 The meltwater is discharged into the storm drains.Because they have to carry the large water tank and fuel for the burner, snow melting machines tend to be much larger and heavier than most winter service vehicles, at around , with the largest being hauled by semi-trailer tractor units.In addition, the complicated melting process means that snow melting vehicles have a much lower capacity than the equivalent plow or blower vehicle; the largest snow melter can remove 500 metric tons of snow per hour, compared to the 5,000 metric tons per hour capacity of any large snow blower.