chtucker
02-11-2007, 06:23 PM
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/10983495/detail.html
hope that they got rid of JAA???
DENVER -- Reeling from weeks of snow, and a December blizzard that shut down Denver International Airport for 45 hours, officials said they are bringing in the big guns.
Crews from DIA and the Denver Public Works this weekend tried out a fearsome new weapon in the war against winter: The Snow Dragon.
The Dragon is a giant snow melter that can turn nearly 600 tons of snow into harmless water every hour. But it's not cheap. DIA rented a Dragon that costs $5,970 per hour, figuring in leasing costs.
Denver Public Works rented the Dragon for one month at $30,000 plus operating costs for the diesel-powered machine, which were estimated to be around $200 per hour of use.
Renting the Dragons also serves as a trial to decide if the companies want to purchase the monster machines.
"These are half-million-dollar machines," Public Works operations manager, Dan Roberts, said. "They have to live up to what they say to make them cost-effective over hauling."
Public Works expects to get a second melter from another company, a machine with a melting capacity of 100 tons an hour at a lease rate of $1,500 a day. It will also cost about $200 per hour to operate, department spokeswoman Ann Williams said.
DIA is also testing some cheaper melters from two other companies at lease rates of $106,000 and $98,000 for three months per machine. A consultant has recommended the airport obtain some form of melting technology, and the city is also considering the cost and time savings of melting snow on the spot instead of hauling it away.
Many other snowbelt airports use melters, but until its recent tests, DIA was not among them.
For more information about the Dragon, visit www.snowdragonmelters.com.
hope that they got rid of JAA???
DENVER -- Reeling from weeks of snow, and a December blizzard that shut down Denver International Airport for 45 hours, officials said they are bringing in the big guns.
Crews from DIA and the Denver Public Works this weekend tried out a fearsome new weapon in the war against winter: The Snow Dragon.
The Dragon is a giant snow melter that can turn nearly 600 tons of snow into harmless water every hour. But it's not cheap. DIA rented a Dragon that costs $5,970 per hour, figuring in leasing costs.
Denver Public Works rented the Dragon for one month at $30,000 plus operating costs for the diesel-powered machine, which were estimated to be around $200 per hour of use.
Renting the Dragons also serves as a trial to decide if the companies want to purchase the monster machines.
"These are half-million-dollar machines," Public Works operations manager, Dan Roberts, said. "They have to live up to what they say to make them cost-effective over hauling."
Public Works expects to get a second melter from another company, a machine with a melting capacity of 100 tons an hour at a lease rate of $1,500 a day. It will also cost about $200 per hour to operate, department spokeswoman Ann Williams said.
DIA is also testing some cheaper melters from two other companies at lease rates of $106,000 and $98,000 for three months per machine. A consultant has recommended the airport obtain some form of melting technology, and the city is also considering the cost and time savings of melting snow on the spot instead of hauling it away.
Many other snowbelt airports use melters, but until its recent tests, DIA was not among them.
For more information about the Dragon, visit www.snowdragonmelters.com.