Pipe cleaning vehicle - entire redesign and conversion

Project details and scope of services

As delivered, the vehicle has a 1000l water reservoir, that is feeding a 3-plunger high pressure pumpe. An old Ford petrol engine, located directly behind the hose reel, is powering the pump. Radiator, fuel tank, battery etc. are also INSIDE the compartment.

The water pump was delivering 70lpM water at 150bar, allowing for 15 minutes of cleaning until the water is depleted.

The operator was forced to work directly besides a running petrol engine, suffering from noise, heat, blast and exhaust gas. Everything was build tightly, hard to deal in case of service or repair.

We were ordered to update the system to state-of-the art.

Our concept consisted of a hydraulically powered High-pressure Waterpump HPW250/30-40 from DYNASET. The old Ford engine will be removed completely, using the vehicle's main engine to power a hydraulic pump via a Engine-PTO, combined with an electronic RPM module to provide higher power during pumping operations.

Additionally a spray gun plus 20m hose reel was added, to allow for expanded cleaning operations.
To provide hydraulic oil, we mounted a 40l tank on an elevated basis. Oil supply is crucial fur hydraulic pumps!

The entire hydraulic system (high-pressure water pump, flow control valve, hydraulic control valve) was mounted on a solid plywood deck.

When assembled, the entire working compartment looks much more pleasant:

A control panel with clear indicators completes the system:

Functions work sequentially:

• Ein / Aus / NOT-AUS: System switched on when engine is running
• Hydraulik: Hydraulik pump at the engine is operated. Hydraulik power is being applied, allowing the hose reel to be operated
• Engine speed (switch “Drehzahl”): the engine is being revved up to 1800RPM to provide the power required to operate the high-pressure water pump
• Water (switch “Wasser”): the high-pressure water pump is being switched on. A 3-way valve can select between pipe cleaning hose or spray gun

The functions are logically linked - if e.g. “engine speed” is switched off, the waterpump will be automatically switched off as well.

Which benefits does this system have?

• Reliability! Without the former petrol engine, far less components can even fail. If the car is running, the system will run also.
• Weight & Volume! Given what we removed, roughly 220kg were taken out of the vehicle. Adding new parts with ~60kg, in total roughly 180kg more material can be transported!
• Working Time! Originally, only 15 minutes of continuous operation was possible before the water was depleted. Now, using higher pressure, the system can run 33minutes and have even higher cleaning power. 250bar will cut through dirt and mud much better.
• Ergonomics! The operator is no longer impaired by heat, noise and fume.
• Investment! When changing the base vehicle, you only need to fit a suitable hydraulic pumpe. The rest can be reused completely.

The old Ford engine alone took up more space than a Euro pallet.