Smith Equipment makes more brooms parts then you would think. Today we will specifically look at the gutter broom. The gutter broom is the one that catches your eye first when the street sweeper rolls by. This is the circular brush that gets into the gutter sending debris inward for collection.
Quality
There is a growing level of competition on gutter brooms. At Smith Equipment, we know that choosing a higher price doesn’t always mean getting a better quality brush. If you were to base your purchasing experience solely off of the price, you might find a product that was less than cost-effective. It’s important to know the basics about gutter brooms when you’re deciding what to purchase.
Blocks
Most gutter broom blocks are Elgin or Mobil. While we stock all major block brands, these two sell more due to their frequency of use. When it comes to gutter broom blocks, there are three distinct types. Wooden Round-tops, wooden blocks, and copolymer blocks make up the bulk of the gutter boom family. The most common form of gutter broom block is the heavy co-polymer block which also highly impacts resistant. These blocks are made to spec. For example, an Elgin gutter broom block has exactly 31 holes and each hole should have 18 steel wires.
The Varieties
In the gutter broom industry, your suppliers should be telling you what kind of steel wire you’re getting. In gutter broom manufacturing, there are two main types of steel wire:
- Oil quenched wire
- Oil tempered wire
Oil quenched steel wire is cold rolled steel that is covered in lubricating oil to help reduce rust and friction. This type of steel wire is cheaper and may wear faster. This is most commonly used for road sweeping. This type of gutter broom wire should never be used for airport maintenance as pieces of the wire left over from sweeping could be embedded or laying on the asphalt.
Oil tempered steel wire is tempered after the forming process which aligns the steel molecules into a lattice. This heating process allows the wire to retain it’s memory and makes it far more resilient. Oil tempered wire is the only steel wire used in sensitive applications like airport maintenance and runway clearing.
Many Kinds
Our gutter brooms are oil quenched steel or oil tempered wire. You can also get gutter brooms in segments and blocks. Still don’t see the one you need? We will make it, guaranteed! Check out our selection.