Shine Lights on Paving Parts
BY AsphaltPro Staff
We’ve all looked at different lighting sources to get a good view of the mat or the operator’s platform or a look into the hopper when we’re paving at night. One idea I’ve seen recently and that I recommend for the crew is to pick up a light you can stick to the paver anywhere you need it to shine.
On the night project in these pictures, you see we have this light shining right at the endgate where we’re creating the joint, although you can also put it on the hopper and position it to light up the guide bar and chain.
In this picture, we’re paving to the right. The extension is out about 6 inches. This is a front-mounted Carlson screed and we’re lighting it up with a Milwaukee light. The light is the actual black portion on the bottom of the red square. All photos courtesy Top Quality Paving.
The brand name is Milwaukee. It’s got an M18 battery pack that lasts all night. You can get these at Home Depot or Lowe’s for less than $200. As far as I’m concerned, they’re well worth it—a life saver for nighttime paving.
You can see that the light is on a hinge to let you tilt or position it how you need it.
They’re magnetic and portable LED lighting. You don’t have to plug them into a generator. You can put them anywhere the metal is. If you want them by the tow point cylinder or the guide bar, you can put them there to get volumes of light.
The battery is next to his waist.
On this particular project, even though we followed best practice for lighting the night job, we couldn’t see the endgates, so we couldn’t get the joints created right. You have to be able to see the edges to get the joints right. Even though we had LED blade lights, it just wasn’t enough to light up the place. One side is matching a joint; one side is creating the joint. It’s got to be right.
John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving and Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides personal on-site paving consulting services around the United States and into Canada. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.