Page 17 - October 2020 Track N Times

TECHNICAL TRAINING

Winter is Coming… Is Your Dust Control System Protected?

By: Martin Cyrway, Assistant Manager Ballast Cleaning

With cool temperatures and the start of football season, (or as it’s known in Minnesota “SKOL” season), fall is here,
which means winter is right around the corner, and not even COVID-19 can delay that. Don’t let the outdated ref-
erence fool you, for those of us in the Ballast and Grade Division, or “The Loram Dirt Devils”, it’s that time of the
year to start thinking seriously about protecting our dust suppression systems. Every year around this time the dirt
division, and others pay close attention to weather forecasts, and especially nightly temperatures that hover around
35º. In the fall when temperatures start to dip we all have to be proactive to ensure that our dust suppression sys-
tems are well protected from the freezing temperatures. The dust suppression systems are a critical function to bal-
last and grade machines that protect our crews from harmful silica dust, especially regarding Loram’s Shoulder Bal-
last Cleaners.

To start, special attention must be paid to daily low temperatures. When the forecast calls for near freezing temper-
atures, such as a low of 35º, this needs to be a trigger for the machine Superintendent or Crew Chief. Planning
needs to be done to drain the water tank, blow out the water lines with air, and run RV antifreeze through the wa-
ter lines to ensure that the water tank and dust suppression systems are protected from freezing temperatures.
Generally speaking enough RV antifreeze should be utilized to occupy every water hose in the dust control system,
(usually for a SBC roughly 50 gallons), in addition there should be enough antifreeze to fill up the water pump.

Machine dust suppression systems span the entire machine, consisting of water pumps, hardlines, spray nozzles, and
other components that are likely to break apart under the pressure of freezing water. Dust control systems, and the
components that make them up, do not take kindly to freezing and expanding water that is trapped in the lines. For
example, replacing a water pump costs between $2000 to $3000, are usually hard to get, and will most likely be back
-ordered from the supplier. If water is left in the dust suppression system as temperatures fall below freezing, it is a
guarantee that components will freeze when left over the winter shutdown, and a broken non-working system will
most likely be a surprise at start-up the following season. Don’t let yourself, and your crews be surprised by broken
dust suppression components or pumps caused by neglect, get your systems winterized in advance, prepare for
freezing temperatures, and protect the essential machine components.

Our customers expect that when temperatures al-

low, and are above 35º that our dust suppression
systems will be operational. In order to keep our
customers, our crews, and the general public safe
from respirable silica dust, we must ensure that our
dust suppression systems are 100% operational at
all times. By monitoring ambient temperatures and
staying vigilant about our dust suppression systems,
we are sure to keep our customers, crews, and the
general public safe from excessive silica dust.

PAGE 15 OCTOBER 2020