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Cutters, Spreaders and Hydro tools, whats your favorite?
Our District just received a $ 51,000.oo grant, where about 40K will be dedicated to new extracation equipment. We are currently using Hurst and are overall pleased but open to suggestions. I would love to hear pros and cons on other manufacturers and experiences, both good and bad. Tip, tricks and "cant live without it" tool ideas are all welcome.
As always, Stay Safe!
Mike
As always, Stay Safe!
Mike
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Little Gary on
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Wow I did not know that you (dan smith) are such an expert on all of the tools. I was just letting other people know that the tnt junk tools that we bought did not work. And NO they are not like any of the other tools. There is a great difference all of the tools from durability, strength, performance and service. And using 20 year old techniques sometimes are better that just ripping the vehicle up to get the victoms out. Sometimes if you are just think before you do something it is ussually better that what you seen on T.V. or did in CLASS.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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Gotta agree with Little Gary- some of the old technqiues are fantastic, regardless of what car you're dealing with.
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This was originally posted in February- any news Mike?
Have you purchased, if so, what? -
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Permalink Reply by Mike Lewis on
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Hello everyone and thatnks to you all for bringing forward your experiences with different tools.
Thus far, we have tried Hurst, Amkus and Holmotro. Each unit seems to have its own perks.
We , or I should say, the committe, has made no final decisions yet, but I would expect something finalized by the end of May.
The feeling is that we may be better off staying with Hurst.
Now I know that some of you just sank in your seats, but, there are a couple reasons.
The biggest one being discussed seems to be the cost of doing an entire system retrofit should we go with something other than our current Hurst.
Pumps, valves, reels, ect. all would need a conversion. This also leaves us with a basically useless set of cutters, less than 2 yrs old, that was purchased PRIOR to the grant application.
Its sounding more & more that the ESS committee is looking to build on and upgrade the current system, rather than starting over.
Grant money and such an oppertunity doesnt come around too often,,, though there may be some differences of opinion amongst us on our final decision, I truely hope it is one we can live happy with for many years to come!
Thanks again to everyone for taking time to respond!
As Always, Stay Safe!!! -
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Not a fan of Hurst, but there's definitely some good arguments and valid points for staying with it...
Good luck! -
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Permalink Reply by daniel smith on
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Am expert I am not gary I have just had experience with a few tools not to mention getting humiliated when we had tools that weren't up to the task. Nothing is more embarassing than having to call for help from 10 miles away to get better tools. As far as the old techniques go. I love being able to cut rather than pry. I have had experinces where every little movement of the car caused our patient pain. This was before stabilizing a car with all 4 tires on the ground had gained popularity in my neck o' the woods. So to me cutting and moving the vehicle less makes alot of sense. There are some great older techniques don't get me wrong. I still have alot to learn. I don't compete and My department gets less than 40 extrications a year. I still stand by what I said about tnt they have been better than any tool we owned before.
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Permalink Reply by Bryan Battenfeld on
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The discussions posted here are interesting, everyone has a favorite tool or system to use and from what I am reading each one works good for the company using it. I have used nothing but Hurst in the field since I started riding on a Rescue, Hurst has never let us down, the opinion on what tool is better is kinda like the opinion of Chevy vs. Ford or Dodge. What works best for the company and what can the company afford to purchase including upgrades to the current system in place? No matter what tool or system is purchased the equipment is only as good as the personnel using them, training training and more training makes the Rescue Company. If you take care of the equipment, clean and maintenance it after every call they will last and work properly for years. A few questions I believe are important to ask your company when looking at extrication tools are:
Will the new tools fit on the rig or do we need to spend money to set up the compartments?
What type of calls are we running? Vehicle types?
How many times are we using these tools weekly?
Should we be compatible to other companies we may work with?
What do the personnel think about the tools?
Will the new tools work with the way we currently do bussiness or do we need to change tactics?
Just an opinion, we must remain open minded in this field. Cars, trucks are changing quickly and the types of calls we all are running are becoming more complicated sometimes requiring more cutting than spreading thus requiring higher cutting force. I have found that the use of 2 cutters and a spreader (not a combi tool) is cutting our extrication time even more. Hurst has a good product and the M.O.C. cutters are great when used on todays vehicles, ofcourse the decision always seem to come down to money, what is the department willing to spend?
Good luck and be safe out there. -
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Permalink Reply by Brian on
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I wouldn't use anything but TNT. The bonus for us is they are made, maintained, and repaired locally. The company is based in Wisconsin. I have used Hurst tools. TNT's line are lighter for one, which you guessed it, means less fatigue for longer periods of time. I am curious to know why someone here finds the TNT line to be junk though. We've used them for many, many years and have been really happy with them. They have always been reliable. I realize that everyone probably has their preferences, but I would suggest maybe talking to reps from each of the places, and asking if you are able to try them out. If a company really wants your business, they should have no problem in allowing you to use their product to see if it will suit your needs.
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Well Brian I will tell you why they are JUNK. When you operate both tools at the same time the power unit is not stong enough to operate them, The first time we used them the seals on the heavy cutters blew out, the spreader, cutter and combi tool leak hydralic oil, the operation and durability are not there. When the company who installed them are in WISC. and when they stand there adding hydralic fluid to the unit so the tools will run should give you a good idea on the tools. Now since the salesman and company cannot figure out why they do not work should give you another CLUE!!!!!!! Now the company that installed them are not standing behind this WORTHLESS JUNK. Like I stated prior when you purchase the cheapest you get JUNK, and TNT tools are JUNK. They might be good for a department that might use them once or twice a year but not for a department that runs over 10,000 calls a year.
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Ow!
It's pretty piss poor when the company don't know what's wrong.....
I've never seen or used them- the big brands over here in Oz are Holmatro, Lukas and a bit of Hurst (Porbably in that order too!)
Amkus tried to make a move in but no one was interested. -
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As for operating 2 tools at the same time, sounds like you possibly need something more geared for running 2 tools at once. We have 2 setups. 1 can run 2 tools at once, the other can only run 1 at a time. We have never had a problem with either. We do not run 10,000 calls a year, more like 500, but I still stand behind them. Sorry to hear that you have such bad luck with them. But as I said in my prior post, I would contact all the manufacturers and ask to demo them. I'm not saying that you don't have a valid complaint, but I also think its worth giving them a chance as with any other manufacturer. Just my two cents...
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Well Brian yes this is what TNT said would run the tools!!!! My opion is that the company in Wisc. that installed them did a half a## job. As you know when you are the cheapest corners must be taken to make money. And as for the company standing behind there product is a joke, the TNT dealer that installed the units was like having them installed out in the back yard. They just stripped the wires and twisted them together and there idea of watertight connections was alot of blacktape. Now does this sound like a good company to buy from?????? I should not just blame TNT for the JUNK TOOLS we also blame our WORTHLESS DEP"UTY CHIEF that bought this JUNK on his own and did not ask the people involved in the specs of the types of rescue equipment and the rest of the F.D. that wanted BETTER TOOLS and DIFFERENT TOOLS not this CRAP, he also listened to the SALESMAN also worthless for telling him that "aren't these tools cool" and gave him a hat.
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