Installed in the year 2000, the performance of the P180WDG model, one of 22 compressors of varying sizes in the L&R Roadlines fleet, is all the more remarkable as it is used in an arduous application, with the compressor providing air and power in a variety of ways to produce new markings on road surfaces throughout the UK. Incorporating a 4 kVA generator, the P180WDG provides not only compressed air, but also hydraulic and electrical power for operating air lances, floodlights and road repairing machinery. Though it has been worked hard, the P180WDG compressor has achieved nearly three times the expected working life and is still going strong.
Typically, the P180WDG compressor is started up at the beginning of a work shift and used during the drive to site, to power a system heating a storage tank and transfer ducts in readiness for road marking operations to begin. Once on site (usually at night), the integrated generator provides power for lights that illuminate the work site, whilst molten material is transferred from a feeder truck to the storage tank, where paddles powered by air from the compressor agitate it to prevent it from solidifying.
Air lances are used to clear debris from the road surface. In wet weather the lance in combination with a gas hopper dries the area on the road to be lined with new markings. Once the truck is steered into position, a skilled operator at L&R Roadlines manipulates air adjusted feeder ducts to precisely direct the molten material flow on to the road surface, in a process that finishes with an air blast injection of Ballotini glass beads to ensure the road markings provide enhanced reflectability. The work for the compressor does not end there - during the drive back to base, the compressor powers the duct heater system as it completes a cooling cycle.
The P180WDG compressor uses Doosan’s renowned 85 mm airend and was manufactured in April 2000. The compressor was put immediately into service where, apart from regular servicing every 500 hours, it has received no special attention or repairs.
L&R Roadlines Maintenance Manager, Graham Mills, commented: “We never give it a second thought really, just switch it on and it faithfully delivers – every day without fail.”
L&R Roadlines was established in 1972 and is one of the largest and most respected names in the independent UK road marking industry. The company operates a fleet of trucks carrying 22 Doosan compressors of varying age from new to 12 years old. Somerford Equipment, a subsidiary of L&R Roadlines, is one of the country’s leading truck and machine bodybuilders and uses Doosan compressors exclusively.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
