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Terex is one of the manufacturers offering both types. "The fixed housing gives us better first-pass gradation with maximum forward speed of the machine," asserts Jim Holland, Jr., product manager, Terex Roadbuilding. The variable chamber machine is an advantage when performing soil stabilization in "gummy" soils. "The advantage of the variable chamber is that the volume changes at the top. As that material gums up, you can hold it in the top of the housing and material can pass out of there."

Power and performance
When it comes to sizing a reclaimer/stabilizer, power is everything. "Typically, when you size a machine, you need to be looking at your depth of treatment," says Holland. "Obviously, the higher horsepower machines are going to work better in the deeper asphalts. You are going to get more production, more miles per day out of a high-horsepower machine."

This has proven the case for Valentine Resurfacing. "Because we pulverize a lot of deep asphalt — 6-in.-plus depth — one of the primary considerations for us is horsepower to get through that thick of material," says Valentine.

As always, there is a trade-off. "Typically, when you have the higher horsepower, you are going to have more torque, more travel speed and more hydraulic horsepower to mix the material better," says Dave Dennison, product manager - soil products, BOMAG Americas. But that excess power does come at a cost. "As you go to the higher horsepower, especially nowadays, you typically require more fuel usage."

You must balance the ability to accomplish the job with the cost of operation and productivity. "The smaller machines are limited in their width and also their depth of cut," says Dennison. "Essentially, if the job has 12 in. of asphalt on it and your depth of cut is only 10 in., you will not be able to use that machine on the job."