 That's the old straight shooter again. You remember me, don't you? From that other TV show, Preventive Maintenance. Yeah, you know, I was a good-luckin' one. Start this here show off with a few words of wisdom. Or something. Anyway, in the last show, we talked about Preventive Maintenance. How to take care of us distributors so we keep working right. In this show, we're going to talk about operation as right. A fella's going to start telling you about that in a minute. But before he starts, I want to say a few words about a couple of things that are pretty important. You know, just because we're talking about operation now, don't forget about Preventive Maintenance. Preventive Maintenance shouldn't stop when operation starts. PM should never stop. Always keep watchin' for things goin' wrong. Always keep checkin' if things are working right. Always keep cleanin' it. Always keep doin' Preventive Maintenance. That's the only way to stay on top of it. So keep thinkin' at PM, even when you're operating. Okay? Think you should always keep thinkin' about two, of course. And that's safety. That's maybe one of them dear devils. If you're in your late car drive, you know, you can ignore safety and have a real blast with a distributor. And that ain't no joke. It's true. A distributor can blow up. Or catch on fire. Guys, gettin' blowed up ain't my idea of a good time. And I bet you ain't too crazy about it, neither. So take it easy. Use some common sense. Learn to say what you do things. And then do it that way, okay? You're gonna learn a lot about safety right here in this year program. Well, that's all I got. I just think that things are important. And I wanted to get you thinkin' about them, too. Okay. On with the show. It is required for application. The application temperature varies with the different types of asphalt. Obtain this information from your supervisor. Before you start heating the asphalt, though. And I mean each time you do it. There are four safety steps that must be completed. First is to position the distributor so the tongue is facing the wind. This reduces the chance of the burners blowing up. The second preheating safety step is to remove the fire extinguisher from the distributor and place it 50 feet away from the distributor. If you have a fire, the last place you want the fire extinguisher to be is in the middle of the fire. The third safety step you must always perform before heating the asphalt is to check the amount of asphalt that is in the distributor. To do this, unscrew the tank lid and inspect the amount of asphalt in the tank. The asphalt level must be at least six inches above the top burner pipe. Heating asphalt that is less than six inches above the top burner pipe of the distributor is a good way to fill up the distributor. So, don't do it. Close the tank lid and secure it tightly before heating. And the fourth preheating safety step, always check the temperature of the asphalt in the distributor before starting to heat it. This will tell you how much you have to heat the asphalt or whether you have to heat it at all. You check the asphalt temperature by removing the thermometer on the side of the tank and reading it. Remember, as you learned in your preventive maintenance instruction, the thermometer well must contain motor oil for accurate reading. After making your check, replace the thermometer and tighten it completely. Okay, now you're ready to start heating the asphalt safely. To light the burners, first open the valve on the propane tank. Make sure the dampers are all the way open. Then, walk to the main burner valve and open it. Next, open the first burner valve, light it, and adjust the flame. Then do the same on the other burner. And after the burners are lit, recheck your dampers to make sure they are at the full open position. Next, go to the back end of the unit to check and set the three main control valves. Set all three valves to the circulate position. First, the four-way valve. Second, the two-way valve. And third, the three-way or spray bar valve. Now, move to the engine and start it. Next, engage the pump because the asphalt must be circulated anytime it is being heated. Now, return to the thermometer for a second reading. Again, be sure to replace and tighten it when you're done with your check. As the asphalt is being heated, return to the thermometer and check the asphalt temperature every two or three minutes until the desired temperature is reached. Once the desired temperature is reached, shut off the burners in the following sequence. First, turn off both burner valves, then the main burner valve, and last, turn off the propane tank valve. Always turning off the valves in this sequence is the best way to ensure that all valves are turned off, which prevents the chance of raw propane accumulating at the burners when they are relit. Now, you're ready to hook up the distributor to the truck, close to the distributor, and set the trailer tongue slightly above the height of the truck hitch. Then, direct the truck back slowly until the trailer tongue and the truck hitch are aligned. Lower the tongue onto the hitch and latch it. Make sure the hitch is locked or secured. Raise the jack stand and lock it into place. Plug in the trailer lights and the emergency breakaway cable to the truck frame. Next, go to the back end of the distributor and check that all the lights are working. Also, make sure the spray bar is at the highest position. Then, complete a walk around inspection on the chalk block's side of the unit. Finally, remove the chalk blocks and place them on the distributor. Okay, you've got the asphalt heated and the distributor hooked up to the truck. Now, you're ready to go to the job site. At the job site, you