No matter what equipment you’re working with, your preventative maintenance program should require a routine, thorough inspection of the equipment at hand. The same holds true for belt conveyors. The following belt conveyor components should be regularly inspected to ensure ideal operation, and to extend the life of the equipment:
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- Straying belts- make sure belts are secure; check for premature damage.
- Material build-up- look for any trouble spots of material build-up, which may bring about accelerated wear on all components.
- Idler wear- can appear as roll wear or excessive roll end play. Adjustment can usually be made by a nut at one end of the roll shaft. Inspection should also be carried out for wear to the brackets and bases.
- Lubrication- the proper amount will be evidenced by a thin head of grease appearing around the pressure relief fitting at the last roll, but not in an excessive amount.
- Extended grease fittings- pressure fittings and pressure relief fittings should be inspected.
- Roll freeze- can be caused by the use of incorrect grease or material build-up on the deck. Frozen rolls should be replaced, since a belt can wear through a frozen roll in a few hours and form a sharp, knife-like edge which will cut the belt.
- Scrapers- the wiper medium on all scraper mechanisms should be kept in good adjustment to keep the return belt clean, and to prevent build-up on snub pulleys and return idlers.
- Drive sprocket and chain- each must have the exact same pitch. The sprockets must be mounted squarely and securely on the shafts. New chains should never be run over worn sprockets. This rapidly reduces the chain life by increasing internal chain loads; excessive wear and breakage results.
For more information on belt conveyor maintenance, contact our Parts Team today!