How a VMAC air compressor can reduce downtime for road department operators
Lanny McConnel is Madison County Road Department's superintendent overseeing a network of 1,600 miles of mostly dirt roads across the county in Arkansas. With a fleet of 50 service vehicles, he manages the logistics of keeping the roads graded and maintained year-round.
Compressed air plays an essential role in keeping McConnel's team on top of road maintenance - the Madison County Road Department has trucks with lube skids and 750-gallon diesel tanks on them, and the pumps are powered by compressed air. McConnel's team also uses air tools like impact guns to install different blades on the road graders in the fleet.
"We had an air compressor on our trucks, but using it was a slow process," said McConnel. "The air compressor did not keep air pressure, and the operators had to wait for the compressor to catch up so they could finish a job."
When it was time to purchase a new lube skid, McConnel knew it was an opportunity to choose a better air compressor for his application. He went to see Phil Carrott, owner of Grand Truck Equipment in Afton, Oklahoma.
"Phil had the lube skid we liked, and we worked together to build a new truck," explains McConnel. "Grand Truck Equipment has full-service offerings; Phil suggested VMAC's Stacked G30 because of its vertical configuration and also because it was powerful enough for our application."
The vertical configuration of VMAC's Stacked G30 gas drive rotary screw air compressor was perfect for this specific truck build. The truck didn't have space for a bulky air compressor, but the Stacked G30's vertical design means that it has a footprint of only 2.5 square feet, making it the perfect fit.
Phil also addressed McConnel's team's challenge with unreliable air pressure. The Stacked G30 is a rotary screw air compressor capable of providing up to 30 CFM of continuous air at 100 psi (150 psi max).
"I had worked with rotary screw air compressors before," said McConnel. "I know what they're capable of and was confident that adding the VMAC Stacked G30 would solve our problem of waiting around for air pressure to build, allowing us to work faster."
McConnel's new truck has been delivered from Grand Truck Equipment, and it's a hit with the Madison County Roads Department.
"The Stacked G30 provides us with air on demand," said McConnel. "Now we don't have to wait around for air anymore. The G30 keeps constant pressure. It has sped up the process at work and reduced frustration."
Now that the Madison County Roads Department has experienced working with the VMAC Stacked G30, McConnel said they couldn't be happier with the solution that Phil at Grand Truck Equipment presented to them.
"The VMAC Stacked G30 works perfectly," said McConnel. "We won't buy any other air compressor in the future."