first have to make some adjustments on the distributor to get it ready for shooting. One of those adjustments is the height of the spray bar. The length of the standard hard hat is about the right height for the spray bar on this type of distributor. So your hard hat can be used as a guide in setting the height. This is the pump tachometer or gallon per minute gauge. Before you start shooting, you will have to set the gauge to the proper gallon per minute setting for your job and adjust the engine speed to achieve that setting. The gallon per minute setting varies from job to job and is based on such factors as material type and road design. Another thing you have to do before starting the shooting operation is check the operational condition of the spray bar. Make a couple of test shots. Check all nozzles at least twice. Make sure they're all properly aligned and working. The spray bar is opened and closed with the three-way spray bar valve which is located right next to the operator's chair. You open the valve by pulling the handle to the operator's side. You close it by pushing the handle to the farthest position from the operator and then bringing it up to the center position. This is how the spray bar is operated when making shots on the job. And speaking of making shots on the job, the distributor is now ready for the shooting operation. Every shot you make with the distributor, you must be up to the proper speed when you start the shot so that you are applying the proper amount of asphalt right from the beginning of the shot. The speed needed depends on the amount or application rate of asphalt needed which varies from job to job, so always get a running start. And make sure it's long enough for you to get up to the proper speed by the time you reach the desired starting point of the shot. When you reach the desired starting point of the shot, open the spray bar valve and you're on your way making your shot. Watch the spray throughout the shot to make sure that you're getting a smooth application of material to the surface. To end a shot, just close the spray bar valve. The condition of the spray bar is a critical factor in the shooting operation. If anything is wrong with the spray bar, it will affect your asphalt application. So, you have to treat the spray bar with care and protect it from damage and contamination. Don't just set it and forget it. Any time there's a chance that it might hit something while you're maneuvering the distributor, raise the spray bar to the highest position. In particular, raise it any time you have to take the distributor off the flat driving surface and whenever you transport the distributor. Cleaning the distributor is the final phase of the operation process and a very important one. If you don't keep your distributor clean, it won't keep working very long. It must be cleaned after every job before the asphalt cools. If you let the asphalt cool, you'll have a clogged distributor to feel clean the pump and bars. First, drop the engine RPM as to a high idle and disengage the pump clutch. Then reset the valves. The two-way valve to the fill position, the four-way valve to the drain position, and the three-way valve to the distribute position. Now, reengage the pump clutch to spray asphalt out the pump and bars. Next, open the kerosene valve completely, which allows kerosene to flow through the pump and spray bar and flush them. When they're flushed out, turn off the kerosene valve and close the three-way valve by moving the handle first to the farthest position from the operator and then up to the center position. Disengage the pump clutch and shut down the engine. Complete the field cleaning of the distributor by spraying the spray bars with kerosene while they're still warm. This will keep the bars and nozzles from being coated with cold asphalt. Whoops! Well, that just goes to show that all equipment needs PM, right? I called the cleaning we just saw field cleaning. This means that you do this cleaning out in the field right after you finish the job. After you get back to the yard, you'll have to give the distributor a final flush and cleaning because you probably won't get it as clean as it should be with your field cleaning. You may even wish to leave kerosene in the pump and the spray bars to eliminate clogging in low points. That's all we come to the end. You've just seen the basics of operating a 600-gallon asphalt distributor. We've gone from heating the asphalt, to hooking up the distributor to the truck, to adjusting the distributor for shooting, to the shooting operation, and finally to cleaning the distributor. You have to do all these things when operating an asphalt distributor. Do them like you've seen in this program and you will have many successful and safe shooting operations. Well, that's operation. In these two shows on the distributor, we covered the basics of preventing maintenance and operation. I said the basics, not everything. Everything would take a lot more time than we got. Anyway, you might have some questions that weren't answered in these shows. If you do, ask your instructors. They'll fill you in on the details. Another place you can get more information, especially about asphalt, is the Asphalt Institute. Them folks got a lot of good information. Well, I'd like to stay here and chat with you longer, but I gotta hurry up and get back to the yard for my final flush. So, I'll be signing off now. I'll probably see you up the road sometime. Till then, this is the old strength shooter saying, may all your shots be straight and all your jobs be great. Ha ha ha ha. So long. Okay, get it there, boy. Yeah. Let's go. Yeah. Come on, move it. I gotta get this out of my pipes. It's driving me crazy. Yeah. Yeah.