Single Connection Hydraulic Rescue Tools

Hydraulic rescue tools are tools that use pressure generated by the movement of liquid as a power source. However, the movement is usually created by electricity or a gasoline engine. Fortunately there are many tools out there which have only a single connection to a power source, and once hooked up these hydraulic rescue tools are good to go.

OSC Coupler

• Not necessarily a tool in its own right, the OSC coupler, which stands for one step coaxial, is a coupler that you can put on a tool and a power source so that various tools can be connected to a power source with only a single connection. You plug one tool in, remove it, and plug in another tool with that same coupling and it will work. It's a great way to standardize tools and to make a disparate number of tools work off of the same, one-step power source.

Rams

• Hydraulic rams are, in essence, powered battering rams. Rather than using muscle to smash down a door or crack open a wall, a hydraulic ram uses the movement of hydraulic fluid to build up power. When the power is activated, the built-up pressure slams the ram out along a track. Either a ram has a spring that allows the ram to retract, or it will shift the use of the hydraulics to reel the ram back into the case to be charged again.

Spreaders

• Hydraulic spreaders are tools that use hydraulic power to pull apart a pair of arms. These arms are held together, like two hands with the backs pressed against each other, and the force goes outward. This can be used to force open doors that have been rammed shut, or it can be used like a jack to raise fallen roofs or other objects.

Cutters

• Hydraulic cutters, such as the infamous jaws of life used by firemen to cut apart wrecked automobiles, are used to open up objects like a pair of gigantic tin snips. Cutters use hydraulic power to press the scissor like blades down, and the tremendous force lets the blades cut through and peel open objects to rescue people trapped inside.