Early Morning Microtrenching at Day Excavation

For the team at Day Excavation in Phoenix, Arizona, the day begins early. The crew works as early as allowed often starting their work microtrenching at 6:30 a.m. That enables them to beat temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit. With their Guzzler MT, they’re often done cutting by 10 a.m.

“Without Guzzler, we wouldn’t even be able to do this work,” said Bear Day, Co-Owner of Day Excavation LLC. “The Guzzler MT means everything to our business and what we do. You basically can’t do this work without it. You can, but it’s going to be a lot slower, a lot more cleanup and a lot more headaches.”

Bear Day, Christopher Day and Jerry Day are the co-owners of Day Excavation LLC. The brothers were working on the road for a dozen years when they decided they wanted to stay closer to home. When they first heard about microtrenching, they were intrigued and began teaching themselves about the process.

They began their own company five years ago and then started microtrenching three years ago. Now their crew has expanded to 20 people.

“We started out as landscapers…I can’t explain to anybody how hard me and my brothers have worked to get where we’re at,” said Christopher Day, Co-Owner of Day Excavation LLC. “And we just want to keep ascending and do it right. You know, even when no one’s looking. We care about people’s yards. We care about cleanup. We care about the roads. We care about the cities. Honestly, that’s our thing.”

To continue their company’s rapid growth in microtrenching, the Day brothers have relied on the Guzzler MT, a microtrenching vacuum unit that significantly speeds up fiber optic installations by swiftly cleaning trenches for the deployment of FTTH, FTTP, CCTV, smart grid, and electric networks.

“The Guzzler MT plays a crucial role in the fiber industry and the process of microtrenching by assisting the contractors and utility companies with speeding up the process through various features,” said Kevin Fulkerson, Director of Industrial Sales, Guzzler. “Simply put, the Guzzler MT will allow you to cut more feet per day, which equates to better production results for the utility companies. With increased production, crews are able to cut more feet per day. They can lay more fiber optic into the ground and reach more customers. This translates to cutting and laying more feet of fiber per day, which translates to the ability to charge more and increase revenue.”

That increased efficiency is something the Days recognized in helping their bottom line. With the Guzzler MT, they’ve been able to cut up to 3,000 feet in one span. Christopher Day estimates they’re cutting 3,000 feet in three hours whereas with a pull-behind vac they’d be lucky to accomplish that amount in 10 hours.

“We started with the Guzzler MT, and it was the best thing that has ever happened to us,” said Christopher Day. “Honestly, it’s very efficient. It cleans our trench first try, and we don’t have to come back multiple times for the cut. It gets every piece out of where you’re sawing, and it’s just great.”

The record for the crew is 5,500 feet and 41 handholds. In a typical day, Christopher said they easily get 2,000 feet “like child’s play” and then they’re off the road by 12:30 p.m.

When it came time to decide on a machine to help the brothers in jumping into the world of microtrenching, they were originally going to use a pull-behind vac truck, but then they reached out to Guzzler. The Guzzler team had a demo out to them in just a few days.

“The Guzzler MT is, besides my crew, the second most important thing in our business,” said Christopher Day. “Honestly, back when everybody first started, they were using pull behind vacs. And before we got the Guzzler MT, you’d have to dump 15 times a day. Now we’re dumping twice tops.”

Previously taking time to dump the accumulated material necessitated trips back and forth to dump sites. With the Guzzler MT’s capacity, operators and crews can work much longer, nearly an entire day before going to the location to dump the accumulated materials.

Minimal dumping is a big deal as Bear Day noted the dumping fees in Arizona. Christopher Day said they’d have to dump every 45 minutes if it wasn’t for their Guzzler MT.

“Whether it’s a small vac truck or a big truck, the fee is the same, so only having to dump once a day with the use of the Guzzler MT helps the company’s bottom line,” said Bear Day.

Bear noted a job in downtown Mesa, Arizona and how the Guzzler MT made the job easier thanks to not having to get in and out of a tight spot to dump multiple times. The team was able to get in and out of the congested area quickly thanks to the Guzzler MT’s quick work.

“The Guzzler MT allows you to vacuum faster than other methods because it has higher CFM (cubic feet per minute),” said Dustin Rhodes, Product Manager, Guzzler. “Therefore, it’s cleaning the channel the first time, so you don’t have to do a repeat path or multiple cuts to get the desired depth.”

Another benefit of the Guzzler MT is how quiet it is. With the team starting at 6 a.m. to beat the high temps of Arizona yet working in neighborhoods, a huge benefit is that noise reduction.

“You can barely hear the thing,” said Bear Day of the Guzzler MT. “We try to start earlier and get off as quick as possible so we’re not disrupting everyone. And if people are coming out of their houses because something is loud, then it’s going to take us longer to get it done. So having the Guzzler MT and it being quiet helps us get out of there quicker. So it’s nice.”

One of the biggest productivity features on the Guzzler MT is the creep drive. The Guzzler MT vacuums as the vehicle moves along, eliminating the need to start and stop as production moves forward. Instead of needing to go back and clean after trenching, the Guzzler MT’s filtration and baghouse enable great suction for cleaner trenches on the first go and less impact on the air quality.

One particularly tough job for Day Excavation was a deep trench on an arterial road, which is a main road in the city. The crew had to cut 16 inches deep. The suction of the Guzzler MT enabled them to make the cut while Guzzler MT’s creep drive made it more efficient decreasing the impact on that main road.

With creep drive, the truck drives and sucks at the same time. Bear Day called it “a game changer.”

“It’s priceless,” said Bear Day of the Guzzler MT’s impact on their business. “We probably wouldn’t even be doing this work and making money.”

Another feature the brothers appreciate are the cameras on the Guzzler MT, which enable Day Excavation to only have a three-person team on a job instead of four or five. The cameras’ multiple angles make it so a spotter isn’t needed.

“Honestly, the camera system in there is awesome,” said Christopher Day. “Our operator can see every cut, every turn, every reverse side view. So it’s perfect.”

Christopher also noted his appreciation for the ease of maintenance. They’ve only had to fix a couple basic things, and in those cases, Guzzler’s support team had them up and running in no time. In fact, a support person drove from Long Beach to Arizona, fixed it overnight and had it ready to work the next day.

Day Excavation has plans to grow. Those plans include expanding to two or three crews yet this year and purchasing two or three more Guzzler MTs.

“Microtrenching is the future,” said Christopher Day. “It’s shallow. You don’t risk utilities or cutting someone’s sewer that wasn’t located. There’s no dusting debris. I love it. I’m out here every day with my whole crew, and it’s just fun work.”

For more information on the Guzzler MT, click here. Tags: Guzzler