Looking ahead to the fall and winter seasons, I’m getting excited about a sophisticated and cost-effective way to heat aggregates, batch water, and practically everything else around your plant with a single solution. The TURBOMATIC is made by Polarmatic, a Finnish company that has expertise in making concrete at some very cold ambient temperatures. Their single solution for heating both aggregates and water for every purpose makes a lot of sense for winter concrete production. Why aggregate heating? What’s driving everyone toward better aggregate heating methods is the use of higher-strength mixtures with less water content. Water alone can no longer provide enough heat for batching concrete in cold weather. The TURBOMATIC is good at one thing– extraordinarily efficient generation and distribution of heat. Not…
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It’s July as this is written, but for concrete producers in the Northeast, it’s not too early to start thinking about upgrading your hot water system with an extremely efficient gas-fired heater. The Firestorm direct contact water heater from Heatec, heats water on demand. That means there is no need to heat, store and maintain the temperature of thousands of gallons of water. The burner is fired to heat only the amount of water being used. The result is fast response: you have hot water when you need it, without paying to heat water you don’t use. (You can, of course, use the Firestorm to heat water for an existing large storage tank, if desired.) It is easy to tell how extraordinarily efficient the Firestorm…
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Concrete batch plants have changed significantly over the last 20-30 years in terms of technology, efficiency, speed and lower maintenance. If your plant is showing its age, consider investing in new equipment. The role our company plays in specifying, installing, troubleshooting, repairing and upgrading ready mix or precast concrete plants provides a unique opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to batch plant efficiency. I’d like to share five principles we have observed that always seem to lead to more efficient, and therefore more profitable operations. A simple definition of concrete plant efficiency is the ratio of (a): the cost of inputs (employee hours, materials, energy, equipment, etc.) to (b): the revenue generated by sales. In other words; the lower your costs and…
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An interesting thing happened to me the other week that became the catalyst for this article. I was responding to an e-mail inquiry who had requested that we contact him with additional information on one of our products. Before I wrote back to this person I wanted to learn more about his business, so I did what 70 percent of Americans do every day; I Googled his company. And to my amazement, this rather sizable, regional producer did not have a web site. I looked for over 10 minutes and finally found the company phone number, thanks to the online Yellow Pages and Manta.com. Why did I find this shocking? It’s amazing in this day and age that the same person I received an e-mail…
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Have you ever driven by a concrete batch plant while a cement tanker is blowing off and see that unmistakable gray plume of dust billowing out of the top of the silos or bins? Ever wait for what seems like forever for your cement batcher to either weigh up or discharge a load? Aside from risking unwarranted attention that could lead to an unwelcome visit from the Federales, both of these issues are a huge waste of time and money. Think about the hundreds and possibly thousands of pounds of cement that are blown off into the atmosphere over time. Last I checked, cement isn’t free, in fact it’s pretty darned expensive. Add potential fines to that waste and your head will spin. Clogged bin vents and dust collectors can…
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Buying or leasing a used concrete plant can represent a significant savings over new, but only with careful planning, shopping and inspection. Don’t buy someone else’s problem. Do your homework. Here’s an outline of the key areas to consider when you’re in the market for a used concrete plant. 1. Planning Add Up Budget Items Know your limits by budgeting before you get too far down the road. Don’t break the bank. Many buyers of used equipment should look at both new and used concrete batch plants to see what makes the most sense financially. Hidden costs can quickly escalate the price of a used plant making it difficult to justify over a new plant at times. – Purchase price – Zoning, Permitting – …
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As all of us know, the ability to use process water at a concrete plant is looked upon differently by state DOT’s. As an example, California’s DOT (Caltrans) allows the use of process water up to a specific gravity of 1.04 in some state mix designs while my home State Pennsylvania, along with several other states, bans its use entirely. Picture courtesy of WADOT via Flicker The USEPA has laws that prohibit the discharge of concrete wash out water into our waterways without proper treatment and for good reason. On the other hand, a majority of states won’t allow its use. So, you can’t discharge untreated process water AND you cannot use it in state work. It can be very frustrating to concrete producers whose…
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This is one in a series of articles designed to familiarize you with your concrete batch plant. Aggregate batcher discharge gate(s) are operated by a pneumatic cylinder. The cylinder receives air from a double acting solenoid valve that operates from an electrical signal from the batch control. To operate a double acting (inching) solenoid valve, two signals are required; one open and one closed. Both signals need to be momentary. Flow controls are installed on the solenoid valve or cylinder that regulates the air flow to the cylinder. The flow controls are installed allowing the operator to regulate the speed at which the cylinders move to allow for precise control of the gates; critical for accurate and efficient concrete batching. During normal operation of the…
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There are many factors to consider when purchasing a hot water heater for your concrete plant. In this video, Bobby Giannetti from Infern-O-Therm will show you one of the industry’s leading water heating solutions. One of the most important factors to consider is durability. You want your hot water heater to last. Features that contribute to a more durable hot water heater are rolled steal that is lapped and a double weld, as opposed to one that is end-butted with a single weld, which will result in an overall weaker build quality. Another important factor is the efficiency of the unit. Proper angles of the holes on the gas ring can maximize a unit’s efficiency by giving a more complete burn. Bobby does a great…
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Today’s producers have many choices when it comes to mixing concrete at a central mix plant. One option that is becoming more requested by ready mix producers is the Horizontal Reversing Mixer. By watching the above video, you’ll learn about the top seven reasons why CON-E-CO’s Horizontal Reversing Mixer is perfect in today’s redi-mix market. After over 25 years of tried and true testing in the European market, Con-E-Co decided to produce the only HRM that is completely designed, engineered and manufactured in the United States. In a short period of time the Horizontal Reversing Mixer has become recognized as the most efficient, effective and safest mixer on the market. The HRM’s impressive list of features include: Non-tilting discharge Rubber tire drive system Specifically designed tires Sealed inlet…
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