The Hydro-Tail is revolutionising safety and efficiency in dusty work environments

In the fast-paced world of construction and landscaping, every cut counts. Whether you’re slicing through tile, stone, brick, or block, the tools you use and the safety measures you take can make all the difference. Enter the Hydro-Tail™—an innovative solution designed to tackle two of the most pressing challenges in the industry: hazardous silica dust and tool wear. This ingenious device not only protects from severe health risks but also extends the life of expensive diamond blades, all while being an affordable addition to your toolkit.

A Safer Worksite: Reducing Silica Dust with Hydro-Tail

Silica dust is a silent threat lurking in many construction environments. When workers cut through materials like stone, tile, or concrete, fine silica particles become airborne, posing serious respiratory risks. Prolonged exposure to silica dust can lead to debilitating conditions such as silicosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Hydro-Tail offers a potentially life-saving solution by significantly minimising the production of these dangerous particles. This universal controlled water attachment easily connects to any power tool, ensuring that water is continuously applied to the cutting area. This simple yet effective method captures and suppresses airborne dust, preventing it from becoming a health hazard. With the Hydro-Tail, you’re not just cutting materials—you’re cutting down on potential health issues.

Maximising Blade Longevity and Performance

In addition to enhancing safety, the Hydro-Tail™ plays a crucial role in maintaining the longevity and efficiency of your tools. Diamond blades and bits are indispensable in the industry but can come with a hefty price tag. Overheating and excessive friction are common problems that reduce their lifespan and performance.

The Hydro-Tail combats these issues by providing a steady stream of water that cools the blade and reduces friction. This cooling effect prevents overheating, a common culprit behind premature blade wear and damage. As a result, your diamond blades last longer and perform better, giving you cleaner cuts and reducing the frequency of blade replacements. Essentially, Hydro-Tail™ pays for itself by conserving your blades and ensuring they operate at their best.

Affordable and Accessible Innovation

One of the standout features of the Hydro-Tail is its affordability. Priced below the average cost of a single diamond blade, this device is a cost-effective investment for any tradesperson or business. The initial outlay for Hydro-Tail™ is quickly offset by the savings you’ll see from fewer blade replacements and the added safety it provides.

Versatile Application Across Industries

While Hydro-Tail is a game-changer for those using the tile, stone, brick, or block, its benefits extend far beyond these trades. Any task or industry dealing with dust and silica can reap the rewards of using Hydro-Tail™. Whether in construction, renovation or even certain types of manufacturing, this tool can make your work environment safer and your tools more durable.

Simple Attachment, Significant Impact

Simplicity is at the heart of Hydro-Tail’s design. Its universal attachment system means it can be easily and quickly fitted to almost any power tool. This hassle-free installation allows you to integrate Hydro-Tail into your workflow with minimal disruption, making it a practical choice for busy professionals.

Why should you get one?

Incorporating the Hydro-Tail into your toolkit is the smart move for anyone looking to enhance safety, improve tool longevity, and boost overall efficiency. By reducing harmful silica dust and protecting your expensive diamond blades from wear and tear, this innovative device stands as a testament to how small changes can lead to significant benefits.

For more information and to purchase Hydro-Tail visit our shop

Lifting heavy objects requires skill and strength, and when your job requires lifting on a regular, repetitive basis, it's something that you need to get to grips with and understand how to lift correctly. 

When lifting heavy items, your body will be using a series of muscles, mainly the quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and abdominal muscles, which should be used instead of the commonly mistaken back, or posture muscles. This applies to most types of lifting as they are the muscles that will give you stability for your movements. In order to avoid major injury, you just need to remember to lift with your legs, not your back.

The importance of lifting correctly:

As many of us know, lifting incorrectly can lead to injuries with both short and long term effects, resulting in a loss of work. One of the long-term effects of lifting incorrectly can be a lower back injury caused by putting strain on the low back structures, which over time can result in serious injuries, including Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Injuries can include muscles, nerves, tendons, joinery, cartilage, and spinal discs. If not treated properly, the injury could persist and continue to get worse, meaning that if your trade requires lifting, you may be unable to perform critical parts of your role. Possible MSDs from improper lifting include:

• Sprains, strains and tears
• Back Pain
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Hernias

Injury can be caused incredibly quickly if you're not following proper lifting practices, by something as simple as twisting oddly or lifting an item over your head, which is why you need to be sure you are lifting correctly every time. 

How can the Grabo help and prevent injury?

Repetitive lifting within construction is a common part of a job description, meaning that you need to ensure strict adherence to lifting techniques when manual handling. The Grabo helps minimise any strain that your body may face when lifting. Utilising a product like the Grabo is considered good practice to ensure that the risk of repetitive lifting injuries is minimised. This is due to the vacuum created between the suction cup and the product. The Grabo supports better body positioning when lifting, enabling you to carry the weight close to the body and near waist height (the best way to carry anything), rather than away from the body and with outstretched arms, which is often the only option when carrying material by its edges alone. Using the Grabo correctly in this way reduces the effect of the weight on your body and muscles.

The Grabo:

The Grabo is the world's first portable electric suction cup and vacuum lifter. It has taken the construction industry by storm, quickly becoming the most desirable tool to have on-site. To learn more about the Grabo and the Grabo Pro, and see how they can help your daily working life, get in touch today.

Although plasterboard may not be the heaviest item to lift, the positions it needs to go in can make the job stressful and draining. In fact, in a research observation completed by the UK Government, they found that experienced carpenters rated lifting, carrying and holding plasterboard in an overhead position as the most tasking of all jobs they needed to undertake to complete a job. As well as this, plastering tasks are one of the most hazardous in terms of the potential for musculoskeletal disorders.

There are a few ways to combat the risks of lifting plasterboard, especially when at a height. Following proper lifting techniques, including not lifting anything over 20kg, undertaking the appropriate Health & Safety training, and operating training for MEWPs are all great solutions, but now there’s a new solution.

How Can The Grabo Help?

The Grabo's strong suction offers many more options for stability, especially when climbing up ladders or onto scaffolding and stilts to install plasterboard. With the Grabo holding up to 75kg of plasterboard, you’ll have a free hand for stability when climbing up ladders, making the job much safer. Having a central location for pressure from the Grabo means that you will no longer have to over-extend or twist yourself around to ensure that it is secure in all corners. 

How To Use The Grabo:

1. Slide the power switch at the base of the tool to turn it on. An LED light will indicate how much battery you have left, and you should ensure that it is adequately charged before beginning and lifting tasks.
2. Position the Grabo flush against the surface of the item you want to lift. On some surfaces, particularly textured, you may want to apply some pressure initially to help create the seal.
3. Press the green button to turn on the motor and create a tight seal against the item you’re looking to lift. The seal will be made immediately, but you should leave it for 5 seconds to create the maximum seal to ensure a safe lift. You’ll know when the full seal has been made once the needle on the gauge stops moving or by listening to the note of the motor. With materials like plasterboard, due to its porosity you will need to keep the Grabo motor running to maintain its grip on the board. 
4. Once you have lifted the item and are finished, press the red button to break the seal and release the item.

The Grabo:

The Grabo has quickly taken the construction industry by storm! Initially created to help construction and tradespeople with heavy lifting, it’s fast found its place across multiple industries, improving day-to-day job efficiency. To find out more about the Grabo, click here, or find your closest authorised Grabo dealer.