Hi IOPP Members, I wanted to start sharing some of my knowledge and experiences in the adhesive/hot-melt equipment industry with other professionals in related industries. As a result, I started creating troubleshooting tips for Adhesives and Hot Melt Equipment. I will be covering some of the most common problems when using adhesives and hot melt equipment, the causes of those problems and solutions to prevent those problems in the future. I will be posting on here every other week with a new topic. Please feel free to reply with any feedback or your own thoughts & experiences related to the topic. I also attached the PDF if you want to print it out.
Hot Melt Troubleshooting #1 – Charring In your Hot Melt Machines
If you have ever been around hot melt adhesives and hot melt equipment you have probably heard of char. Char is the most common cause of downtime related to hot melt because it requires to clean/replace your nozzles and tanks. Char is burnt particles of hot melt or contaminants that form insides hot melt machine tanks, hoses, guns, and Nozzles. In this blog I am going to uncover the most common causes for char and solutions for significantly reducing the amount of char in your hot melt equipment.
How Char Forms
Charring is a common problem when using hot melt for packaging applications. The hot melt is typically melted in a square tank at temperatures between 250°F - 400°F. When hot melt is sitting in these tanks, it is typically stagnant and "cooks" like a pizza in the oven would cook. Just like if you left a pizza in the oven for too long it turns black and burns, the same will happen to your hot melt. Different adhesives are more susceptible to charring than others. There are a few common reasons that your hot melt is charring listed below:
- Temperature is too High: I will often go into a new customer that has experienced a lot of charring in their tanks and the first thing I do is look at the temperature and compare it to their current glues Technical Data Sheet (TDS). Often, they are operating at a temperature that is 10°F - 20°F above the suggested operating temperature in their TDS. This will cause your hot melt to cook over time.
- Solutions: Adjust your temperature to the suggested operating temperature in your TDS. Do not leave your hot melt tank on for extended amounts of time (2+ hours). Using a disproportionate tank size relative to glue output.
- Tank is Exposed to Air (Oxidation): Hot melt will char when exposed to excess amounts of air. This often happens when tanks are not kept full of glue or your operators are continually opening and closing the tank lid. This is more common when there is not an automatic feed system to that feeds pellets into the machine.
- Solutions: Always Keep your tank at least 90% full and invest in an automatic feed system if you are using pellets.
- Contamination in your Tank: Every plant has different standards of cleanliness. External contamination of dust and dirt will burn up in your tank and turn into char. Due to the nature of many processes, contamination will always be in the air. If your operators are opening and closing the lids in these plants, the particles will make their way into the tanks and form char.
- Solutions: Always Keep your lid closed except when filling. Invest in an automatic feed system if using pellets. Change your gun or Saturn filters every 3 months and pump filters every 3-6 months.
------------------------------
Nick Woerner
Account Manager
ADQ Inc.
Whitestown IN
(317) 410-4440
------------------------------