Used Steam Rollers For Sale

Steam rollers are required in the daily operations of quite a few different types of construction companies. They are most often found in road crews, or construction companies that require a large amount of dirt and foundation work, where portable rollers or tampers may not be large enough to be efficient. If you have found yourself needing a new steam roller for your company, or renting these machines on a regular basis, you may want to think about how much money you could save by trying to find used steam rollers for sale instead of heading down to the dealership and looking at brand new models. Most times, you will be able to find machines that are only a few years old and still contain enough warranty left through the manufacturer to make sure that you are not going to have any costly repairs sneaking up on you after you purchase it.

Some people make the mistake of assuming that a steam roller is powered by steam, or humidified hot water and air, but the truth is that they are actually powered by gasoline or diesel engines, and they have gotten their name because they produce steam. The steam that is produced around the roller actually helps to keep the materials that you are rolling from sticking to the drum that is tamping them down. This is how the term “steam roller” was coined to this type of machinery. The older steam powered tractors were used heavily up to the 1930’s until diesel engines started being mass produced, which made them a much better choice for heavy construction equipment.

The most common type of steam rollers that you will come across feature double rolling drums. This configuration, also called a tandem, is perfect for pulling double duty on the materials that you are going to be working on, rather than having to make multiple passes over the same area if you are using a single drum roller. The double drum, or tandem, configuration still makes this size of steam roller perfect for doing small patch work on roads and other foundations, even though they are much larger than a convertible style steam roller.

The other type of rollers are called convertible. There are a few distinct differences between the tandem rollers and the convertible rollers, with the main difference being that you can convert, or change, the equipment on the convertible roller where a tandem roller is manufactured with the double drum configuration. Convertible rollers feature traction wheels with steel spoked, wide rims that are intended for road use. The tires are typically solid rubber that is bolted around the rim to ensure positive traction on the pavement that you are working with. When the rollers are going to be used for agricultural use, the tires will typically contain spikes that will help them dig into the material to provide traction before the roller continuously tamps the soil back down.

The smoke box is another difference between convertible rollers and tandem steam rollers. The smoke box on tandem rollers is mounted in a central location ahead of the stack. This allows enough clearance for the boiler on the larger front roller, and incorporates a support plate which mounts the bearings for the roller assembly. This is what provides tandem rollers with the look of having a hood whereas convertible rollers feature a sideways opening door, while tandem rollers door drops down.

Convertible rollers also feature rear scraper bars which help remove any surface material that builds up on the rollers while you are moving over the pavement. This also helps to ensure that there is a smooth, flat finish on the pavement rather than having chunks come up if the material should stick to the roller drum. Convertible rollers also contain a tar sprayer that was mounted onto the back of the roller. These tar sprayers would help keep the materials from sticking, while also applying an extra layer of tar to the asphalt as the machine began rolling over the material. Most brand new rollers may not contain the tar sprayer because of the advancement in the technologies used to produce the steam, but you may find this attachment still working on older model steam rollers.