Cranes & Lift Equipment Equipment Maintenance

Kal Tire upgrades to VMAC’s Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor powered by Honda engine

May 09, 2018

According to Chris Binks at Kal Tire, the main benefits of the VMAC Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor are the improvements to his team's workflow.

As a longtime user of VMAC air compressors, with a relationship spanning two decades, Kal Tire was the perfect choice when VMAC was recruiting users to test out the newest version of the G30 air compressor.

The VMAC Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor is powered by a Honda GX390 engine rather than the previous versions' Subaru EX40 engine. With this new gas drive air compressor comes many improvements, including a quieter engine. The Honda engine is 23 percent quieter at low idle and 75 percent quieter at high idle compared to the Subaru engine.

"The Honda has a lower idle speed, creating less noise, which is much appreciated when used in residential settings," said Chris Binks, assistant manager of one of Kal Tire's British Columbia stores. Other improvements to VMAC's G30 Air Compressor, powered by Honda, include a 340-minute run time at low idle, a 13 percent increase, and a 105-minute run time at high idle, a 17 percent increase. Operation performance is also improved at hot temperatures and high elevations.

Kal Tire's service trucks are predominantly outfitted with VMAC UNDERHOOD air compressors, but they also have a VMAC Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor on one of their service trucks. This rotary screw air compressor delivers 30 CFM at 100 percent duty cycle, and does not require a bulky air receiver tank to be added to the service truck. Binks knows that his technicians appreciate the convenience of having full air power on demand, minimizing downtime, and customers appreciate how quickly jobs can be completed. The Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor (G30) is also 50 percent lighter and smaller than the average 22–30 CFM gas drive air compressor with a 30-gallon air receiver tank. The compact and lightweight compressor means big benefits for Binks' fleet with up to a 4 percent savings in fuel, and more available space in the back of the service truck.

Kal Tire, founded in 1953, is Canada's largest independent tire dealer and tire services provider with over 250 stores, and a global leader in mining tire services with 150 international mine sites.

For Binks, the main benefits to the VMAC Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor are the improvements to his team's workflow. "There's zero lag on air tools under high demand," he said, and noted that jobs are finished faster than ever before. He also appreciates the "excellent technical support" that VMAC provides to their dealer network and users to ensure operators can get the tech support they need while on the clock. With the change to the Honda engine, VMAC's engine service kit has also changed from 100 hours/annual, up to 300 hours/annual.

The benefits associated with the VMAC Gas Engine Driven Air Compressor have alleviated common pain points that many operators suffer from, including time wasted waiting for air and equipment downtime, but for Binks at Kal Tire, it's hard to remember a time before using VMAC air compressors to complete their tire services. "We've been using VMAC for so long that old issues have been forgotten," he said.