If you have equipment that will not be used over the cold and snowy months, make sure you give it the best chance for a hassle-free spring startup. The best place to start is with the owner’s manual. Did that get lost five years ago? No worries. Most OEMs have those bad boys stored in pdf online. You can read it there or print it out for best tips on your specific machine’s over-winter needs.

(Just a side note: If you have a skid steer or other equipment that will perform during the winter season, check for a cold-weather-operation kit/option from the OEM. This may be a retrofit you can add if it wasn’t purchased along with the machine. If you’re using equipment in inclement weather, make sure you’ve double-checked your tires/tire pattern and you have a robust lighting package installed.)

Beyond cleaning every inch of the equipment with biodegradable release agent, blowing out hoses and lines, and getting the equipment to a sheltered area off the ground, look to the battery. When storing your machine over winter, a battery maintainer is worth its weight in gold. Be sure part of your cleaning routing includes using terminal cleaner and a terminal brush to get grime and corrosion resolved.

Keep in mind, DEF can freeze, but experts haven’t seen this as a problem. They’ve shared that the freezing doesn’t contaminate or degrade DEF. What can be a detriment to storing DEF overwinter is its expiration date. Pay attention to dates and store accordingly.

If you can’t park equipment in a climate-controlled garage for the winter season, make sure you at least have it covered and protected from winter elements. Unattended batteries will degrade, so this is where the battery maintainer can save you future heartache. Periodically start up the machine during the down-season to coat the cylinders and move the fuel.

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The SIGMA Series 2610 is now available from Applied Test Systems.

Applied Test Systems, Butler, Pennsylvania, has introduced a new system for Creep and Stress Rupture testing—its SIGMA Testing System.

The company’s website states, “SIGMA is a revolutionary step for WinCCS plus first and second-generation controllers, which have been in use at major testing facilities world over for thirty plus years. The SIGMA system retains WinCCS as the control software, while introducing the new third-generation SIGMA controller, along with new SIGMA testing machines. The SIGMA system is backwards compatible with previous controllers and data to protect your company’s investment in existing WinCCS systems.”

The SIGMA Testing System is an automated system the lab tech uses to perform creep, stress rupture, constant strain and stress relaxation testing. It’s comprised of three parts:

• the WinCCS SIGMA control software;
• the SIGMA test controller; and
• various test machines (based on end user requirements).

ATS offers the SIGMA Series 2320 & Series 2610 machines. The SIGMA Controller is microprocessor-based and controls SIGMA Test Machines’ specimen temperature, stress/strain, and the measurement and collection of data. Once the test has been started by the WinCCS SIGMA control software, the SIGMA Controllers are completely self-sufficient and can run the test to completion without further intervention by the host PC, according to the manufacturer. To compliment the SIGMA Controller, an improved SIGMA user terminal has been introduced that has many new features, which include OLED high visibility display and machine jog up/down buttons for easy setup.

For more information, contact (724) 283-1212 or visit www.atspa.com

Pavement Technology Inc., Covington, Georgia, offers a number of asphalt testing devices, including the Warm Mix Asphalt Laboratory Foaming System, which is designed to allow a user to run foam mix asphalt mixes in the lab. Its control system allows a user to pre-set temperatures, flow rates (water and asphalt), air pressures, etc. The foaming unit can be used in tandem with the single or double pugmill mixer, using a high-temp plastic bag, which can be discarded at the end of a foaming cycle.

The foamer height is adjustable and can be set to deposit the foamed asphalt directly into a mixer. In addition to warm mix, the foaming system can also be used for cold mix applications.

For more information, call Wade Collins at (770) 856-9268.

Forney LP, Zelienople, Pennsylvania, offers analog and digital centrifuge extractors from the Ploog Engineering Co. The extractors range from the 3000 g Analog (220V/50Hz) to the 1500 g Digital (115V/60Hz) and a variety in between. The devices are used for quantitative determinations of liquid asphalt cement (AC) in HMA paving mixes. If you’re trying to meet ASTM D2172, develop a mix for state specs, determine acceptances, perform research and so on, call on Finley to help you select the right centrifuge extractor for the job.

For more information, call sales@forneyonline.com at (800) 367-6397.

In this digital age of social media influence, each one of your employees who posts a picture of an incoming AC delivery at the plant, a smooth mat at the job site or a group putting care packages together for holiday community outreach is engaged in public relations for the company as a whole.

How else does your company use social media platforms and/or the company’s website to reach the masses? You might be able to take this week to slow down and think about your “digital marketing.” Think about how your presence online is perceived by the community, clients and potential new workers. Are you sending the positive message you wish to send with the collective posts your workers share? Or does the frequency of questionable safety practices in the field showing up on individual Facebook pages make you nervous? Do you think OSHA knows those are your employees or does it matter in the end?

Let’s talk about that on the AsphaltPro social media pages and share your thoughts for how your company manages and uses the power of social media to your best advantage!

The staff at AsphaltPro Magazine wishes you a Merry Christmas and a safe, prosperous New Year!

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The WLB 10 S laboratory plant from Wirtgen Group, a John Deere company, Antioch, Tennessee, is designed to define foamed bitumen quality in a lab setting prior to the start of construction. A control panel allows the lab tech to input and adjust parameters such as water amount, pressure and temperature. The company’s website states: “Direct injection of the foamed bitumen into the mixing chamber of the WLM 30 laboratory mixer enables mixes to be processed under real-life conditions. The WLV 1 is used for the manufacture of test specimens from bitumen-stabilized material. It is equipped with a powerful vibrating hammer and heavy-duty tamping foot.”

For more information, visit https://www.wirtgen-group.com/ocs/en-us/wirtgen/wlb-10-s-712-p/