Written by Kurt.
No, we are not going on holiday yet. On the contrary. For those still working over the coming months, it may be desirable to prepare the machines for an intensive period of heat.
Summer comes with heat and, consequently, dust, which is something we increasinglyhave to deal with, with our increasingly finely tuned machines. What can you do?
- Make sure you check the cooler(s) daily for leaks and top up the coolant level if necessary. In one move, include hydraulic and engine oil as well.
- Clean your machine on time. If there are leaks, the combination of oil and dust will make them more visible and you can plan a repair.
Actually, it starts when you order your machine, because that’s when you can take some precautions that will ensure your machines can cope better with the warmer temperatures.
What precautions?
A cooler on the engine cooling water is a standard. But not all machines have coolers for the hydraulics (especially small machines with limited hydraulic volume). Again, it is best to ask for an additional cooler to avoid an automatic machine stop due to high oil temperature and to make the oil last longer. Why? Because high temperatures combined with dust and friction will cause your oil to need replacing more quickly.
Once we have the necessary coolers, it is useful to consider the option of a reversible fan which blows away particles clogging the cooler. This then happens at a predetermined interval time e.g. every 15 minutes, reversing for 30 seconds. Sometimes you can also order a custom cooler with a coarse mesh from your supplier, but note that this helps against a certain type of clogging but not yet against overheating, because per square metre you actually have less cooling surface area.
Heat tends to bring with it dryness in our region, which means we also suffer from dust on the ground and in the air. This is a highly underestimated problem and will lead to engine damage in many cases. To overcome this, it is best to work on the machine’s air intake. All machines already have a standard air filter that you should check daily and this is something you should actually do. In doing so, make sure you blow out the large filter in the opposite direction in case of dust and replace it if necessary. In doing so, it is also recommended to always buy original filters and stock all your filters yourself. That way, you are never dependent on your supplier (at night or during the weekend…). Is the 2nd or safety filter dirty? Then never blow it out, but replace it immediately.
The dust hanging around the machine is not just fine dust. Therefore, you can equip the machine with an additional cyclone filter that removes all the larger particles and a very large proportion of the finer dust particles before the factory filter.
If you work in a very dusty, closed or non-closed environment (which is increasingly the case in recycling), you can also opt for an electric cyclone. The advantage is that this filter no longer depends on the speed of the motor to get the cyclone working (modern machines tend to revert to an idle speed when not in use). In the case of an electric cyclone, an optimum vortex will be created as soon as contact is made and the optimum conditions will always be created for proper operation. This will also lead to a longer life of the standard air filters.
So, are you thinking of working through the summer? If so, it is best to discuss this with your supplier.