From pinpointing gas leaks on narrow city streets to replacing a 20,000-foot airport runway, pneumatic concrete dowel drills give workers the competitive edge they need to finish projects quickly and safely.
Here are six points to consider while browsing a manufacturer’s product line to find the best drill for your application.
- Start with Drill Direction
The ideal concrete dowel drill for your job depends on whether you’re drilling vertically, horizontally or at an angle. For instance, if you’re drilling vertically, our single-gang utility drill offers easy maneuverability and productivity. Or, you can consider a slab-rider, which easily changes orientation — from vertical to horizontal to angled for stitching and skew drilling projects — with a few minor adjustments. If you’re drilling horizontally, there are a few more options, including single-gang or multi-gang drills.
- Determine Slab Rider, On-Grade Style or Equipment-Mounted Drills
Once you consider the drilling direction, decide on the drill placement: either on the concrete slab or on the subgrade. When adding a lane to a busy street or highway that needs to be open for traffic, for instance, choose an on-grade drill, which operates from the subgrade to keep the operator out of the traffic lane. If it’s impossible to move along the subgrade, such as when it hasn’t been compacted or when working from a bridge deck, choose a slab-rider drill. These drills move along the top of the concrete slab, which also makes the style a good choice if project specs require that the subgrade not be touched or disturbed. For many full-depth repair jobs, an equipment-mounted drill may be the best choice.
- Consider the Amount of Holes
Next, tally the number of holes to be drilled. Generally, the bigger the hole count, the more gangs needed to efficiently complete the job. For most of vertical drilling applications, choose the Model 20 UTL. If you need to drill multiple holes simultaneously, you may choose a slab-rider drill with two, three, four, or even five gangs, which can all drill vertically or horizontally. A double-gang slab-rider or on-grade drill will work best with medium-sized horizontal drilling projects, and adding gangs will let you productively tackle bigger jobs. For drilling up to ten thousand holes or more, such as an airport expansion, long lane addition, or major full-depth repair, you may want to consider a 3,4, or 5-gang drill system.
- Select Maximum Uptime
Every dowel drill has a carriage that holds the drill motor. This carriage moves forward as the drill bores into a concrete surface and withdraws after reaching a required depth. To use a drill system with a carriage that requires minimal maintenance, look for one that rolls along roller bearings. Drills that do not feature a roller bearing feed system require routine greasing to reduce metal-on-metal friction. Abrasive silica dust sticks to this grease, which can lead to premature wear.
- Pick Equal Drill Lubrication
Concrete construction projects can take contractors several miles outside city limits, which increases downtime if a serious breakdown, such as a drill motor seizing, occurs. To address this risk, we equip our multi-gang drills with a multi-point oil injection system. This ensures each drill motor receives equal amounts of oil for optimal lubrication, minimizing the risk of a locked-up drill motor.
- Research Customer Support Resources
After selecting the best drill for your operation, look into what type of support the manufacturer makes available to you and your crew. Some manufacturers offer an online resource center that acts as a single source for equipment registration, maintenance questions and troubleshooting. That gives operators and managers quick access even while at the construction site.
Keeping those points in mind will give you a solid foundation when selecting the best concrete dowel drill that complements your equipment fleet and achieves a long service life. If you have questions, please contact us.
