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SYSTEM OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
VE-75 Hopper with De-Watering Valve
Advantages:
- Unlimited water capacity
- Separates solids
- Light, no maintenance
- Will not clog
- Fast, high capacity
- Vacuums dirt, water, mud, and slurries
Typical Applications:
When ground water or other sources of water infiltrate the excavation, the dewatering attachment allows the hopper to collect both solids and water. Water is naturally decanted and released out of the hopper each time the system is idled (each time the control valve is released). Outlet is standard 6" Schd 40 female slip fitting which must be equipped with a check valve for water pumping operation . The discharge is gravity flow.
The Utilivac system, when equipped with a check valve makes an excellent trash pump, because of its ability to handle 4" solids and the fact that it does not need to be primed. The checkj valve is any 6” schedule 40 “backwater” valve available at commercial pumping supply stores or from the factory.
Part 2: System Requirements
To achieve maximum benefit from your Utilivac System it is important to set the system up correctly. One misconception about vacuum excavation is that you must run the air lance and vacuum simultaneously in order to dig effectively. This is not always true. The most efficient vacuum excavation technique often uses the vacuum and air lance alternately. This allows the smallest possible hole to be dug, minimizes wear and tear on the equipment, and keeps operator fatigue to a minimum.
Compressed Air Supply
The quality of your compressed air supply is the most important factor in insuring the success of operation. This system was designed to be used with a 185 cfm size compressor capable of producing 100 to 125 psi. A larger compressor will not provide improved performance of the vacuum generator, although it will not hurt. The vacuum pump is equipped with a pressure gauge
(Figure 5) at the air inlet port on the back end of the unit. During operation, this gauge should read at least 68 psi when used with a 185 cfm compressor. The unit will not operate properly with less than 68 PSI showing on this gauge. THE GAUGE ON YOUR COMPRESSOR CAN NOT BE USED TO CHECK THE FUNCTIONING OF THE VP850 PUMP. THE GAUGE ON THE VP850 MUST HOLD 68 PSI FOR PROPOER OPERATION!
Air Lines
Figures 6a and 6b show schematic arrangements of compressed air hose for two common arrangements. The arrangement shown in figure 6b restricts the operator to using vacuum alone or air lance alone. Attempting to run both tools from a single supply hose will result in very poor performance. For the vacuum generator, 3/4" line is good for up to 50', for runs of between 50' and 200' the minimum line size is 1". For runs greater than 200', larger size hose will be needed. It is usually better to get the compressor closer to the work site than to run more than 300' of hose.
