Many municipalities still use flatbed trucks to transport asphalt to repair potholes. This expensive option only provides a temporary solution, as the rapidly cooling hot mix gives workers just a few hours to perform repairs before it hardens beyond usefulness.
The Falcon Hot Box is an affordable solution to the expensive, time-consuming, and seemingly never-ending job of repairing potholes. It’s versatile, safe, and reliable. Work crews will be able to more efficiently and effectively repair potholes while municipalities count the monetary savings in multiple ways.
Read on to learn more about the top 6 reasons you should consider buying a Falcon Asphalt Hot Box.
1. Improved Ergonomics
One of the most significant drawbacks of using a flatbed truck for asphalt repairs is the height of the bed. The truck bed is at an awkward height, putting unnecessary wear and tear on the worker’s back and shoulders. Operator fatigue significantly affects worker productivity throughout the day.
A Falcon Hot Box has a much lower shoveling height, making the job far less physically demanding. Less worker fatigue means increased productivity, fewer worker’s compensation claims, and better worker retention.
2. Save Time & Money
In addition to increasing worker productivity, a Falcon Hot Box can save you a tremendous amount of money. Industry experts believe that you can reduce the number of trips to repair the same pothole by a ratio of 3:1 to 5:1, or 60-80% saving in material and labor. It’s also reasonable to believe you can reduce material waste by 10-20%.
3. Durable and Long-Lasting
At Falcon, we only use high-quality components, parts, and steel to ensure decades of uninterrupted service life. Many of our competitors run their 12-volt diesel burners below the required battery voltage. Over time, fuel builds up inside the combustion chamber and eventually ignites and melts internal components.
Falcon hot boxes come standard with Voltage Indicator and Protector (VIP) technology that prevents the burner from operating below the required voltage. A green light tells the operator if the battery has enough voltage to start the burners safely. This ingenious system is unique to Falcon Hot Boxes and lengthens their lifespan.
4. Ability to Hold Material Overnight
Using cooled asphalt to patch holes is inefficient, wasteful, and wholly ineffective. However, this is what countless municipalities do every single day during pothole repair season. Much like an out-of-control game of whack-a-mole, potholes patched with cooled asphalt (or cold mix) reappear quickly afterward.
A Falcon Hot Box allows the work crew to hold material overnight, for up to 72 hours. Dual propane or diesel burners fire into the box, keeping the material at an optimal temperature. Workers can reuse material versus wasting it and repairs will last a lot longer versus using cooled asphalt for the patch.
Keeping asphalt material warm throughout the night is essential for several reasons:
- From time-to-time patch crews can’t finish the work and empty the machine. In these instances, holding the material overnight to use it the next day becomes imperative.
- Your work crew can simply run out of time before emptying the load.
- Rain or other inclement weather could cause scheduled work to get “weathered out.”
- Sometimes smaller operations, without dedicated patch crews, get called away for other priorities, such as a water main break.
The ability to hold material overnight also allows the crews to empty the load the following day—instead of spending time unloading and then reloading the next morning, which causes material waste.
Some operations plan their work around the ability to hold material overnight, for example:
One customer likes to patch on Sundays because the traffic is lighter. The asphalt plants aren’t open on Sunday, so they pick up material on Saturday, hold it overnight in a Falcon Hot Box, and then patch potholes on Sunday.
Another picks up material in the afternoon when the plant is not as busy. They hold the material overnight and begin patching first thing in the morning without waiting in line at the plant for the material. When they finish the job, they go to the plant and pick up their material for the next day.
5. Recycle Leftover Asphalt
Another way Falcon Hot Boxes save time and money is their ability to recycle leftover asphalt chunks and millings. Workers can simply throw hardened asphalt into the hopper and spray it with a rejuvenator. The optional dual-burner system uses indirect heat to safely break down the old pavement for reuse.
6. Lower Than Expected Cost
One of the biggest surprises Falcon Hot Box customers get is when they receive a quote. They find that our equipment is priced much lower than they would think—and even lower than the equipment they’re used to purchasing.
However, the savings don’t stop at the quote. A Falcon Hot Box allows work crews to keep hot mix at optimal temperatures all day and all night. In addition to providing a superior patch that will last longer, it prevents the work crews from making multiple trips to the asphalt plant.
Crew productivity also increases thanks to the ergonomic features that prevent them from experiencing the same physical strain and stress as they would using a traditional flatbed truck. Worker’s compensation claims also drop as workers are no longer putting their bodies in precarious positions that can and will cause permanent damage.
Finally, the cost of buying a patcher is far less expensive than the cost of subcontracting that work out to an outside company.
Many Available Options
Asphalt patching operations have slightly different needs. This is why we offer a wide range of optional parts that you can add to your Falcon Hot Box, such as a hose reel for the spray system, a dual burner system (required to recycle asphalt), or a 30-gallon heated and insulated tack tank, to name just a few.
A Falcon Hot Box Will Save You Time and Money
Adding a Falcon HotBox to your asphalt patching operations will increase productivity, reduce costs, and allow workers to make patches that last a long time. Click the link below to learn more about our Hot Boxes and Recyclers.
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