Category: Blog
Date: June 13, 2023
Being a major investment for any contractor running a paving business, maintaining an Asphalt Paver the right way, ensuring its continuity to operate optimally is essential. You could have the best-performing equipment designed to endure all tough conditions and still, it may stand a chance of breaking down at some point, if not maintained properly.
So, if you currently own a paver or have the plans of investing in one, here are some practical tips to help keep your machine well-maintained.
Tip 1: Clean the Paver Every Day
Every heavy-duty machine calls for regular cleaning; and asphalt pavers are no different. All it takes to save your paver from premature failure or damage is a few minutes of cleaning every day. A simple, daily cleaning routine can help remove excess asphalt from the machine, which could otherwise cause excessive wear of the vital components of the machine. A paver with excess asphalt still stuck in it can result in breakages when the cold asphalt chunks loosen up and get mixed with the new. Moreover, one of the major consequences of not removing excess asphalt is the inconsistent performance in paving.
Tip 2: Inspect through Regular Maintenance
An asphalt paver runs for several hours a day in high heat with a highly abrasive material, which can constantly wear out the machine. Hence, it is crucial to look out for any damaged components, missing parts, loose fasteners, or oil leaks by way of regular maintenance checks. This will help you fix the issues, if any, in a timely manner and ensure smooth paving operations.
Tip 3: Apply a Release Agent on Paver Parts before Operations
Checking your asphalt paver and other equipment used during the paving job is the first step to seamless operations. While ensuring that the gauges and fluid levels are set correctly, you must also not forget about the paver parts, which would come in direct contact with the asphalt while paving. The asphalt can quickly stick to the bare metal parts of the paver, if you do not apply a coating-solution or release-agent on them before starting off with the work. And once the asphalt sticks to your machine’s components, the result could be inconsistent pavement, damaged parts, and extra effort as well as more time for cleaning.
Tip 4: Understand Your Paver’s Type
Not all pavers are created equal; they vary depending on factors such as design, size, the amount of asphalt they can handle, etc. Their maintenance requirement may also differ based on these factors.
For instance, a gravity-fed or tilt hopper paver, which is a small paving machine designed to handle approximately 100-150 tons of asphalt every day may need a less rigorous maintenance routine than a conveyor-fed paver, a relatively bigger machine which can handle up to 500 tons of asphalt every day.
Tip 5: Predict Your Paver’s Average Lifespan
Making an accurate prediction about the life of your asphalt paver can help you develop a realistic and effective maintenance schedule. Based on the paver’s average lifespan, you can also make wiser decisions with regards to its use.
When the success of your pavement job significantly revolves around the performance of your Asphalt Paver, it is incredibly important to invest well in the same. Purchase the right asphalt paver machine for your paving projects in UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, or Bahrain, from Al-Bahar, the trusted Cat® dealer in the Middle East, which has been providing top-quality Cat® machinery, heavy equipment and power systems since 1959.
To learn more, feel free to get in touch with us!
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