If you’re a Zipper owner you have probably tried to Zip or pulverize chip seal, thin asphalt or very deteriorated and alligatored asphalt.  And you probably didn’t get the results you are accustomed to from zipping thicker asphalt.  In fact, you probably found that many large chunks had not been broken down as expected.

We know.  We’ve been there many times.  So we put our engineers to work on this problem and they came up with a way to pulverize even paper thin asphalt into beautiful, uniform, reusable material.

We call it the “Containment Box”.  Not a very creative name to be sure, but it describes  what it does very well.  The Containment Box keeps the loose asphalt chunks inside the pulverizing chamber slamming against the teeth and additional breaker bars until it is small enough to exit the back as super fine material.

We also included a baffle adjustment so you can actually control how fine or coarse the material is when it comes out.

As you know, the Asphalt Zipper will normally pulverize asphalt up to 12 inches deep.  But the Containment Box only allows you to go from 0 to 4” deep.  This is plenty deep for thin, problem asphalt.

It attaches quickly and easily to the Zipper using only three pins.  No tools needed!  After a problem area has been treated using the Containment Box, it can be quickly removed so that Zipping of regular asphalt can resume.

This attachment to the Zipper was engineered to fit all “500 Series” machines.  This includes the AZ-500, AZ-500B and AZ-550B.  Sorry, it won’t fit AZ-480 series and AZ-300 series machines.

It is the perfect solution you’ve been looking for to remove old chipseal or deteriorated thin asphalt in one fast operation.  Call toll free 888-ZIPPER-8 for pricing right now!
(patent pending)

Choctaw County’s roads were in pretty bad condition when Garry Grantham was hired as Public Works director a little over a year ago. Getting them into shape became his number one priority. But with the limited budget he was given to work with, it seemed like an impossible task.

Before coming to Choctaw County, Garry Grantham had worked in a neighboring county where he had witnessed a demonstration of a remarkable machine he was certain could revolutionize road repairs there. The county commissioners, however, didn’t see the benefit to the machine at the time and wouldn’t spend the money.

But when he moved to his new county and saw the huge task before him, he knew immediately the tool he had to have to get the job done.

Once Garry explained the benefits of this machine and how much it was going to save them in time and money, the county commission agreed to a demonstration.

The machine chosen by Garry was the Asphalt Zipper®, a revolutionary machine, made in America, engineered to attach to the bucket of a front-end loader or backhoe and pulverize asphalt full-depth into reusable material. This process of pulverizing the road surface and mixing it with the base is called Full-Depth Reclamation or FDR.

Many engineers prefer this pulverized material to new because it grades smoothly and packs tightly providing a sturdy foundation for the new surface.

Because the demonstration proved all of Garry’s claims, the county signed a letter of intent formally approving the purchase of this machine at the very next Commission meeting. This was a big leap of faith for a county with a small tax base.

Now, several months and several repaired roads later, Garry said commissioners from the county where he used to work have been coming to visit him to discover why his roads are looking so good.

Garry only uses a three-man repair crew to service the 4 districts within his county. When he has a repair request, he loads his crew into his truck and, with his Zipper in tow, travels to the repair area. The district in which he is working furnishes his crew with a loader, grader and compactor.

They pulverize the damaged area full depth, grade it and compact it. Where needed, they mix in Portland cement to further stabilize the roadbed. When his crew is done the district will chip seal the finished road for a smooth riding surface.

Using this process, Garry has also been able to widen several narrower roads by a foot or so. This also stabilizes the shoulders making them safer.

Are his roads improving? Each year the DOT comes through and grades the condition of each main road. During last year’s inspection, one road received a dismal 64, a failing grade. But after applying his full-depth buy levitra reclamation process and topping it off with chip seal, it then earned an 87 that will be raised to a 93 after it has been striped.

Why does Choctaw County use chip seal instead of asphalt? Good question. After FDR and compaction, the road base is often so solid that chip seal is all it needs. But the biggest reason is savings. He has discovered that with the high cost of asphalt and fuel, he can repair more roads using chip seal. His records show he saves over $10,000 per mile using chip seal instead of asphalt!

