When you get a new screed plate from an OEM, it should be about half an inch to 5/8 inch thick. When it wears down to less than a quarter of an inch, you’ve got to replace it. That means your screed operator needs to be on the ground with a tape measure making sure the thickness is adequate throughout the paving season.
Back in the off-season when you were making repairs and shoring up equipment for season startup, you may have put in an order for new screed plates. If they’ve arrived, take a rainy day to get things in place and then watch for wear. How quickly your screed plate will wear down past that quarter of an inch depends on a few things, such as:
- the hardness of the aggregate in the mixes you place;
- the depths of the lifts you place;
- the angle of attack your crew typically sets/paves with; and
- the efficiency of the heat on the screed/its steel.
You obviously can’t control the type of aggregate in your neck of the woods or the thickness of the lifts a city or state requires on a project. But you can train your crew to set tow point cylinders so the screed is towed correctly behind the tractor. This sets your screed up for its best maintenance and best performance. You can also train your crew to heat the screed evenly to keep its steel tempered nicely. Check out the Asphalt Paving 101 online course from AsphaltPro for some good, beginner tips like these.
Subscribe now to receive tips like this to your inbox each week.