Operation and Maintenance Manual

Operation and Maintenance Manual

VL5 Air spade

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION ENCLOSED.

READ THIS MANUAL BEFORE OPERATING TOOL.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE EMPLOYER TO PLACE THE INFORMATION IN THIS MANUAL INTO THE HANDS OF THE OPERATOR.

FAILURE TO OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING WARNINGS COULD RESULT IN INJURY.

Scope of the tools

The VL5 air spade’s intended use is in the dislodging of porus compacted material, such as soil and sand from around pipes, cables and fibreoptic installations. In addition the tool maybe of use in exposure of root systems around trees and bushes.

Additional attachments are available for enabling sand or water to be discharged through the tool.

The tools are intended for use in vertical and inclined positions. The supplier will not be responsible for customer modification of tools or for applications upon which the supplier was not consulted.

Placing tool in service

Read this manual before operating or carring out maintenance work on this tool.
Turn off air supply and disconnect supply hose, before installing,adjusting or removing any accessory on this tool, or prior to conducting any maintenance operation.
Always use clean air. Max inlet pressure 7 bar (103 psig) Max flow 2 M3/min (70 cfm)
Lubricate through the air inlet periodically or before extended storage, with light air tool oil.

Using the tool – personal safety

Always wear eye protection, hand protection, hearing protection and protective footwear during use or maintenance on this tool.
Powered tools can vibrate in use. Stop using any tool if discomfort, tingling or pain occurs. Seek medical advise before resuming use.
Do not direct the outlet air jet of this tool towards yourself or others.
This tool is not designed or certified for working in explosive atmospheres.
This tool is not certified as electricaly insulated.
Report any change in operation or performance of the tool to your supervisor.
Always turn off the air supply and disconnect the air supply hose before installing, removing or adjusting any accessory on this tool, or before performing any maintenance on this tool.
Do not use damaged, frayed or deformed air hoses and fittings. Check for fitting integrity before and periodically during use.
Be sure all hose connections are tight. A loose hose not only leaks, but can come completely off the tool, and while whipping under pressure, may injure the operator and others in the area. Attach safety cables to all hoses to prevent injury in case a hose is accidentally broken.
Keep hands and fingers away from the throttle lever until it is time to operate the tool.
Compressed air is dangerous. Never point an air hose at yourself or co–workers.
Never disconnect a pressurised air hose. Always turn off the air supply and bleed the tool before disconnecting a hose.
Do not operate the tool with broken or damaged parts.

The use of other than genuine replacement parts may result in safety hazards, decreased tool performance, and increased maintenance, and may invalidate all warranties.

Repair should be made only by authorised trained personnel.

Using the tool – Operation

Attach the air hose supply and a safety hose whip cable to the quick coupling on the Air Spade.
Point the outlet end of the Air Spade towards the target area and operate the trigger, to produce a pulsing air stream.
Adjust the height of the outlet to obtain maximum effect.
Various nozzles are available to optimise the work.
A special nozzle is available to facilitate grit or water to be discharged into the air stream for crude sand blasting and or wash down as required.

Dissasembly of the VL5 Air Spade - General Instructions

Never perform maintenance on these machines at the work site, always remove them to a clean maintenance facility.
Clean the outer surface of the Air Spade prior to performing any maintenance tasks.
Whenever using a vise to grasp the rammer use copper or leather vise jaws to protect the surface of the part. Take extra care not to crush or damage threaded parts and hollow housings.
Use new seals and o-rings upon replacement.

Disassembly of air Spade

Note the VL5 contains few moving parts ensure disassembly is nessesary prior to starting work

Unscrew quick coupler from air inlet along with lock nut (13). Note threadlock is used and gentle heat maybe required to ease disassembly.
Unsrew pipe (12) with the handle (11) from nut (4) again soften threadlock if required.
Start lever (15), lever housing (9) and washer (10) along with Cover (14) maybe removed.
Remove starting pin (16) and locating pin (26) from nut (4) – inspect starting pin for damage or wear.
Carefully grip body (1) in a vice with leather covered jaws and remove nut (4) use of gentle heat may again be required.
Remove cover(3) o-ring (28) and valve assembly (2) comprising (5,6,30,27,24,23 and 8).
Clean all parts and inspect – it is unadvisable to disasemble the valve (5) from the piston (6) as these are machined as a set to suit the Body (1) . Only the throttle spring (23) and the throttle ball (24) are servicable parts accesed by removing the plug screw (8).

