Winter is here, are you all wrapped up?

[Jim Farrell, Blastcrete Equipment Company]

Hello Pavemanpro’s! Now that the first snow has hit Ohio, i have to say it is a welcome site!! i happen to love winter and i like the season and outdoor activities. But the cold sensitive products you have, paint, additives, tack, and anything that is labeled” Keep from freezing” should be properly stored. Are all your pails stored in the proper place in your shop? is it stacked by the door? or in some back corner?? Remember pavemanpro’s you paid good money for these products, and sometimes even the best shop employees do not understand chemical reaction to cold. With proper care, you will be able open up the pail and stir and use again! Every spring i get calls from contractors that say the product wont mix up, or it settled in a hard clump in the bottom. When any product that is cold sensitive freezes or reaches a critical cooler temp. for a prolonged period of time will cause the products to separate and in most cases render the product unusable. You can avoid this by simply placing the product on top of a pallet off the concrete floor for starters, next keep it away from open and closing shop doors. If you store your pails in a shop corner, make sure the heat is sufficient to keep your product at least 55 degrees to avoid bottom clumping and failer of the product to remix in the spring. Some contractors told me that it did not freeze, we kept our shop at 50! Well what part of your shop was 50? if you are unsure of your product placement, put a simple thermometer on top of the product bucket and look at the temp. during colder spells and see if it is ok. You can rest easy if you store it in a sure place that is 50 or better in the shop. All your pumps should be off the tanks and inside, a few drops of water frozen in the pumps has caused me great headaches in the spring with hairline cracks in the pump housing. Bad time to find out when you are on your first job, and cash starved!! Bring em in and forget about em! Blow all your outside water lines out for at least 10 min. to insure all water is out of all your lines. Some contractors put anti freeze in there lines which does work, but any water that freezes will cause damage. Well, i will post after deer hunting to fire you all up for the NPE – Charlotte in Feb. I want to wish you all a pleasant and healthy turkey day, spend it with someone you care about, it always makes the turkey dinner taste better. We all have much to give thanks for. Remember our veterans and the elderly!! they like turkey too!

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