Hydraulic tool power units

[FC02]

Do you prefer gasoline motor power units or electric motor power units, and why do you prefer them? Thanks in advance

[Malahat27]

Gasoline for sure. Reason is portability and weight. No batteries to carry. We get a lot of MVA's in our district and our stretch of the highway is mostly on the edge of an embankment, so portability is a major factor. We carry a Briggs and Straton 5.5hp motor weights in at about 25lbs, easily carried by one person. The extrication tools are Lucas and are a fraction of the weight and size of most other tools out there - we run with a combi cutter/spreader, extendable ram and a small combi cutter that we use for cutting pedals. Also, I guess if the unit bails out at a crucial time, I get the short end of it as the unit Engineer (sorry - bad humor there haha). Hope that helps.

Cheers from Malahat, play safe y'all.

[JohnM]

By electric is assume you mean a tool powered by 120 or 240 volts AC from your rig. We have both, and I like the gas powered tools better. It you have to take your tool into a building, a long distance off the road, etc the gas powered tool can be brought along with no problem. Yes, most rescues are fairly close to the truck, but when it is not, it gets messed up with extension cords, dismounting the hydraulic reel, and the list of possible problems goes on and on. We use Honda engines, and they start even if you look at them hard, and will run for EVER on a tank of fuel. Also very quiet. If your truck that supplies AC voltage breaks down, the good old gas power unit can respond in a pick up truck if needed.

[FC02]

You're right JohnM, I meant 120 volt supplied from the truck. Thank you for the replies so far.

[Lewiston2FF]

We use an electric simo pump on our rescue, but we also carry a Honda gas power unit right beside it as a backup and for those instances when the hose reels wont reach or the electric pump fails.