Paying attention to preventative maintenance should start even before you purchase your horizontal grinder.
Buying a horizontal grinder is a significant investment, and in order to make the most of your money, proper maintenance services should be performed to keep your grinder in good shape and running at peak performance. The best way to service your grinder is through regularly scheduled preventative maintenance checkups, which are designed to maximize the longevity of your machine, improve your operation’s productivity, and minimize the chance of extended downtime.
The Benefits of Proper Preventative Maintenance
Paying attention to preventative maintenance should start even before you purchase your horizontal grinder. When considering machine models, size, and horsepower, it is important to choose a grinder that is optimized for your unique use case. Having a grinder optimized for the wrong use case, even with a quality machine, is inefficient and causes faster wear.
After the initial purchase, regular preventative maintenance on your horizontal grinder allows you to stay one step ahead of larger issues. By having your grinder inspected regularly, expert technicians can make sure it is functioning properly. It also allows them to spot smaller issues—a crack or loose bolt, for example—and fix them before they turn into something more serious.
Boost Operational Efficiency
Preventative maintenance helps to ensure that your horizontal grinder is running at peak performance. By spotting the signs of a potential issue, you can address the problem and limit the downtime that would be needed for repairs. Even small operational inefficiencies may be causing components to work double time, wasting fuel, and causing additional wear.
Minor maintenance tasks, like replacing and repairing your horizontal grinder’s screen and teeth, can also help improve efficiency. Not only does it make sense to streamline your machine to handle your specific feedstock, but it also helps to ensure that you are getting the most out of your equipment. For example, damaged rotor teeth force your grinder’s engine to work harder and can cause excess vibration that unbalances the rotor, risking costly downtime to repair and get you back up and running.
Rotochopper B-66 horizontal grinder.
Save Money
Preventative maintenance programs are designed to save you and your operation money. By performing regular inspections and maintenance on your grinder, you reduce the chance of a bigger failure in the future, which could cut into your uptime and, in turn, reduce productivity and potential profit. Seemingly small problems, which may be relatively inexpensive to fix at the time, can become much more expensive corrections if left unaddressed. Preventative maintenance also allows you to budget better, planning ahead for parts that are due for replacement.
Improve Employee and Worksite Safety
A dull knife is more dangerous than a well-maintained, sharp knife; the same is true when it comes to your horizontal grinder. It is important to remember, like any piece of heavy machinery, that horizontal grinders can be dangerous if proper safety precautions are not followed—and if the grinder is not well-maintained. Taking care of your grinder with regular maintenance creates a safer worksite for your employees and lowers the risk of accidents.
Increase Equipment Longevity
Overall, preventative maintenance is the best way to maximize the lifespan of your horizontal grinder. Keeping it well-serviced reduces unnecessary wear and tear, providing increased longevity of your parts and equipment. Given the option, it is always the smarter business decision to immediately address small problems with your horizontal grinder. Depending on market conditions and the company you partner with for your preventative maintenance, the availability of parts and service can be fickle. The last thing you want is to find your operation at a standstill while you wait for an essential part that could have been ordered when you noticed the problem months ago.
Finding a Quality Preventative Maintenance Program
Finding a service department and preventative maintenance plan that you can trust and rely on is essential to your business’ success. By scheduling regular checkups, you can ensure important maintenance is not pushed to the wayside when business is booming.
Personalized Service
No two horizontal grinding operations have the same needs—so, it follows that no two preventative maintenance programs should be the same. A quality provider of preventative maintenance will understand that.
Maintenance visits should be personalized to best serve your operation. Checkup intervals, for example, should be scheduled to cause the least disruption to your business. Technicians should also consider your grinder’s maintenance history, recent performance, operation hours, and typical feedstock.
Responsiveness
When considering preventative maintenance providers, look for a company who can ensure fast, streamlined service without sacrificing quality. If faced with a serious breakdown, there is nothing more frustrating than being unable to get the parts or service you need to get back up and running.
Well-Trained, Knowledgeable, and Thorough
If they are providing service that affects your operation’s efficiency, bottom line, and lifespan, your preventative maintenance technician needs to know your horizontal grinder inside out. In this respect, factory-direct companies tend to have the advantage over third-party providers of preventative maintenance.
Because factory-direct companies design and manufacture their horizontal grinders—as opposed to just making the sale—their service technicians tend to better understand the intricacies of specific models. Having witnessed each innovation to the grinder design, they will be able to expertly identify the warning signs of budding problems with ease.
The Full Picture
It is also important that your service technician respects your horizontal grinder operator’s position. To get a full picture of the grinder’s condition, a good provider of preventative maintenance will discuss past performance, maintenance records, and immediate concerns with your operator. | WA
For more than 30 years, Rotochopper has specialized in equipment that transforms waste materials into profitable opportunities like colored landscape mulch, animal bedding, biomass fuels, and compost. As a factory-direct company, they are uniquely focused on providing innovative solutions and extraordinary customer service to the Rotochopper customers around the world. For more information, call (320) 548-3586 or visit www.rotochopper.com.