By Wes Van Velsor | Vice President of Ray-Tech Infrared

The cost of maintaining asphalt roadways is continuously climbing and we are seeing more municipalities opt to purchase infrared heaters to do their own repairs. Most of these organizations traditionally used cold patch materials with a very short lifespan or subcontract companies to perform cut and replace repairs. Both of those options are costly in the long run as neither results in a permanent, seamless repair. By purchasing an infrared asphalt heater, these municipalities are able to handle the repairs themselves and can obtain the highest quality repair possible when done correctly.

The importance of a seamless patch cannot be understated. Traditional cut and replace methods will result in a hot edge of the new material pushed against a cold edge of the existing surface. This allows moisture and debris to enter that seam over time and raveling of the surrounding area is inevitable without repeated sealing with a crack filler material. Infrared repairs allow the user to heat the area and then join the new hot material into the surrounding heated material. This makes the seam around the patch virtually nonexistent, which means there is no need to use crack fillers and the issue should not return unless there is an underlying issue in the base material.

Our infrared heaters come in a range of styles, including walk behind, trailer and truck mounted units. They also come in many sizes and can include an asphalt reclaimer for transporting hot mix. We are seeing a significant increase in municipalities ordering these units from us recently, specifically our Tech 24 (4-by-6-foot heater trailer), Tech 48 (6-by-8-foot heater trailer) and 2 Ton Combo (6-by- 8-foot heater trailer with 2-ton hot box) models. We encourage all municipalities to explore the option of purchasing a piece of infrared equipment!

www.raytechinfrared.com