OK, so how much does the FDR process actually save the county of Choctaw? Garry explained it like this:

“We recently rehabilitated a road 3.3 miles long. Total cost was around $140,000 including chip seal. (About $42,424 per mile) An estimate was prepared for a 6-mile stretch on the same type of road to be resurfaced with Federal Aid Funding. It was approximately $1,000,000! (About $166,666 per mile) All things being equal,” he said, “the FDR process will save the county almost 75% or nearly $125,000 per mile of roadway being resurfaced!”

Another very important benefit of using this process is that the base under the road will be improved, thereby extending the life of the new road surface.

Garry also mentioned that because they are saving so much money on road repairs, they now have funds they can use elsewhere. It has freed up money to purchase other equipment.

Is Choctaw County, Alabama happy using the full-depth reclamation process to repair their roads? “This is one of the best investments we’ve ever made,” said Garry Grantham smiling.

Who says you can’t take it with you?  Water extends bit life and aids in compaction, but it is not always available when and where you need it.  Now you can take water with you with this new portable water system!

The system comes in two main parts, the adapter plate and the tank assembly.  The adapter plate attaches with a pin to the loader hitch.   The tank assembly, which includes the tank, frame, pump and hose, attaches to the adapter plate.  The ZPW-150 weighs about 200 pounds empty and can be  installed by two workers. The assembly fits easily in the back of a pick-up truck.  The whole system can be assembled or disassembled in minutes.

To order or to learn more about pricing and delivery, please call 1-888-ZIPPER-8.

“If you don’t have a Zipper nowadays, you’re really behind the times,” declared Ron Susi of Orion Construction in San Diego, California.

Needless to say, Orion Construction is very happy with their Asphalt Zipper. When questioned about what he liked best about the Zipper, Ron replied, “There are many reasons but mainly I save the cost of saw cutting. Plus I don’t have to separate the chunks from the dirt and then load, haul and dump them. That’s a big savings. And I don’t have dumping fees anymore either. I just grind what I need each day.”

“The beauty of the Zipper is that it is good for the environment,” Ron says. “The Asphalt Zipper is the recycling tool everyone should have.”

Just recently he solved some opposition to the Zipper at a job at Camp Pendleton. It took over a year to persuade the engineers to let him use the Zipper instead of saw cutting. They were worried that the edge wouldn’t be as good as a saw-cut edge. They finally agreed to let him demonstrate the Zipper. After grinding only 10 feet the army engineers saw all they needed to see. They loved the edge. They were impressed with the fineness of the grindings and the speed. It took a year but now the army engineers love the Zipper.

As a result, Orion Construction recently began work on a $20 million pipeline job for NAVFAC, the naval facility in San Diego. Ron is using the Zipper to open a 75,000 foot trench, 48” wide through 8” asphalt for a 16” pipeline.

When asked about the Zipper’s production compared to saw cutting he said, “Well, the saw cutters can usually do about 400 trench feet per day. That’s both sides. And the saw cutters charge me $1.50-$2.00 per foot! (That’s $225,000 to saw cut the entire job @ $1.50) Then I would need to dig it out, separate the chunks from the dirt and load and haul it somewhere to be dumped. Then there would be dumping fees on top of that!” He said the Zipper was easily able to open 1000 linear feet of trench per hour. (4000 square feet per hour)

Another reason he prefers Zipping to saw cutting is alignment changes. When an alignment change occurs in the pipeline’s route he can make the changes daily with the Zipper. With saw cutting it would mean re-cutting and buy cialis more expense. Ron says he only opens as much trench as they need each day, which adds to the efficiency of the whole job.

But how much will the Zipper save the company over the traditional method of opening a utility trench?

Well, let’s look at the figures. Running the Zipper will cost Orion Construction right around $.20 per linear foot or about $15,000 for the entire 75,000 linear foot pipeline. This includes loader, fuel, manpower, and bits. If the cost to saw cut this job is $225,000, this means a $210,000 savings over just saw cutting alone, not including chunking, loading, hauling and dumping! That could amount to thousands more!

