After nine years of selling equipment in the Southeast, Pile Equipment Inc. is going national.

Nearly 60 Pilemaster air hammers have been sold since production began in 1998.

“We wanted to build an inexpensive, light weight, energy efficient air hammer that was easy to maintain and operate,” said Mike Elliott, owner of Pile Equipment.

Older design air hammers were heavy, inefficient, expensive to maintain and they required large air compressors. Most of the components of the Pilemaster can be fabricated or purchased locally.

Some of the design features come from hydraulic hammer technology. To minimize air consumption, it incorporates a built-in receiver tank and a large spool valve. When the ram is falling the tank is being resupplied with air providing more blows per minute with a small air compressor. Timing of exhaust and raising the ram can be adjusted to maximize energy transfer and change the stroke.

Ram weights range from 750 to 3,000 lbs. (340 to 1,361 kg) in 2- to 3-ft. (.6 to .9 m) strokes. These short strokes increase the duration of force, which minimizes stress in the pile and increases driveability based on pile driving analyzer testing.

Old style air hammers typically transferred 30 to 50 percent of the potential energy and required large air compressors. The Pilemaster transfers up to 80 percent using a 185 cfm (5.2 cu m) compressor for 2-ft. stroke hammers with rams up to 2,500 lbs. (1,134 kg) and a 375 cfm (10.6 cu m) air compressor for 3-ft. stroke hammers with a 3,000-lb. ram.

Robert Woodard of B & W Marine in Jacksonville, Fla., who still owns the first Pilemaster, said, “I’m impressed with it — it’s hard hitting. I like the air receiver on the hammer and the floating head is a definite plus. We can adjust the stroke, and the base is self aligning. The pick up points keep it level for easy load and unload in my leads. It produces excellent results with little downtime. Most problems are fixable in the field.”

Chip Yelton of Yelton Construction in St. Augustine, Fla., said, “These hammers make our jobs more productive, positioning of piles easier and [cause] much less wear on our cranes.”

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