Okay, so I'm on my way home tonight and get to a stoplight where they are doing some road work. They're filling in a small hole or something like that, can't really tell. What I see is a front loader drop some asphalt or something, and standing next to the front loader is a guy with a propane tank like you'd put on your grill and a fucking flamethrower looking deal.

At the end of a three foot long metal rod is a little fireball about a foot to two feet across. It's not burning like a welding torch or a bunsen burner, but like a flame from a fireplace. As I drove off I saw him touch it to the ground and light the asphalt on fire (it didn't burn very high, he basically walked up and down torching the rocks).

I'm sure someone else knows more about this, but it was a pretty neat sight to see at night on the drive home. That would be one road work job I'd love to have. At least until an accident happens and the tank explodes and kills everyone. That might be bad.

10/21/2008 10:37:40 PM

Big strong men in uniforms playing with massively destructive toys.

Oh boy.

10/21/2008 10:41:35 PM

if you really wanna do asphalt work i can get you a job pretty easy

10/21/2008 10:41:52 PM

And would probably make more money than a fucking photographer!

10/21/2008 10:42:16 PM

or a professional googler/craigslist spammer

10/21/2008 10:42:42 PM

I am pretty sure anyone could get a job doing asphalt work pretty easily, with or without your help

10/21/2008 10:43:27 PM

I have a friend whose dog was effed up by road workers. they took that torch to him. and waved and burned him all over, it was awful.

10/21/2008 10:44:29 PM

well this dude is in luck then

10/21/2008 10:44:36 PM

well fuck. that puts a damper on my dreams of running a flamethrower one day. i wasn't aware it was the nazi death camp worker job of the road crew.

10/21/2008 10:51:27 PM

Sorry about the dog, that sucks balls.

10/21/2008 10:53:00 PM

Asphalt work is hard shit. Trust me I did it for a summer. You get 90-110 degrees coming down from the sun and another 200 or so degrees coming from the asphalt, not fun. In easy to understand terms they where "melting" the asphalt to make it more workable. This way they can level it and get it flat and in line with the rest of the asphalt around it. There's a lot more technical explanation than this one out there but thats the basics

PS
If you want to work asphalt the big names in the area are REA Contracting and CC Magnum. You will definantly not start out as a "flame thrower man" as you put it either. You probably would start out with a shovel or holding the signs, maybe even a lute.

[Edited on October 22, 2008 at 1:24 AM. Reason : ,]

10/22/2008 1:19:18 AM

shoot the propane tank for a critical hit

10/22/2008 1:27:17 AM

I think I'd rather hold the signs anyway. Seems like the kind of job where you could just drink whiskey all day and hang out. Slow, Stop, Slow, Stop.

10/22/2008 1:28:27 AM

I'd fuck it up and cause a collision

10/22/2008 1:29:10 AM

Quote :

"You probably would start out with a shovel or holding the signs, maybe even a lute."

Huh? I've never seen a road worker with one of these...

10/22/2008 1:56:07 AM

Quote :

"In easy to understand terms they where "melting" the asphalt to make it more workable. This way they can level it and get it flat and in line with the rest of the asphalt around it. There's a lot more technical explanation than this one out there but thats the basics If you want to work asphalt the big names in the area are REA Contracting and CC Magnum. "

Correct.

To increase compaction of asphalt you need heat and confinement. Also, hot mix asphalt gives off hydrogen sulfide which smells bed and can burn the lining of your nose and throat like it did to mine one summer.

10/22/2008 9:44:07 AM

sounds like a job for robots

10/22/2008 10:13:21 AM

I have one of these flamethrowers.

I use it to burn weeds/debris off of gravel paths/landscaping in my yard.

10/22/2008 10:59:03 AM

This is a lute used for asphalt looks sorta like a rake

10/22/2008 9:26:25 PM

10/10, thread and comments

10/22/2008 9:29:34 PM

he "flame thrower" also heats up the existing asphalt so that the new patch will bond with it better and not create another crack which leads to another pothole

10/22/2008 10:09:46 PM

we had 2 guys repair patches at my old job... they came over and used a big machine that rolls over the spot u wanna heat. uses propane and hundreds of torches... its heavy.. kit would take 2 of them to maneuver it... but being on a slight incline also didn't work

10/22/2008 11:17:28 PM