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Blog articles and lab notes
The Mastery Series – Chapter 3: Maintaining Your NCAT Ignition Furnace
In the previous chapter, we delved into the origins of the NCAT ignition furnace and the technology and theory that underpin its function. We also discussed the challenges faced during its design and the journey from concept to implementation. In this chapter, we will attempt to build an ignition furnace together from scratch. We’ll be … Read more
The Mastery Series – Chapter 2: Introducing The NCAT Ignition Oven
Almost every lab in the country has an ignition oven. Sure, there are some standouts; some states require extractions with solvents, but for the most part, ignition is king. But how did this become the standard? Why did everyone switch from extractions to ignition seemingly overnight? What even is an ignition oven anyway? In today’s … Read more
The Mastery Series – Chapter 1: Intro to the mastery series
Have you ever taken a look around your lab and wondered how any of the equipment works? Have you been in the industry for more than ten years and at this point are too scared to ask? Well, believe it or not, you’re not alone. Welcome to our mastery series – a collection of blog … Read more
5 Cost-Effective Asphalt Testing Products
Click Here to Get Yours Today! The Gas Drying Jar – 4.2 There have been a lot of new and exciting technologies brought to market in the last few years. Sometimes, however, existing technologies manage to outperform newer counterparts, at least when it comes to the budget. Enter the Gas Drying Jar. The Gas Drying … Read more
5 Simple Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Service Company
By asking these 5 questions, you can weed out bad service companies and save yourself a ton of money by not having to do recalibrations. At Gordon Technical, we are genuinely excited to change how this industry operates. Contact us today to learn more about our asphalt testing lab services.
How To Pass a Lift Test on your NCAT
The lift test is a powerful tool that you can use to keep your NCAT’s burn time short. It can tell you if you have faulty components and can even impact your results. Our technicians use this test to determine what they need to do when they start service, and often it’s the first thing … Read more
Your NCAT Basket Could Be Causing Your Long Burn Times
Many of you might remember when the square-designed NCAT baskets were the only baskets available. This was before the angled cornered baskets became the standard thanks to some clever marketing and adoption of the asphalt industry. Well, in true Gordon Technical fashion, we have revisited the original design, and are surprised by the results. During … Read more
Your NCAT heating elements might not be working properly
You don’t need to know the inner workings of an NCAT ignition furnace to understand how it works. You fill a basket with material, you put that basket into the NCAT, you press start and 20-40 minutes later (hopefully) you pull out the aggregate with all the liquid burnt off. But what do you do … Read more
The Top 5 Amazing Asphalt Sample Containers Sold to our customers.
An interesting but unique challenge in our industry lies in how we hold and move our asphalt samples from place to place. It would be one thing if our samples were small and light but as it just so happens, asphalt is pretty heavy. On top of that, our samples need to stay mixed up … Read more
The Instrotek AutoRice VS How We’ve Always Done It
There are two camps on how the Rice (or Maximum Specific Gravity) test needs to be done in order to be correct. One is team Autorice, who love that the unit performs the entire test automatically, and the Other is team “This is the way we’ve always done it”. “The way we’ve always done it” … Read more
Gordon NCAT Calibration, the 1 thing you can do to save your NCAT
NCAT Calibration A Gordon NCAT Calibration is one of the most reliable calibrations you can get for your lab. It’s not because we think we’re the best at them ( Although we probably are), but because we go above and beyond when it comes to doing our homework. How the NCAT was made The NCAT … Read more
New Series, Old Series, Which NCAT Do I Have?
If you have ever called in for maintenance, you’ve been asked this question. Do you know which series you have? It’s your typical deer in a headlights situation. There’s always an audible silence before the caller ends up saying, “no” and “how can I find out”? Today, we are going to tell you the difference … Read more
Why You Destroy Your Vacuum Pump and 1 way to fix it.
The T209 rice test is the worst possible situation for a vacuum pump. By design, vacuum pumps need to be free of contaminants and never EVER allow water in. So what do we do? We put a container of water and hook it up in line with our pumps. Because we don’t have time to … Read more
Good NCAT Maintenance: The 10 Simple Commandments, Part 1
“NCAT maintenance”, Mike said matter of factly. “What?” I said because his statement came out of nowhere. “Do a blog on NCAT Maintenance, and call it something cool” Mike was looking at me expecting me to completely understand what was going on. “ Call it the 10 commandments of NCAT Maintenance or something like that.” … Read more
Eco-Friendly Glassware Cleaning: The PIE2 Method
Traditional Glassware Cleaning: The Chemical Legacy It’s a basic belief that most of us were taught when we were growing up. Your glassware got dirty, you would grab some type of cleaner, and then you would scrub it until it was clean. This hasn’t changed for centuries. Labs today are no exception. They clean most … Read more
How to install a Setra balance and 3 dangerous things to look out for.
There is a metal box that sits inside of your NCAT Ignition Oven. It’s rectangular and sits directly under the burn chamber. That box is the reason why your oven can perform the burn-off method so accurately, but that same box also has the potential to ruin hours, days, or even months of testing if not installed … Read more
New guide to 11 NCAT error codes and their meanings
The NCAT ignition oven has been at the forefront of mix design since the late ’90s. In that time there have been a few improvements over the form and function of the unit, but for the most part, the NCAT ignition oven has stayed the same. You put your mix in the chamber and the … Read more
Gyratory mold resurfacing: #1 way to save your budget from destruction.
The fate of new molds I cannot tell you how many times I go into a lab and see old gyratory molds sitting on shelves doing nothing but collecting dust. At one point in time, someone came in with a gauge and checked out their measurements. Sure enough, the mold didn’t pass and so a … Read more
Calibrations and the 5 deceitful tricks that other companies use
I’m going to say something controversial, something that our competitors would completely disagree with, Calibrations are not all the same. We have been in the industry for well over 15 years and during that time we have made a reputation for ourselves regarding service. We are the top service provider in the country for asphalt … Read more
The death of the 208v NCAT Ignition oven thanks to Buck Boost
The buck boost transformer has existed for many years, but many people don’t understand what this device can do. Most people assume that the power coming into your building limits you on what equipment you can use. I say assume because most of the time there are workarounds to help you out and the 208v … Read more
How Blower Motor Failure causes issues in your NCAT
Let’s face it — the blower motor on an NCAT ignition oven is often an afterthought. It sits in the back of the unit, mostly covered, mostly discreet, mostly out of the way. You know it’s there and that it blows air out of the furnace, but what exactly is its purpose? Most importantly, why … Read more
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