Ron mentioned that they are so satisfied with how the Zipper is increasing their production that they are just about ready to add another one to their stable.

SIDEBAR
Saw Cutting Versus the Asphalt Zipper
If saw cutters are able to saw cut 400 trench feet per day, the entire job of 75,000 feet would take them over 187 days to complete. Ron said the Asphalt Zipper was able to open trench at a rate of 1000 feet per hour. At this rate he could open the entire 75,000 feet of trench in a little over 9 days based on an 8 hour day! That is an increase in production of 95% over saw cutting!

The city of San Bruno, California’s, street department is usually able to repair about 2,500 square feet of asphalt during their fiscal year. Time and money just wouldn’t allow more than that.

However, like every other city in California, they have been affected by budget cutbacks and were seeking for a less expensive way to repair their streets.

Gino Quinn, field supervisor for the streets division, decided to take a look at the Asphalt Zipper to see if it could live up its claims of increased production. The demonstration he witnessed showed him all he needed to know.

He calculated that the AZ-300, the 30” wide attachment for a backhoe, would pay for itself easily in savings alone. He was right.

The city of San Bruno took delivery of their new Zipper on February 12. In two months they have already repaired 6,000 square feet of streets using the Zipper. That is more than twice as much as they normally do in a whole year!

Their second repair job was a large 980 square foot patch. The method they would normally use to repair this would be to first saw cut the perimeter, jackhammer a hole for the backhoe to start and excavate all the asphalt out. Then it would be loaded onto a truck and transported to a recycling yard.

Some additional base would have to be brought in. It would then have to be compacted and paved. Gino figured this job would normally take 2 weeks and approximately 350 man hours.

With his new Asphalt Zipper he was able to Zip the patch full depth, clean out the excess material, compact and lay the first lift of asphalt in one day! They came in the second day and added a second lift of asphalt to finish the job. Total man hours for this job was just 48! This process used only 3-4 men instead of 6-8 the old way. The savings were phenomenal!

Gino shared his savings in man hours alone. Cost of man hours to do this 980 square foot patch the traditional way would have cost him $15,759.65. His actual cost order viagra order cialis order cialis professional order viagra professional using the Asphalt Zipper was only $2,161.32. He saved $13,598.33 just on man hours alone on this one job! An 85% savings!

Gino admitted he still had to truck off the excess gravel from the job but he stockpiles it and uses it for unincorporated roads so it doesn’t go to waste. In fact it saves the city money again, because he doesn’t have to purchase new material.

ARRA welcomes Asphalt Zipper as it’s newest member. The ARRA (Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association) recently celebrated it’s 30th anniversary.? The ARRA is an association of manufacturers, contractors and suppliers working together to educate and promote all the benefits of Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) and other recycling methods pertaining to road and street repair and maintenance. To learn more about the ARRA go to www.arra.org

You told us what you wanted and we listened. The result was a new line of models re-engineered from the ground up. First came the AZ-300 for backhoes and more recently the AZ-500, the flagship, for loaders. In its first few months the AZ-500 has buy viagra order cialis buy levitra already become the top seller especially among existing owners. October so far has been all AZ-500’s resulting in some backorders. If you’re needing an AZ-500 we encourage you to get your order in as early as possible.

Let us kick off our Asphalt Zipper blog with a heartfelt THANK YOU! for visiting our website.

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) just published their annual Full Depth Reclamation with Cement guide, a 12 page insert that ran in all of the McGraw-Hill Construction publications in October.

Featured in the insert is a story on how the city of Brownwood Texas has found that by using their Asphalt Zipper to do FDR with cement they’re able to do long term, full-depth repairs for half the cost of a temporary surface treatments.

What was once limited to larger contractors and agencies with big, expensive equipment, FDR with cement is now affordable for most any municipality, county or DOT thanks to Asphalt Zipper attachments. The entire guide can be viewed here PCA’s 2006 FDR Guide

City of Brownwood, TX is winning the war on higher asphalt prices and getting better results according to an article in the September issue of Texas County Progress. You can read the whole story at countyprogress.com