Railcar Vibrators, Brackets, Carts & Accessories

Portable Railcar Vibrators

WORKMASTER hopper car shakers with our ROLL-A-VIBE™ Vibrator Lift Cart allow most workers to easily lift and slide a vibrator with a male wedge bracket into the railcar’s universal female dovetail wedge bracket or place a clamp-foot mount railroad car shaker vibrator on the railcar’s side sill. With the right railcar vibrator, even solidly jammed hopper cars, the kind that put workers into overtime or dangerous work situations like rodding, poking, sledging or hammering the hopper car, can be rapidly and safely emptied by a single worker.
The power output of WORKMASTER railcar vibrators varies from 1,000 lb-ft to a whopping 14,000 lb-ft of centrifugal force. They operate at speeds from 2,000-vibrations per minute to 15,000-VPM for easy, fast, and safe unloading.

How to Select a Railcar Vibrator or Hopper Car Shaker

As you’ll see, any one of our train car shakers or railcar vibrators can make the job safer and easier. So how do you decide which railcar vibrator is best for your unloading site? Is it the fastest and most powerful (which consumes more energy), or the quietest, or the least heavy? Your decision should be based on criteria such as:

• Flow characteristic of the material you unload. When the hopper car gate is opened, is material jammed solid? Does it begin to flow then stop due to bridging? Does the material tunnel or rat-hole in the hopper compartment? Does it flow steadily, but slowly? The material being unloaded and the type of flow problem guides us to how much force and frequency/speed is needed.
   
• Unloading site’s available power. To reach the required force and speed, all pneumatic railcar vibrators must be fed 80- to 90-PSI at start-up (can then be dropped to 60-PSI when sufficient material is flowing), and they must have sufficient CFM (cubic-foot-per-minute) air volume (21-CFM to 84-CFM based on model and size). A simple and inexpensive air receiver tank can be installed at the unloading site to supplement plant air and give you the PSI and CFM you’ll need. You’ll also need to use the correct-size hose, air valves, air couplings, and air line fittings — air line restrictions paralyze air operated railcar vibrators, and hopper car gate openers. Don’t be penny-wise and dollar-foolish when “feeding” air vibrators. If you decide on an air vibrator but don’t have sufficient air available at the unloading site, that problem can be solved with the installation of a WORKMASTER vertical or horizontal receiver tank which provides the site with the air storage needed to start and run any vibrator (or gate opener or pocket unloader). The compressed air supply must be clean, the air pressure must be regulated for efficiency, and the pneumatic railcar vibrator must receive small amounts of lubrication. Rust, scale, burnt oil, and other debris reduces vibrator power output and increases vibrator maintenance costs. A properly sized, correctly mounted, and well-maintained air filter, regulator w/gauge, and lubricator (FRL) is a low-cost insurance policy to guarantee long, maintenance-free railcar vibrator life. The costs of unloading site labor and unloading productivity problems far exceed the cost of installing and maintaining a WORKMASTER FRL. The Compressed Air must be clean and the vibrator needs small amounts of lubrication. Rust, scale, burnt oil, and other debris kills power output and increases maintenance costs. An inexpensive, properly sized and maintained air filter, regulator w/gauge, and lubricator (FRL) is an inexpensive insurance policy to guarantee long, maintenance-free vibrator life. The costs of labor and productivity problems far exceeds the cost of a correct-sized FRL
   
• Budget. Hopper car vibrators range in price from $600 to $3,000 — but don’t let price be the primary determinant in choosing a hopper car vibrator. Our terms and conditions are flexible, so we can usually solve the budget problem while enabling you to buy the right vibrator for your application.

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