Water carts are a vital part of the earthmoving industry. They range from a single axle truck with a small 5,000 litre poly tank mounted on the back to sophisticated 30,000 or 50,000 litre tankers in stainless steel delivering drinking water where required.
UNSUNG HEROES
Originally water carts had low pressure dribble bars designed specifically for dust suppression at roadworks. Fifty years ago those dribble bar tankers had small engine drive pumps built into the tanker structure, used for loading the tanker from rivers, creeks or dams.
Today, Australian Pump is the number one supplier of self priming centrifugal pumps for tankers. Their range includes a lineup of 2”, 3” and 4” pumps that are petrol or diesel engine driven and also offer hydraulic drive options.
The Aussie GMP range of high pressure, high flow semi trash pumps with hydraulic drive are making their mark in the tanker business.
HYDRAULIC DRIVE COVENIENCE
Hydraulic drive pumps are the future. They offer flexible installations on the truck, compact size, and the high performance they deliver.
“Hydraulic drive runs directly off the main truck engine, providing virtually unlimited power to the pump, delivering maximum performance as required,” said Aussie Pumps Chief Engineer, John Hales.
When it comes to service, the vehicle gets all the attention and the poor pump on the back of the unit or undercarriage is largely ignored.
“Engine drive pumps need to be serviced every 100 hours, the oil checked daily and only run with clean diesel fuel. On dusty sites performance is severely reduced when the air filter gets clogged. We’ve seen plenty of these pumps fail because the engine has been dusted!” said Hales.
Hydraulic drive equivalents are virtually maintenance free and can run continuously, ideal for construction sites that operate 24/7. Hydraulic drive pumps can be mounted in several different locations to suit the tanker set up. The flexibility of hydraulic lines offer engineering freedom.
Australian Pump works with Australia’s leading tanker manufacturers like TTI. The market is reacting positively to the push to hydraulics. But, we recognise there are still tankers using petrol and diesel drive pumps and support these too.
