Big cleaning jobs call for big kit

05.02.2007

Even at the age of 13 John O’Donovan knew he wanted to work the land, and he set about growing vegetables on a rented plot supplying local shops. Today, 20 or so years later and after 5 years at University College Dublin, (supported in part by income from vegetables) and now with an B.Agr.Sc under his belt John is still producing high value crops on 18ha (40 acres) near his home at Ballincollig close to Cork in Southern Ireland. But that is not the only enterprise occupying John O’Donovan today.

John O’Donovan & Associates is a successful agricultural and horticultural consultancy and O’Donovan Agri Services is expanding into the sales of specialist agricultural and farming related machinery. “We arrived at this point as a result of a conversation with road construction contractors with whom I was working over land purchase and easement reinstatement,” explains John. “They had a problem preparing surfaces and I just thought that amongst available agricultural machinery there must be a number of items we could mix and match to achieve the required results.”

After consulting friend and pressure washing specialist Peter Merrigan of Triace Limited the result is quite surprising, both in terms of cash investment and physical size. Essentially the system involves a tractor, modified slurry tank, a power arm similar to that used for flail mowers, a water heater, some hose, washing nozzles – oh and a quad bike. As a component list these items may not make much sense but in the hands of Peter they have been put together to form a highly effective all purpose cleaning unit for anything from glass house roofs and walls, commercial building exteriors, roads, bridges, car parks and pavements, including those covered with chewing gum, commercial vehicles and armoured fighting vehicles. The list is seemingly endless.

So how does it work? “The operating sites may not be near a convenient water supply so we take a tank full with us – all 4,000 gallons of it in a lightweight Bauer tank. And we might have to operate off road so have chosen a tractor unit rather than a truck,” John explains. “As the sites are likely to be spread out we decided on a 50kph transmission and front suspension and as the tank and equipment weigh in at 23.8 tonnes air brakes were essential. On site we have to move very slowly in a creep gear to maintain PTO speeds, hence the choice of a Valtra - plus of course it was competitively priced.”

Peter Merrigan explains some of the workings: “We fill with clean water and can operate the spray nozzles at anything up to 4,000psi (300bar) and at temperatures up to 110°C – that’s steam – and chemicals can be added to the water if required.” The heater is mounted at the front of the tank and the 60gal fuel tank holds sufficient fuel for around nine hours’ washing.

Operation is quite simple: when cleaning a building the boom head is positioned at the correct height and angle and the tractor and tank simply driven alongside. As the spray head operates on both sides of the tractor it is then simply a matter of turning or reversing and repeating the operation a little lower down. Alternatively the tractor can remain stationary and the boom controls used to wash the wall, vehicles or roadway – when cleaning roads and paths the spray boom can be positioned alongside a low-level fixed boom. On the side of the tank is a connection for hand lances and at the rear a reel for a high pressure hose connecting to the ATV. This can then be used to clean footpaths and pedestrian precincts; at higher temperatures the system will even remove hardened chewing gum, the bane of many highway engineers and cleansing officers.

“The same quad bike can also be used to control weeds – we have a WeedSeeker system; an infrared beam identifies the chlorophyll which reflects back to a sensor. A radar system calculates vehicle speed and after the correct delay the machine’s electronic system activates the spray head to deliver a burst of herbicide in exactly the right place. The result is a highly cost effective weed control system for paved areas.

The system is available for hire or, if you prefer John and Peter will build a machine to meet your specific requirements - + 353 (0)21 4871207

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