SILO GATE AUTOMATIC GREASING SYSTEMS
At an asphalt plant, a truck drives underneath the silo so hot asphalt can be deposited into the truck body, and then trucked to where the Paving crew is laying it down. The silo has a door or “gate” at the bottom, which has to be able to open and close repeatedly as the Plant fills the trucks. The hinges or bearings on these gates must be properly lubricated, because a seized gate can be catastrophic.
A gate stuck closed results in a truck underneath that cannot get material to transport over to the asphalt crew and production stops. Even worse, a gate stuck open could empty the entire silo of very hot asphalt, filling the truck, overflowing onto the ground and typically even onto the scale. Hopefully no workers were hurt, but the end result means a lot of clean-up, potential environmental and safety issues, and again, all paving stops.
The costs incurred if a piece of paving equipment breaks down and forces the asphalt laydown crew to stop production, are over $2,500 per minute. A seized gate would similarly shut down that laydown crew, incurring the same costs or more if repairs and clean-up are required.
On many silos, the points needing grease are “remote-lined” out to the side of the gate. Unfortunately, these points are typically 20’ in the air to allow Trucks to drive underneath the gate – a man lift, ladder or something else to elevate the worker is required to grease those points. This leads to potential safety risks, use of harnesses and other safety measures and rental of man lifts. Furthermore, greasing through remote lines can’t be done during production, so it’s either before or after, potentially causing worker overtime.
SILO GATE AUTOMATIC GREASING SYSTEM SOLUTION
The FLO Silo Gate Autogreasing System helps to eliminate the seized gate scenario and the drawbacks of using remote grease lines, and additionally gives you all the standard benefits of an Autogreaser – less downtime, increased productivity, improved worker and environmental safety and more.
The Automatic Greasing System lubricates the four main points of the gate. It is a self-contained grease lubrication system that typically gets mounted on one of the support structures or I-beams of the silo. It is fully monitored, with a grease reservoir and 120V pump at ground level, a single supply line running up to a distribution valve mounted underneath the silo, and heat-resistant feed lines running to the bearing points.
Operation of the Autogreaser is tied into the start of production and is programmed to run on timed (adjustable) intervals. The pump comes on periodically and a small measured amount of grease is sent into the individual bearing points, while the silo is operating, maintaining a consistent grease seal to prevent bearing contamination. Because the bearing is turning when it receives the grease, you get much better coverage and far better protection.
Download Flyer for Silo Gate Automatic Greasing Systems
Reduces unplanned downtime = Increase productivity
Lowers operating costs = Increase your profits
Reduces worker risk of injury = Reduce health claims
Use your standard in-shop grease = No inventory of higher-cost grease
Increases life of critical wear points = Protect your investment
Systems installed at your location = Systems customized to your specific requirements
Contact us now to find out how FLO can help take away your asphalt silo gate pains.
