Jet Blast Drain Cleaning has tackled their toughest obstruction yet with the Climbolino® E, an electric Milling Robot from German-manufacturer Hächler GmbH.
The Climbolino® E is the first battery-operated service connection robot of its kind on the German market which is exclusively sold by Pipe Core in Australia and New Zealand.
Chris Allen, Director of Jet Blast Drain Cleaning, was one of the first businesses in Australia to acquire the unit in 2021 and see the full potential of the battery-operated robot.
With several jobs under his belt using the Climbolino® E, Allen was called to a residential property in Geelong to face a challenging reline on a main sewer line running under the kitchen and living room of the house.
“The preliminary plumbing of this gravity-flow system was done before foundation contractors poured the slab during the construction phase” he explains, “but unfortunately the broken pipe was not identified until well after the concrete had set.”
CCTV inspection revealed the full extent of the damage and the challenge that lay ahead of the team who needed to reach over half a metre of broken pipe located under 400mm of concrete before commencing the reline.
“The success of the job hinged on the Climbolino® E being able to grind through the 400mm of structural footing”, according to Allen, “and to top it off there were 6x16mm steel footing bars to cut through.”
With a team of two working over a ten-day period, the robotic cutter successfully ground through the dense structural footing.
“With the machine facing such intense milling, the service support from Pipe Core also ensured we were able to keep running with almost zero down time”.
Allen also relied on “the large display and clarity from the video footage when navigating the iron rods, ensuring no accidents occurred”, all while being operated from the single-handed joystick on the unit.
Before acquiring the Climbolino® E, Allen would have had great trouble tackling this job as other robotic cutters wouldn’t have been able get close enough to perform their duties or be durable enough to handle the constant robotic grinding.
“The Climbolino® E is a lightweight Miling Robot designed to take up as little space as possible making it ideal for domestic situations,” he adds.
“This unit is a real asset to my business especially as it can tackle pipes from DN 60 – DN 300.”
Allen immediately knew that he needed to add the impressive unit to his arsenal and offering of trenchless rehabilitation solutions.
Once the Climbolino® E had performed its milling duties, the Jet Blast Drain Cleaning team were able to reline the broken pipe.
Allen was proud to report “that all the robotic grinding was completed with our flexible drain robot with no digging or invasive excavation required.”
“This was probably the toughest obstruction we have ever had to get through and we were really proud to pull this one off.”
The Hächler Climbolino® E is in stock at Pipe Core and live demonstrations can be arranged on request.
For more information visit Pipe Core.
Written by Laura Walter, marketing and events coordinator, Pipe Core.
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