PB30 Cable Pipe Burster

The PB30 is a compact cable-fed pipe burster for replacing existing pipe from 50mm to 60mm along its own line. It pulls with 30 tonnes of force from a footprint of about one metre square, allowing it to work in places a full-size bursting rig cannot reach.

The PB30 bursts all the common pipe materials used today: pitch fibre, cast iron, pig iron, PE and PVC.

Use Cases

• Replacing a failing drain, sewer or service pipe in a back garden or yard
• Pipe renewal on sites where a full-size bursting rig cannot be positioned
• Lateral renewal run from a house, a basement or a clean-out
• Utility renewal where the working area is small
• Renewal under drives, patios and landscaping
• Replacing pitch fibre drains, a common failure in post-war housing
• Jobs where the kit has to be carried in rather than towed or craned

How Cable Bursting Works

A full-size static burster pushes a string of rigid rods through the old pipe. The PB30 uses a 19mm swaged steel cable instead, which is why a machine like this is also called a rope burster. The crew feed the cable through the old line from the launch pit, couple a bursting head and the new HDPE pipe onto it at the far end, and the unit hauls the whole assembly back through. The head splits the old pipe and pushes the fragments out into the surrounding ground, and the new pipe follows into the space behind it.

The cable is what makes the machine small: there is no rod string to transport, store or lay out on site. The bursting heads negotiate bends of up to 45 degrees, and the new pipe can be the same size as the old one or larger.

When to Use a PB30

Access is what decides it. A Grundoburst needs room for the rig, the rod string and a trailer to bring it all in. The PB30 breaks down into four pieces, travels in a van and works from a pit around a metre square, so it reaches back gardens, basements and yards a full-size rig cannot get near. Machine digging is not always needed to open the pits.

The trade-off is capacity. For mains renewal in open ground the larger rig is the better tool. For laterals and connections on tight sites, the PB30 is often the only tool that will do the job at all.

Benefits of the PB30 Cable Pipe Burster

• Renews pipe on sites where no other bursting rig will fit
• Pulls at 30 tonnes and up to 3 metres per minute
• Runs off a power pack, a compact excavator or any hydraulic supply giving 3,000 psi and 13 gpm
• Assembles and strips down by hand, without lifting plant
• Built for rough site conditions
• Biodegradable hydraulic fluids throughout

What Comes With PB30 Hire

We supply the bursting unit, the resistance plate and the cable, with the bursting head matched to the diameter and material of the pipe you are replacing. Tell us what is in the ground and what is going back in, and we will specify the tooling.

You will need a hydraulic supply. A compact excavator or backhoe will run it if it delivers 3,000 psi at 13 gpm, and we can supply a dedicated power pack if not. We also hire towing heads for connecting the new pipe, and trench boxes and shoring equipment if your pits need support.

Common Questions

Hire the PB30 Cable Pipe Burster

For more on the PB30 or any of our other trenchless technology, find your nearest depot and our team will talk the job through with you.