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when pulling back, the ﬁberglass rod is placed directly back onto the cassette.

The duct clamp on the machine and the specially designed duct mounting clamp assembly provided on the rodder cas-sette help stabilize both pieces of equipment during use. The pusher is mounted on a lightweight, tubular-steel frame that can be tilted at a 30-degree angle to the manhole to reduce initial bending of the ﬁberglass rod. The machine also comes with a gasoline-driven power pack and hoses. As an option, the duct rod pusher can be ordered without the power pack if an existing hydraulic tool circuit is available. The duct rod pusher weighs in at 210 pounds and the pow-er pack at 154 pounds. Recently GMP designed the Ramrod, a trailer that makes transporting the rod pusher, power pack, and duct rodder even easier.

The Powered Duct Rod Pusher continues to amaze Sellenriek as his company ﬁnds different applications for the machine. One such surprise involved installing 650 feet of cable into conduit located under railroad tracks for a telecommunica-

tions company in Princeton, Mo. Before the days of the rod pusher, the solution would have meant a rock bore and weeks spent on the job.

But Sellenriek’s crew member working solo at the site was so conﬁdent the machine was up to the task he didn’t hesi-tate in using it. In a mere 45 minutes, the job was completed at the bargain-basement price of only $1,000 when the bill could have easily hit $20,000, Sellenriek explained. To say the client was delighted is an understatement.

“This could have been a huge project, but our company is in it for the long-term relationships we build with our cus-tomers,” Sellenriek said. His company prides itself in “doing what’s right for the customer,” and the Powered Duct Rod Pusher helps them live up to that promise.

“Really, in an urban environment, I consider it a necessity with the work we do,” Sellenriek said. “I highly recommend it.” Burwell strongly concurs. “If we lost it tomorrow, the guys and I would all chip in and rent one!”