Here at KOBUS Services, we are always ready to take on a challenge. So when an opportunity presented itself to carry out multiple water pipe replacements using the Pipe Puller, against a team using impact moling, we jumped at the chance.

The challenge: Removal of multiple lead water supply pipes, 6m in length
The time allowed: 3 hours
The teams: Moling vs Pipe Pulling

Performing replacements on domestic properties on a busy road, it was vital that both teams performed works safely, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to the public. Having all the preparations in place, the challenge commenced.

As the sites had been pre-prepared, with access holes made, both teams got off to a fast start. The Pipe Pulling team began by inserting the cable into the 1/2″ lead pipes using the hand winch. Soon after, the Kobite was injected. Whilst waiting for the Kobite to activate, the Pipe Puller team watched the moling team race ahead, moving onto the second pipe.

However, once the Kobite had fully hardened, the pipes were ready to be pulled. The KOBUS Pipe Puller technology is unique in that it offers the wholesale replacement of the service pipe, while extracting the existing pipe from the ground.

One of the great benefits of the Pipe Puller is it’s fast replacement rate: removing pipes at approximately 2 metres a minute. The team effortlessly removed and replaced all pipes from the ground, winding the existing lead pipes onto the spool and replacing with new MDPE pipes, all in under 3 hours.

The result: Moling – 5 pipes in 3hrs 10 mins; Pipe Pulling – 6 pipes in 2hrs 58mins.

Both teams were impressed with the results. Daniel Opperman, Senior Technician at KOBUS Services and part of the Pipe Pulling team was incredibly pleased with the results stating, ‘whilst both methods offer fast replacements of service pipes, the Pipe Puller has shown it is able to remove and replace pipes quickly and effortlessly and with minimal risk to other services’.

The KOBUS Pipe Puller offers a simple, safe and efficient solution for replacing service pipes. With the ability to remove pipes from the ground and smoothly replace with new ones, the technology is fast becoming one of the preferred methods of pipe replacements.