Posts Tagged ‘construction drums’
Uses of a Traffic Drum
A traffic drum can be used for a variety of applications, in fact traffic drums are very universal. For example, you could use them to block off a road, you use them to block off a ditch, you could use them to create a ‘barrier’ between the traffic and the construction workers. A traffic drum usually has a lip that allows a barricade lights to be attached to the top, so a variety of nighttime applications work as well.
For example, if you needed to draw attention that a specific area is off limits for traffic at night, stick a few traffic drums in front of it and fasten a barricade light to it. Of course, the situations in which a traffic drum can be useful are never ending, but the most important thing to know is that they are very useful items, and having them around for traffic safety reasons is highly recommended.
Differences in Brands for Traffic Drums?
When it comes to different brands of traffic drums (work area protection, TAPCO, Bent, etc) are the specs really that different? This is something I have wondered for awhile, because to me it would seem as if there is no reason to change the mold of the drum if it meets the specs that need to be bet. But, there are differences.
I know that in some brands the base and bottom of the traffic drum is shaped in such a way that if it tips over it will not role around, but get caught and stop rolling. In other brands they are circular but have a ‘lip’ so that it gets caught before it keeps rolling. Another difference can be the height, which I have seen at 39″ in some models and 42″ in others.
Which Traffic Drum to Choose
How do you know which traffic drum to choose when looking at all the options online? The simple answer is, it depends on the requirements that are (usually) given to you for the job. Options include reflective tape, base weight, density of plastic, and sometimes the color of the drum.
Reflective tape can either be white or orange, and the grade of the tape can be Engineer Grade, Diamond Grade, or Hi Intensity Grade. Base weight can vary depending on the vendor, but usually ranges from 10-40lbs in general. Density of the plastic can be low or high density and color can be requested to be changed but usually needs quantities around 500 or more.
Traffic Drums mean Traffic Season
You may be a commuter to work, and get frustrated by the immense amount of construction which seems to add an extra hour to your commute on the worst possible days. You most likely see a lot of traffic drums (those orange traffic barrels on the side of the road) next to you on the way. Don’t get frustrated, these are only there for your safety.
Traffic drums, traffic barrels, and channelizers are all designed to provide safety for us drivers. A lot of times they are the barrier between construction and the road we are supposed to be driving on. Other times they are there to direct us as to where to go, either way, when you see them don’t get angry, but be thankful that our government provides such safety equipment.
Traffic Drums – Local or Online?
Is it better to buy traffic drums locally or online? Well, this can be a hard question to answer because traffic drums are very expensive to ship, especially when you start to pile on the 30 lb bases for a traffic drum in your shipment. But it’s not just about shipping, traffic drums are usually marked up very high when you buy locally versus online.
An online search will most likely let you pick up drums for way below the cost of going to your local traffic safety store (if you have one). One suggestion is the buy the drums themselves online, and then buy the bases locally, so that you aren’t eating such a high shipping cost.