Vacuum Excavator Systems

Reduced costs and increased production.
Air can dig faster than water in most cases, automating the potholing process. Using a VACMASTERS Air-Vacuum system, you can dig a 12" x 12" x 5’ pothole in just 7 minutes in most soils.


• Significantly reduced damage claims and substantially lower risk of physical injury to the operator.
  Air won't damage the utilities you're trying to expose. A pick or shovel or high-pressure water can damage the utilities you are trying to protect, and since air is non-conductive, it's much safer for the operator as well.

Air-Vacuum Excavation turns a backbreaking, messy, and dangerous job into a fast, simple, and safe process. Listed below are some of the other advantages of using an Air-Vacuum Excavation System.

Air vs. Water

Utility professionals rely on Air-Vacuum excavation for locating underground utilities, and VACMASTERS is the leader in the industry. Compared to systems that use water, air offers higher performance in most soils, greater efficiency, lower cost, and is less invasive than water, which reduces damage claims. Water, even at low pressures, can damage utility cables. All VACMASTERS systems allow you to select high-pressure air or water, whichever is best for a particular job; however, you'll find that air is preferable 95% of the time.

Experience the benefits of potholing with air:

• Air is faster in most soils, averaging 7 minutes per pothole
• With air, spoils stay dry for backfilling, eliminating mud disposal problems
• Air is much safer (for the operator and the utilities)
• Air won't damage the roadbase (DOT friendly)

Pipeline Maintenance Using Keyhole Technology

Operators performing pipeline maintenance, such as joint encapsulation and cathodic protection, enjoy yet another advantage offered by Air-Vacuum Excavation: reduced costs and increased profits. Small hole techniques, where work is done from above ground through a small opening called a keyhole, can easily triple productivity compared with conventional open pit repair methods, and are far safer as well.

Air-Vacuum Excavation Applications

• Underground utility locating
• Natural gas pipeline bell joint leak repair
• Cathodic protection installation
• Gas or water line service terminations or installations
• Manway and valve box cleaning/maintenance
• Environmental deep-soil sampling

VACMASTERS Air-Vacuum Excavation Systems

With more than 250 companies around the country and abroad using VACMASTERS Air-Vacuum Excavation Systems, VACMASTERS offers you experience, training, and the technical support to help you locate underground utilities.

VACMASTERS is the leader in Air-Vacuum Excavation and is proud to offer you the industry's broadest and most comprehensive line of systems to meet your specific potholing needs. Our product roster includes the following systems:

SYSTEM 4000

This is the world's most powerful Air-Vacuum Excavation System. It will allow you to pothole using air in the most difficult soils 95% of the time, while still having water available as a back-up. Its fast-acting interceptor canister allows you to keep dry and wet spoils separate. The SYSTEM 4000 represents the state-of-the-art in Air-Vacuum Excavation Systems for underground utility locating. 

SYSTEM 3000

The SYSTEM 3000 offers powerful Air-Vacuum Excavation with water back-up. Installed on a compact Ford F-550 diesel chassis, the SYSTEM 3000 is a mid-priced system with big-time power.

SYSTEM 1000

Small size but big performance. The perfect entry-level Air-Vacuum Excavation System. Like the systems above, it offers selectable air or water digging. It is designed on a skid for trailer or truck installation and is very affordable.

Vacuum Excavation Video

See a VACMASTERS Air-Vacuum Excavation System in action potholing for locating utilities underground. Click here to view or download a video demo.