At a time when many organisations are curbing capital expenditure, Lanes for Drains - the UK's largest independent drainage specialists - remain focused on bucking the trend. Intent on deploying the most technically advanced and durable equipment available, the company is continuing to show its faith in the Kaiser-Whale sewer cleaning Jet-Vac with continuous dirty water recycling.
Supplied by Whale Tankers of Solihull - a leading manufacturer of high quality vacuum tankers and jetting equipment - three new additions have bolstered Lanes for Drains' Kaiser-Whale fleet to a total of seven. Mounted onto Volvo's FM84R 8 x 4 chassis developing 440 bhp and complete with sleeper cab, the specialist 32 tonne GVW Jet-Vac tanker will be working across Lanes for Drains southern regional service centres. They will operate on preventative maintenance and cleaning contracts with leading water authorities, utility providers and specialist organisations involved in the cleaning of culverts and larger diameter sewers.
Commenting on Lanes for Drains' decision to specify the additional Kaiser-Whales, Group Transport Manager, Simon Nicholls said: "The Kaiser-Whale is a high specification unit that leads the field when it comes to continuous water recycling and therefore supports our strategy of investing in next generation plant and equipment. The Kaiser-Whale is already requested by a growing number of our customers, with many more showing an interest in it. Ultimately, therefore, it is our aim to have a Kaiser-Whale type vehicle operating across our entire nationwide network of 23 regional operating centres."
In addition to the confidence shown by Lanes for Drains in the Kaiser-Whale product itself, Simon is keen to praise the levels of support provided by Whale in the field. "The back-up that we receive across all of the Whale tankers that we operate is first class. Whale is capable of providing a rapid engineer response service on a nationwide basis that is extremely efficient when it comes to reducing vehicle downtime in a cost-effective manner. They also operate a very efficient and comprehensive parts programme and are always on hand to provide us with what we need, when we need it."
Joining Lanes for Drains' 90-strong tanker fleet, the new Kaiser-Whales represent a revolutionary approach to heavy duty jetting machine applications using recycled water. Developed by Whale Tankers in technical partnership with Kaiser AG - an acknowledged leader in water recycling equipment in Europe - the specialist unit recycles the water it uses during jetting operations, therefore maximising time spent working on site and thereby minimising time spent off it taking on supplies of fresh water.
The Kaiser-Whales specified by Lanes for Drains feature a 'spiral cassette' loading boom option equipped with a 12m, 6" suction pipe. In addition to providing a 300º rotation, this means the tanker can load up to depths of 8 metres below ground without the need to load additional hoses manually.
In terms of jetting capability, each tanker features the Kaiser KDU High Pressure Water pump assembly and KWP High Performance Liquid Ring Pump. The former delivers high flow and pressure performance, with a flow rate of 90gpm up to 200 bar. Located at the rear of the vehicle is a hydraulically operated Whale 'Mega Reel' that effectively handles a 180m, 1 ¼" heavy-duty hose. As standard, the new vehicles also feature Whale's PLC with SmartWhale logic, located at the vehicle's rear off the main hose reel frame. Having all the controls for jetting, vacuum and recycling on a single panel, clearly and logically set out, facilitates efficient day-to-day operation of the unit.