it can make work easier for the hirer. And that makes for a perfect testing ground for equipment like the HydroMaster 1000, which makes work easy by packing big time functionality into a small trailer unit.
Jonty at Allways Hire has been hiring out the HydroMaster 1000 for the last 7 months, collecting feedback from clients. “It’s been going to service relocators like electricians, and lots of civil companies finishing off sub-divisions, as they go around cleaning out the sumps, which it’s really good at. The feedback has been really good, especially as the HydroMaster is not the typical machine in a hire fleet.”
The hire experience starts at pick-up and good hire companies know they can win over a client or lose them that early. The longer the pick-up and machine induction takes, the lower satisfaction often creeps, so a non-typical machine like the HydroMaster 1000 could pose a problem when introduced into a hire fleet and rented to lots of ‘newbie users’. In that regard, it’s not dissimilar to handing over the keys to junior team members and needing them to instantly be able to use the machine. And this is why we designed the HydroMaster 1000 to be intuitive.
“It’s all made as simple as possible. A lot of clients have never used a hydrovac before and within 5 to 10 minutes, they know how everything works and can go off and do a job.” says Jonty. “For non-experienced users it’s great.”
Having the unit on a trailer that can be towed behind the regular site ute is great, too. “Anyone can pick it up and use it. There’s no need for a class 2 license and we’ve found that really appeals because it makes hiring easier. For owners, I imagine it would make moving it from A to B easier.” offers Jonty.
He’s right. The HydroMaster trailer is braked and balanced, and that makes it easy to move and a pleasure to tow. At 3.5 tonnes the driver will still know it’s there but they won’t feel it squirm and jerk around, especially when compared to other hydrovac trailer units. The reason for this is because the design means the HydroMaster 1000 remains as balanced when it’s empty as it does when full.
As Jonty mentioned, many of his clients are civil contractors using the HydroMaster to clean out sumps. It’s a pretty common use for such a machine and serves as a good example for highlighting why this machine makes work easy.
“The telescopic boom is a big deal. The suction obviously causes a degree of jerking and pulsing as the sludge is sucked up. Big lumps of mud and suchlike can move the hose around but with this machine, the boom and the suspension system takes all the strain. There’s no weight on the user’s back and they just have to direct the hose to the right area” explains Jonty. That makes a huge difference over the course of a busy day.
What also makes a big difference is that liquid ring vacuum. Users can dump the hose straight into water, with no loss of suction. Indeed, for many first-time operators this is exactly what they do. But try that with a more traditional hydrovac and they might struggle.
“It’s a lot better than other units because you can drop the suction hose underneath the water level. It’ll suck as hard as you need it to and doesn’t need any air. We’ve had experience with blower vacs and they need an inch or so of air, but the hose wants to suck onto the water surface and you end up always pulling the hose up and down and having to adjust it. The HydroMaster does away with that hassle,” offers Jonty.
There’s another plus to the liquid ring vacuum that makes it suitable for hire companies but applies to purchasers too – it’s low maintenance: “We don’t know what anyone’s experience is or how they treat gear so it has to be hardy, and the liquid ring pump is really hardy. It puts up with everything and maintenance is really low.”
Again, Jonty is right. The HydroMaster is also easy to fix should something go wrong, not that much will. The most inconvenient aspect of a hydrovac is usually dealing with a blockage, so we’ve sorted that too. The hose has two male ends and you can flip them around to reverse a blockage easily. For new users and hirers, it makes a real difference: “That has been a game-changer when hiring it’ states Jonty, knowing customers can easily unblock the vac without issue and if they’ve forgotten the induction lesson, a quick call is all it takes to explain it again.
Finally, there’s what we consider to be the ‘tidiest’ part of the design: the LatchMaster.This is our own hydraulically controlled over-centre latch on the rear door. They allow the operator to empty the spills while standing well clear of the spill zone. Traditional screw-type latch doors don’t do this and there’s a quick dance needed to get out the way or they’ll get covered in the stuff you want to get rid off. It can make for a nasty surprise if you don’t know what to expect. We imagine it would make for a very unhappy hirer. For Jonty and Allways Hire, the hirers have all been happy though, as are they.
“What sets this hydrovac apart is the functionality and usability. It has features you’d expect of a truck-based hydrovac but is easy-to-use and has the advantages of being a trailer unit. It’s a real step forward and combines the best of both worlds.”
