Steve Vick International Has Pipe Cracking Cracked

The traditional method of breaking out a cast iron main has been to use a variety of handheld tools such as a sledge hammer or ‘podger’, but there are serious health and safety issues with these procedures as pieces of broken metal can fly up to cause injury to operatives.

Steve Vick International offers the solution with the ‘MACAW’ Pipe Cracker, so called because its pipe cracking arms resemble the powerful beak of the South American bird! Operated by the excavator’s hydraulic power and using the controls in the cab, the operative is able to manoeuvre the arms around the pipe and then apply sufficient pressure to crack the pipe.

A major advantage of the MACAW is that it does not require access around the whole circumference of the pipe, thus minimising excavation. The tool is easy to operate and highly manoeuvrable.

As the cracking pressure is controlled and can be stopped immediately once the cast iron has split, the MACAW is suitable for use on mains inserted with PE.

The MACAW Pipe Cracker is suitable for use on 8” to 24” cast iron mains and is designed for use with a typical 1.5 to 3 tonne mini excavator. Varying sized arms can be attached to the base unit to accommodate different sizes of pipe.

A Mini MACAW is also available for cracking 4” to 8” pipes.