An asphalt producer had to light-off its boiler at 3 A.M. to heat the cold, sluggish asphalt so that it could be mixed. - To eliminate the problem, metal-sheathed electric heaters, thermostatically and timer controlled, were installed. In the past, only the asphalt in the tanks was heated, and it was sometimes 10 A.M. before the pumps themselves would operate, delaying the day's work drastically. Strip elements are installed in the circulating pipes in the bottom of the tanks,under the coverings for the pumps, and along the pipes to and from the tanks. Around the bin in which road patching material is mixed, tubular heaters are installed in what was once a steam jacket, permitting mixing any time of any day.

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