Everyone has the same issue when it
comes to dust whether it’s from shingles, C&D or just wood. It destroys air
filters and plugs radiators creating downtime and lost production along with
costing a whole lot of dollars on filters.
If you do not have an SOP(Standard
Operating Procedures) for operating a grinder, you better create one. Here are
a few things to include in your list:
·
Use compressed air, or even a leaf blower if that
is all you have, to clean off engine and blow out coolers and air filters every
day. A plugged radiator will not only increase coolant temperature, but it will
increase fuel temperature also. There is usually a fuel cooler attached to the
engine radiator and a hydraulic oil cooler somewhere also. Remember, increased
fuel temperature make fuel usage increase, so the cooler the fuel the better
fuel usage you will have. A plugged air filters will decrease fuel efficiency
also because of the lack of air into the engine. A 5% greater fuel usage on a 1000 hp engine
equals about another $50 a day in fuel.
·
Turn radiator or air filters into the wind and
make sure it is upwind of the grinding chamber if possible. This allows the
wind to hit the radiator or filters first and then blow the dust from the
grinding and stacking areas away from them both.
·
Clean debris off the grinder so you are able to
see all bearings, grease lines, hydraulic lines, etc.
·
At the end of the day, if you are using a
portable machine, move the grinder out of the area you were grinding in and clean
up that area with a loader. Clean the area and then wait until morning before
replacing machine into the grinding area. This way allows you to observe the
wind pattern the next morning before resetting up the grinder.
Including these items will improve engine performance,
reduce costs and increase productivity.
I was told by one customer whom
would grind shingles, that they used PAM® Cooking Spray to cover the engine and
radiator every time they ground the shingles. They only ground shingles on
occasion but the dust from the tear off shingles plugged their radiator and
covered and melted onto their engine. I am assuming they did not spray onto
exhaust manifold, turbos , etc. but they did cover the entire radiator and engine.
Afterward, they used a pressure washer to clean off the dust and the cooking
spray and it was perfectly clean. I am NOT suggesting you do this, but if you
do this or something similar, I would love to hear what you used, how it worked
and what issues it created?
The standard operating procedures
will not only help operationally, it will reduce and almost eliminate the
chance of your grinder catching fire and really costing you more dollars and
downtime.
Questions? Dave Whitelaw Grinderguy@askthegrinderguy.com
