The Various Types of Scrapers Available for Hire
One of the big machines you are likely to see being used for excavation at a construction site today is a scraper. If you are contemplating hiring a scraper for an upcoming excavation job, you should be aware that not all scrapers are created equal. Having accurate information on the various kinds of scrapers available for hire on the construction market is the first and most important step towards selecting the most appropriate machine for your particular application.
Scrapers can be broadly categorised into two: self-propelled scrapers and pull-type scrapers as further discussed below:
Self-propelled scrapers
As the name clearly implies, these scrapers are powered in a variety of ways. The basic types of self-powered scrapers include but are not limited to the following:
- Standard self-propelled scrapers: These scrapers are made of an apron, a bowl and an ejector, all of which can work independent of each other with hydraulics. These types of scrapers may vary based upon whether they have one or multiple engines, one or multiple bowls, or one or multiple pair of mower wheels. Therefore, standard self-propelled scrapers are exceptionally flexible to work with.
- Elevating scrapers: Unlike standard self-propelled scrapers, which rely on an apron to load earth into the bowl, elevating scrapers use an electrically or hydraulically-driven elevator that loads and dumps the material placed in the bowl. Elevating scrapers are ideal for doing fine finish work and are most cost efficient for jobs requiring moving of a large quantity of material with little time.
- Auger scrapers: Though augers are used less frequently, they are also self-loading. These type of scrapers come with two vertical augers positioned inside the bowl. The two augers help lift the material in the bowl when rotated hydraulically. Unlike elevating scrapers, the auger scrapers can fully load material by themselves.
- Push-pull scrapers: With push-pull configurations, a pair of powerful twin-engine scrapers work as a team to assist in loading. If a pusher is introduced into the system, however, the two scrapers can work independently. The push-pull system facilitates a high production at a low cost, as the two scrapers working in tandem will take up less time to load material into the bowl compared to two standard scrapers that are each separately working with a pusher.
Pull-type scrapers
As you can tell from their name, pull-type scrapers are un-powered or non-motorised machines. They are usually towed behind another machine, which is powered or motorised. Generally speaking, these scrapers require less maintenance compared to their self-propelled counterparts because they have fewer parts. But due to lack of driving capability, they can easily get stuck in challenging terrains, such as those with wet or sandy soils.