Kesla Oyj is launching a new multi-purpose forest trailer.
A tractor contractor's business rarely comes from a single source and the jobs depend on the season. Kesla’s new solution opens new opportunities in tractor contracting as the HydraX trailer adapts to the seasonal work needs. The main applications are wildland fire operations and wet works in built surroundings; the higher up and further the water needs are the better the HydraX is suited to the job.
Traditionally the forest fires have been extinguished using water but due to climate change fires are getting extreme and plain water is not always enough to stop the fire. Furthermore, in wildland fires the rural conditions complicate the firefighting as the fires are typically located off-road. Creating a firestop is a new method for fighting wildland fires; the burning hot fire is not fought with water, but instead a fire-extinguishing agent is used to create a so called firestop to a pre-designed location where fire is stopped from spreading.
Finnish companies PPO-Elektroniikka and Kiilto Oy have combined their expertise and developed a forest fire-extinguishing agent ForExt for which KESLA HydraX™ is especially designed for. Powerful jet stream can wet the ground in over 50m (160 ft) reach or trees even 30 to 40m (100 to 130 ft) high. In addition, a grapple can be used to open fire nests and simultaneously shoot fire-extinguishing agent to a minor fire. An environmentally friendly 1:100 water-ForExt admixture forms a kind of a film on top of the biomass which then prevents ignition and re-ignition. ForExt storage and dosing are integrated to the HydraX systems which automatically forms the correct mix-ratio.
Wildland fire fighting is always a game of logistics against time and everchanging conditions. The HydraX uses natural water sources, and no time is wasted in water logistics. The unit can operate in water supply logistics feeding the fire brigade’s tank trucks or in a small forest fire the unit can be driven to the middle of the forest and be used as effective front-line fire fighting unit carrying over 10 000l of water to a difficult off-road location. In large scale logging sites or plantations, the HydraX can operate as a first-hand fire extinguishing unit, and it allows also the daily machinery washing works on-site to minimize fire risks.
The HydraX is also an efficient solution for any mobile wet works e.g. infrastructure washing, dust control, wetting works and fire security. Applications can range from washing road signs, bridge railings, tunnels, industrial yards to washing large storage halls inside out. In the forest industry the unit can be used to wet the round wood piles or woodchip stockpiles during hot summer season, or it can act as mobile fire security unit securing industrial hot works. In built surroundings the water filling can be done for example at a port, from a rain water reservoir or from a pressurized fire post.
The HydraX is available in two specifications. The basic version requires manual moving of suction head and suction hoses and is equipped with a 50m (160 ft) hose reel with an ergonomic manual nozzle. Fully equipped HydraX comes with a drawbar mounted Kesla 325T loader with a nozzle on the boom, suction head and hoses are moved using the loader and most importantly rear part of the unit is equipped with a powerful cabin controlled water monitor and hydraulically adjustable nozzle for shooting the water or water and ForExt admixture to maximum reach. Source