CityFlex service boost

Small can be useful when it comes to mini jet vac tankers

A new mini jet vac tanker based at the Lanes Newcastle depot is proving that size matters when it comes to jetting clean pipes in places where space is at a premium.

For small-to-medium diameter pipes, the JHL CityFlex jetting and vacuumation tanker packs pretty much the same cleaning punch as a standard jet vac tanker, but it comes in a handy compact size.

So, the CityFlex reaches places that larger specialist drainage vehicles cannot go, and that includes tight spots on industrial sites, along access roads around hospitals, and in height-restricted multi-storey car parks.

The vehicle’s multi-function capability – it carries its own CCTV drainage survey equipment – also supports more effective highway drainage cleaning, at a time when preventing flooding on Britain’s roads is a major priority.

Lanes drainage engineers made full use of the CityFlex’s compact design when they took just one night shift to flush through the gullies and downpipes at the Eldon Garden multi-storey car park, in Percy Street, Newcastle.

Lanes Newcastle Regional Manager Gavin Potts said: “Thanks to the smaller size of the jet vac tanker, it met the height restrictions in the car park and could reach gullies and downpipes on each of the floors.

“One of our full-sized jet vac tankers would never get inside the building. The only solution would have been to feed the jetting hose up the side of the building.

“This would have been more time consuming, and would have introduced additional hazards, which we would have had to take into account in our health and safety risk assessment.

“The CityFlex jet vac tanker really came into its own, and our client was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of the gully cleansing and downpipe cleaning service we were able to deliver.”

The Lanes Newcastle drainage service team has only had its CityFlex since September, but other clients are already recognising the advantages it brings, not least in terms of cost-effective delivery.

A local authority highways department in the region has already booked the jetting and vacuumation tanker for an entire month to desilt highway gullies.

Gavin Potts explained: “The CityFlex’s smaller size comes into its own with highway gully cleaning as well, because it can more easily access hard-to-reach manholes and drainage lines.

“Also, the jet vac tanker has its own push-rod CCTV drainage survey equipment. So, a highway gully can be cleaned and surveyed with the same vehicle operated by one person.

“This is faster and more cost-effective than deploying a standard jet vac tanker and a CCTV drainage survey van. This means our clients can clean and carry our asset condition checks on a higher meterage of highway drains more quickly, all within what are already tight budgets.”

Lanes Group has a programme to deploy CityFlex jet vac tankers at depots around the UK. Other Lanes drainage depots that have the highly productive machines also include Aberdeen and Eastleigh, in Hampshire.

It has a 4,000 litres tank. As with the Lanes advanced recycler jet vac fleet, the CityFlex has a sliding partition for clean and waste water, and is designed to clean pipes up to 300mm in diameter.

Its 100-metre jetting hose can jet at up to 2,200 pounds per square inch, with up to 38 minutes of jetting time on one tank of water. The machine also has a 30-metre three-inch vacuumation hose, with a suction depth of four metres.

Along with the CCTV drainage survey kit, the CityFlex carries a set of drain rods and full Chapter Eight signage. It is ideal for drain unblocking and gully cleaning, including root cutting, as well as emergency sewage clean-up.