The city of Rochester's relationship with Bagela asphalt recyclers began with a magazine article.
Don DeCarlo, the city's operations superintendent, saw the product advertised in a magazine and set out to find the company to get more information. At the time the product had no Bagela distribution established in New York State.
The Bagela asphalt recycler can be used by contractors and municipalities to permanently repair excavated sections of asphalt on-site by reheating and mixing the asphalt millings and allowing them to be placed back in the original cut forming a permanent hot patch replacement and eliminating the need for temporary cold patches. The same process also can be used for municipalities repairing potholes, again creating a permanent hot patch and replacing the need for temporary cold patch.
The unit also can be set up in a centralized convenient location producing hot mix asphalt when it is needed and in the quantity that is required any time or any season, according to the manufacturer.
In 2004 the city purchased a Bagela model BA 10000.
"The unit paid for itself in about two years. It has a production capacity of about 10 tons of asphalt per hour. The city purchases and stockpiles the raw materials of asphalt binder and topcoat. The materials are heated and mixed on-site at the city garage, loaded into trucks, and delivered to the site of city potholes and is used as a permanent hot asphalt patch," said DeCarlo.
"The hot asphalt patch costs about 50 percent less than cold patch. The cold patch would eventually need to be replaced with a hot patch anyway, thus making the Bagela manufactured hot asphalt very economical for the city. When doing patch work or even laying down sections of new asphalt in the city bulk asphalt materials are loaded into the Bagela, mixed and heated to a temperature of 375 degrees. The asphalt is then loaded by wheel loader into city trucks which are equipped with a heating and agitation system that then deliver the asphalt to the paving or repair site maintaining a temperature of the asphalt of approximately 325 degrees."
For pothole repair and patch work Rochester is purchasing two different types of asphalt material, binder and topcoat. When repairing utility cuts two trucks are dispatched: one lays down the base coat of binder; the second truck puts down the topcoat. The end result is a permanent patch that does not need to be dealt with again until that section of road is repaved or reconstructed, according to DeCarlo.
The city also uses the Bagela to mix asphalt for its utility cuts, which typically measure 5- by 8-ft. (1.5 by 2.4 m).
The city uses a 3-yd. (2.7 m) loader to collect the materials as they come out of the Bagela and to load those materials into the asphalt trucks. The city uses 500 tons (453 t) of binder and 800 tons (726 t) of topcoat during the months when the asphalt plants are closed for the season.
After the Bagela has been loaded with asphalt materials it takes it five to 10 minutes to process that load, yielding about .5 ton (.4 t) of asphalt per cycle.
Today in the upstate region of New York, Bagela is represented by Stephenson Equipment and in the New York City area Bagela is represented by the Edward Ehrbar Company.
DeCarlo finds comfort in knowing that Stephenson Equipment is located nearby to give him parts and product support, however, "Unlike traditional asphalt reclaimers that use ceramic panels, the Bagela is very low maintenance with very few wear items and has proven to be extremely reliable," he said.
Some of the applications that Bagela asphalt recyclers are suited for include:
• Utility cuts
• Potholes
• Bridge work
• Parking lots
• Catch basins
• Plumbing cuts
• Airport maintenance
• All winter patching work
For more information, call 203/944-0526 or visit www.bagelausa.com.
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