Assembly of air Spade

Re assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
Replace the valve assembly (2) in the body (1) .
Fit a new o-ring(28) and locate the cover (3) by alignment of the slot with the pin (27).
Locate the hole in the nut(4) over the cover (3) and whilst gripping the body(1) in leather covered vice jaws tighten home. Use of threadlock is recommended on the threads.
Replace or renew starting pin (16) and lubricate with oil. Replace the cover (14) over the pins and slide the pipe (12) through the cover hole, locating the lever housing(9) and washer (10) over the end.
Using threadlocker screw home the pipe(12) and handle grip (13) into the mating hole in the cap (3).
Replace locking nut (13) and quick coupler using threadlocker.
Check for free movement of trigger and realign if required ( cover will have moved beneath nut and will cause starting pin to bind).
Check for operation on compressed air supply using correct and adequate personal protection.

Technical Specifcationsat 6 bar nominal operating pressure

Weight 5kg / Air pulse frequency 145 hz
Length 990 + 460mm / Air supply hose upto 15M 16mm bore
Air connection thread ½” BSP / Air supply hose over 15M 20mm bore
Operating air pressure 4-12 bar (60-178 psi) / Hand arm vibration less than 2.2 m2/s
Air consumption at 6 bar 2.2m3/min ( 77 cfm) / Noise 97 Lwa
Outlet air speed 1200 km/h min
REF. / PART / DRAWING NO. / PART NAME / QTY
9505011 / VL5 COMPLETE / 1
1 / 8042320 / BODY ASSEMBLY / 1
1.1 / VALVE SEAT / 1
2 / 1511290 / VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY / 1
3 / 1510040 / VALVE COVER / 1
4 / 0784020 / CAP / 1
5 / 0911640 / DISCHARGE VALVE / 1
5.1 / 0911640-1 / VALVE STEM
6 / 5027060 / PISTON / 1
7 / 0800030 / SPRING CAP / 1
8 / 0401110 / SCREW PLUG / 1
9 / 1270010 / LEVER HOUSING / 1
10 / 0911650 / WASHER / 1
11 / 1318100 / HANDLE GRIP / 1
12 / 4341240 / HANDLE TUBE / 1
13 / 0600360 / NUT 1/2" BSPP / 1
14 / 1260120 / TRIGGER GUARD / 1
15 / 1418190 / THROTTLE LEVER / 1
16 / 3038440 / TROTTLE PIN / 1
17 / 4341231 / ADAPTOR TUBE / 1
18 / 8087031 / STRAIGHT PIPE / 1
19 / 8087042 / EXTENSION PIPE / 1
20 / 8087051 / BENT PIPE / 1
21 / 0123041 / NOZZLE 9 / 2
21 / 0123051 / NOZZLE 7 / 1
21 / 0123060 / NOZZLE / 1
22 / 315123 / VALVE SPRING / 1
23 / 4501110 / THROTTLE SPRING / 1
24 / 324388 / BALL 7MM dia. / 1
25 / 311108 / SPRING PIN 5 dia X 40mm Lg / 1
26 / 311219 / PIN 5 dia. X 14mm Lg / 1
27 / 311197 / PIN 3 dia. X 8mmLg / 1
28 / 273152 / O-RING 52 X 2 / 1
29 / 273350 / PROTECTION FUNNEL / 1
29 / 273354 / PROTECTION FUNNEL / 1
30 / 0901750 / PLUG / 1
31 / 273035 / O-RING 27 X 4.5 / 1

Declaration of Conformity with EC directives

98/37/EC

GEKO ENGINEERING LTD.

33/34 Roundhouse Court

Barnes Wallis Way

Buckshaw Village, Chorley

Lancashire PR7 5UF

Declare that under our responsibility for supply of the product

Air Spade type VL5

To which this declaration relates is (are) in conformity with the provisions of the above directives using the following principal standards:

EN292

Graham Dewhurst, 1st June 2011

Director