Mixing Your Way to Better Yields and Less Line Downtime – Our Meat & Poultry Blog Series
Admix was the first manufacturer to introduce stainless steel drive mixers to the Meat, Poultry and Seafood processing industry back in 1991. We’ve gained exceptional knowledge along the way! Today we continue our tradition of innovation and sharing our application expertise. Here are a few things that can help extend the life of your mixers, and maybe other pieces of equipment in your plant as well!
How to deal with motor condensation
On stainless steel and white epoxy coated wash-down duty motors, the motor manufacturers (especially Baldor) provide “weep” or drain holes holes in the motors. Condensation can build up in a motor as it warms and cools and they want it to drain. Replacement motors tend to have the bottom holes open (when the shaft is horizontal) and the others plugged. The issue is that in a vertical position, water or moisture that gets into a motor will end up in its bearings and in a shaft down position, that moisture will seep down into the mixer or other device and cause its bearings to fail. Our experience is that plugging all the weep holes in a vertical shaft mixer motor is best. If they aren’t threaded and allow to put in a bolt or setscrew, an option is to use silicon.
Keep an eye on your built in RXRS Breather
Because stainless steel does not dissipate heat like other metals, we found that normal surface temperatures for a 3450 RPM mixer will normally reach 145ׄ°F and 100°F on 1800 RPM. When the mixer then cools during non-running times, the delta can be up to a 100°F change! In the cold, damp environment of a protein plant, this creates condensation.Admix went to work to address this problem head on.
Years ago, we worked with a supplier to come up with a Gortex breather that allows pressure normalization and moisture to escape but does not allow moisture to penetrate. Once we developed that, we then added O-Rings and “sealed” up the Rotosolver RXRS bearing frame. In our regular audits of plants, we sometimes find the SS covers have broken off due to many years of heavy power washing. When this happens, the Gortex breather pad gets exposed and the first time a sanitation person blasts it with a HP water wash, the Gortex is gone and this becomes a direct water entry point. Breathers really work great but if they go missing, they will be a culprit for bearing failure and need to be replaced.
Reduce Cost of Ownership – Go PM!
Did you know that the latest Admix model 125RXRS series has a modular bearing frame assembly that only takes minutes to change out? If you experience a malfunction and have a spare, you could easily swap it out and get back up and running with minimal disruption to your brine or marinade mixing. Send the swapped out assembly to us and our factory experts will rebuild it at a low cost. Plus, this maintains your warranty indefinitely! Ask for details!
Whether you need a replacement or spare part for your Admix unit, want to learn more about Preventative Maintenance or schedule service, we’ve got you covered. Our teams are available daily to answer all your questions. Contact us any time.
Jesper Sæderup Lindeløv, Managing Director
Knud Erik Juhl Jensen, General Manager, Admix Europe ApS
Patrick Lakin, Director of Sales and Marketing
Kara Martakos, Human Resources Director
Keith Cheries, Director of Sales Operations
Eric Therriault, Vice President of Engineering
Bob Trottier, Vice President of Operations
Dan Cameron, Chief Financial Officer
Mike Rizzo, Chief Executive Officer