You’ve done your homework, so you have the right cleaners in place. You have ensured that you have precleaners where they‘re supposed to be and secondary cleaners where they will do the best job. Your team took care in mounting them so they are just right. So you’re done, right? They’ll do their job until they don’t and then you can replace them.
It doesn’t have to work that way.
Belt cleaners that are proactively maintained are more likely to run longer and much less likely to cause damage to belts and fasteners in comparison to cleaners that are installed and ignored until it’s time to replace them.
Carryback is a major contributor to the cost of maintaining your belt conveyors. Proactive maintenance on belt cleaners can be just the answer for any carryback problems that may be occurring on your system, all the while extending the life of your other components.
CLEANER MAINTENANCE … SIMPLIFIED
When approaching cleaner maintenance, there are three simple principles to remember: Clean it. Inspect it. Tension it.
Clean it.
It may sound obvious, but the first rule of thumb with cleaners is to remove any debris from the blade and tension springs. Cleaners will shed most of the carryback into the chute or onto the receiving belt but sometimes it will come to rest on the cleaner itself. Tensioners can’t do their jobs with debris stuck in them and removing material build up from blades will make them much more effective. Plus, a dirt-free cleaner is much easier to inspect.
Inspect it.
A simple visual inspection can do wonders for a cleaner. You can check to see that everything is in working order and replace any damaged components. When it comes to blades, inspect the visual wear lines to ensure that the blades have not reached the end of their lives. As you inspect the blades, make note of how close you are to complete wear and the approximate amount of time it took to get to that point.
Tension it.
Tension the blade to accommodate the blade wear and to get optimal cleaning performance. In most cases, this is done quickly and easily by referencing the tension check decal on your cleaner and measuring the tension spring to ensure the blade is properly tensioned. If no decal is present, a simple check of the operations manual should provide the answers you need.
Proactive maintenance shouldn’t stop there
It is essential to remember that the success of any conveyor system is dependent on your conveyor belt and components work as a complete system. Choosing products that work together holistically is integral to the performance and safety of the system. Routine maintenance and assessments of your system is the hallmark of any efficient operation – ultimately saving you time and money.Proactive maintenance shouldn’t stop there
Authored by Kevin Fales, Product Manager
Fales manages the belt conveyor product (BCP) line, providing product development and engineering with guidance on market requirements for both new product concepts and existing products. He also leads the development of technical and promotional literature supporting BCP line. Fales graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, and from Western Michigan University with a Master of Business Administration.