PUGM I L L SYST EM S

Mccloskey

McCloskey International, Keene, Ontario, announced Feb. 14 it is welcoming the Saracakis Group of Companies, to its global dealer network, coinciding with McCloskey’s 100th anniversary milestone. Headquartered in Athens, Saracakis Group of Companies is a family business that has grown to nine companies with 20 international brands under management. The leading distributor in the region for Volvo Construction Equipment, Komatsu and Tadano, Saracakis Group of Companies will now add McCloskey equipment and services to their robust equipment portfolio.

Meeker

Meeker Equipment Co., Belleville, Pennsylvania, showcased its new electric hot oil heater, the Patriot-E, at CONEXPO-CON-AGG. The company partnered with Process Heating Co., Seattle, to incorporate its drywell-style electric heating elements for this offering to the asphalt industry. Jeff Meeker shared that the 250-kW heater displayed at the tradeshow features 31 tubes with 26 elements.

The Patriot-E is designed to automatically adjust its output based on the demand of the plant, ensuring the thermal fluid temperature remains “above” all the other tanks. When more heat is required, a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) proportions the electric power to generate more heat. A temperature probe “speaks” to the Patriot-E's computer to ensure actual fluid temperature.

To assist producers in assessing emissions output and emissions savings, Meeker has an emissions calculator on its website; calculations are based on working with Webster Burner. Use this to plug in known BTUs of your current system to compare what you could see from an electric system.

The Meeker team designed the Patriot-E to take up the same footprint as the Meeker standard hot oil heater so it can be easily retrofitted at existing plants.

For more information, visit www.MeekerEquipment.com.

Phco

Lo-Density® CLHR Inline Electric Fuel Oil Preheaters from Process Heating Company (PHCo), Seattle, are designed to automatically provide precise temperature and viscosity control of heavy oils for efficient and steady delivery from the pump to the burner.

Viscosity is the primary concern for producers who still burn heavy or used fuel oil in their plants, as these oils become virtually impossible to pump at low ambient temperatures. The lower the viscosity, the more easily a fluid will flow. Correct viscosity also provides proper atomization at the burner nozzle and clean burning of the oil. There are two methods available to adjust viscosity in heavy fuel oil. One is to cut or blend the oil with expensive #2 heating oil or diesel fuel, which raises operational costs because of the higher costs associated with these fuels. The preferred method to adjust viscosity is to preheat the fuel, allowing the heavier oils to move smoothly to the burner.

PHCo inline heaters are fully automatic and—due to their removable drywell tubes—easy to clean, according to the manufacturer. An oil flow switch located in the heater discharge piping keeps the heater from energizing unless there is sufficient oil flow. The patented Lo-Density Coil-Lock-design heating elements, which reside within a drywell, allow the units to dissipate controlled heat as low as 5 watts per square inch on the heater’s sheath, eliminating coking of the burner oil on the drywell tubes. All PHCo preheaters include a prewired UL-listed industrial control panel, housed in a weatherproof enclosure. The system can be powered by any industrial voltage to heat at a rate of 5-7 watts per square inch.

PHCo’s 100% efficient electric heaters provide unique benefits for asphalt producers that include lower operating costs, improved product quality, reduced maintenance, long heater life, and enhanced sustainability. The PHCo preheater is plumbed between the pump discharge and the burner. The bypass line from the burner relief valve returns to the pump suction, and not the holding tank. This avoids adding heat to the storage tank, and also reduces electrical load by returning heated oil into the system. The unit includes sensors and thermocouples for main temperature control and high temperature limit.

For more information, call 866-682-1582 or visit www. processheating.com.

Reliable

While the Vulcan burner isn’t a new product for Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Kentucky, the company displayed the offering at its CONEXPO-CON/AGG booth for the asphalt attendees. Vulcan burners are total air burners with a single motor and a coaxial blower, which provides a near-linear fan curve. They can be run on multiple fuels, simultaneously if required. There are optional blower mount configurations, and they can be converted from long to short nose.

For more information, contact (866) 647-1782 or visit www. reliableasphalt.com.

Rotochopper

Rotochopper, headquartered in St. Martin, Minnesota, showcased three pieces of equipment at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, including the new TS 165 deck screener, which offers a larger screening surface than the TS 124 with 16 x 5 feet of screen. The graduated deck on the TS 165 is designed to ensure the entire length of the screen is used. This was the first time customers and prospects got a look at the TS 165 in person.

Other features of the Rotochopper deck screener include ease of transport, set up and operation, quick screen change, and telescoping fines and middle side conveyors, according to the manufacturer. A spokesperson for the company suggested the TS165 deck screener would be relevant for an asphalt recycling application.

Stansteel

Stansteel/Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Kentucky, announced the Gate-Keeper safety system for loadout at CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The system enhances plant safety at loadout by preventing silo discharge when trucks are not lined up properly to receive mix from the correct silo.

It works with a series of infrared “photo eyes” along the scale that send a message to the control house to allow loadout permission only when the truck has lined up with the requisite stations. When the truck is in line with sensors A and B, the system will illuminate a green “enable” button for the plant operator, indicating it’s safe to select that silo and press the button to open the silo gate.

If the truck has gone beyond safe loading parameters, the loadout “locks” again. The sensors will not illuminate, the green “enable” button will not illuminate, the operator will not be able to open the silo gates.

The truck driver will have to re-position the truck before the system will allow the silo gate to open, thus preventing the plant manager from accidentally opening the wrong gate or dumping mix onto the truck cab.

For more information, visit stansteel.com.

Superior

Superior Industries Inc., Morris, Minnesota, exhibited its Titanium™ Seal idler bearing seal at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. Several years ago, Superior’s engineers started a project to improve the manufacturer’s standard idler seal. Today, the standard idler seal is new and improved, but a premium seal design was also discovered along the way. It’s achieving supreme performance in some of the grittiest, wettest, most troublesome idler applications, according to the manufacturer.

“Design analysis for dozens of iterations were performed in our lab and some of those drafts graduated to real world settings within various quarries and pits,” said Mary Erholtz, Superior’s vice president of marketing and conveying product manager. The configuration of the Titanium Idler Bearing Seal, specially designed to reduce the penetration of fugitive moisture and fines, is patented.

Webster

Webster Combustion, Winfield, Kansas, introduced the new Twister™ aggregate burner for asphalt plants. The Twister series is an open-fired burner that operates with lower motor horsepower requirements than competitive models using an integrally mounted fan to deliver both energy savings and a compact burner system, according to the manufacturer.

Twister’s single actuator manages all the controls with integrated linkage, modulating the intake air damper as well as the fuel valves. Twister series burners burn a wide range of fuels, either separately or simultaneously, including Natural, LP, and low BTU gases, all commercially available fuel oils, and qualified waste oils.

Turndowns of up to 8:1 provide a wide range of modulation capability and an optional VFD is available. To complete the package, Twister can be controlled by Webster Combustion’s ACS-100 asphalt plant burner control system, designed specifically for asphalt plants.