Two Whale tankers that are now equipped with an array of new features and product improvements are putting on a show at Londonderry Garage 2009. Having made their debut on the south coast at PAWRS last month, visitors to the Northern Load & Waste Handling Exhibition will get the chance to view the GullyWhale and KiloWhale Plus.
The new and radically upgraded GullyWhale Plus - featuring an 1800-gallon capacity tank mounted on the 18 tonne MAN TG-M 4 x 2 day cab chassis - is a Medium Volume Combination (MVC) tanker that boasts a number of new performance and health and safety related features and product improvements. These now form either part of Whales standard vehicle specification or can be specified as options.
Also spouting off at Londonderry is the KiloWhale Plus â€" a high volume JetVac vacuum tanker equipped with the new MK60 high pressure jetting pump delivering 75 gallons per minute at 2,300psi. Available with many of the new product refinements introduced to the GullyWhale Plus, including the full range of options, the KiloWhale Plus has a 2600-gallon tank coupled with the DAF FAT CF75.310 6 x 4 26 tonne chassis.
Of the new standard features on the GullyWhale Plus, the most significant is its radically new operating control system. Capable of interfacing with a manufacturers chassis and CANbus system, the new PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is being deployed to control a number of new key features and functions introduced to the GullyWhale Plus. For added flexibility, the system has inbuilt capacity for operators to introduce additional functionality in the future, such as vehicle telematic systems etc.
The upgraded PLC supports functions such as a hydrostatic sensor that provides a digital display of the tankers capacity level - accurate to approximately .25% - as well as the amount of jetting time that remains at maximum flow.
GullyWhale Plus also incorporates Whales recently introduced anti-vibration gully boom control unit - developed in-house as a means of reducing health and safety concerns surrounding hand-arm (HAV) vibration.
Featured as an option is a new jetting hose meter that is digitally programmable. Operating via two sensors located outside the reel housing, as opposed to running on the reel itself so as to avoid dirt and particulate ingress, a digital display provides the operator with two read outs; one showing how much hose remains on the reel at any given time, the other an incremental measurement of the length deployed down a drain. Tolerant to its working environment and mounted on the reel frame itself, the unit - suitable for retrofitting - is simple and fool proof to operate and accurate to within two metres.
The control system on the MVC is also being deployed to help deliver further improvements, particularly in relation to operator health and safety. For example when jetting, the MVC now features a safe mode start up.
Other new key features of the GullyWhale Plus include a quick acting boom valve that operates 60% faster than was previously possible; a pneumatically operated inter-connecting valve mounted on top of the tank that prevents contamination of clean water, being interlocked so it can only be opened when the vac pump is running on vacuum, and a low level boom mounted greasing point feed that facilitates four point greasing of the boom turret to avoid working from height. Finally, the GullyWhales boom sludge breaker incorporates nozzle inserts to deliver improved operating performance, whilst manual operation of water pressure regulation has been replace by electrically operated push buttons located on the rear mounted Whale control panel.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Alongside the new features that now form part of Whales standard vehicle specification, a number of optional extras can also be specified. These are:
A new style storage frame with the capacity for four solid type road signs mounted nearside.
A rear and nearside lockable nozzle storage facility.
Soft handgun start-up.
Pulsation jetting auto-timed to one minute durations, with the added facility to ramp up or down the jetting time.
Fully hydraulic side shift reel and self-aligning operated reel with 100m x Whale jetting hose.
Eight-function radio remote control with failsafe auto shutdown feature, operational to within a range of 150 metres.
In cab six-function display linked to the new PLC, with capacity to incorporate GPRS vehicle tracking technologies and data download.
We are once again delighted to be putting our support behind what has historically been an important show for Whale Tankers. It is particularly pleasing to have on show two new tankers in the GullyWhale and KiloWhale Plus, and we feel sure that they will be as well received in the north of the country as they were in Torbay last month. The new features not only improve overall performance and efficiency, many have been introduced to make our products even more operator friendly,states Whale Tankers Managing Director, Mark Warmington.