Separator Trouble shooting

christian burgoyne,

Are you adding any powders to the product prior to separating, such as calcium chorides?

This is extremly hard on the separators.

There are a number of things that it can be, we'll take it one step at a time, of what I experienced

Phoenix911

Phoenix,

No we are not adding any powders.

Christian

Can you give us some information on the type or brand of seperator? There are several designs out there that work in slightly different ways.

Steve,

GEA Westfalia seperator AG

Model: MSE 500-48-777

2007

Max Bowl speed rated in MIN. -1 :4800

Max Density feed kg/dm3: 1,0

Heavy liquid kg/dm3: 1,0

Min.Max throughput M3/H: 20/27,3

Min/Max temp product in deg. C: 5/100

That is all the info

Christian

It has been a (nostalgic) long time.

To me it sounds like a loose fit of the new shaft in the sealing bearing and that some lubricating stuff is worked into the milk.

Have the repair shop check it again.

Do it reach the right speed?

Hendrik,

It is reaching the correct speeds.

I think your first instincts are pretty good. What are the chances you bent one of the rotating sections when the shaft went? Would not be the first time I have heard of such happening.

What a nostalgia trip. I've only ever worked with hand cranked separators, but can sympathise with you.

Is the speed of the shaft/cones correct? You talk about clupms and strings. I suspect that means that you are making butter because of some differential speed as though the cones are not spinning properly and beating the material that is between them.

Maybe the "unable to close the bowl" symptom means that a shoulder or step on the shaft is holding the device open and since it's not clamping, the cone speeds are not matched to the shaft.

The other (again relating to speed) thing is "Have the maintenance people changed the drive pulley/sproket size?" (And thus changed to actual operating speed for the same drive speed.)

Hope this has been of help.

This is the gizmo. Sorry I am not familiar with this style of seperator. Hopefully someone else can help..

http://www.westfalia-separator.com/en/pro_sep_food/pro_sep_food_mse.php

Sir:

I have read responses through # 9.

Opinion of an old dairyman.

Too long retention in the timed release area of the (based on the video) could create some re cycling of the separated heavies.

With milk re feeding the separated cream back through the separator will produce similar material as you describe to the point of total clog of transit areas.

Personal experience/expirements coducted 65 years ago...........though in milk separation there is normally a constant output of the split fractions........not the timed release of your machines design.

Excess accumulation in the "held" area could also come from a "richer than before" input product with the same original functional discharge timing.

Just an opinion.

Sugestion;

Watch the company video again and think of the agitation possibility of some excess in the "held" area being impacted by the rotational proximity of the spinning cones and added spurts of ejected heavies.

I also have experience in industrial applications...oil fields....miniscule soilds from salt water.

Curiosity questions how the shaft was bent?

MR. GUY.

Wisdom in that, there is the valve on top of the separator for that kind of adjustments.

My first thought is also about the timing of the solids release. Dela valve (sp) was the separator that we used years ago. no time release just a seal and weight differential that caused the different materials to flow to different levels. Multiple outputs from the rotating plates and drum.

Your description reminds me of the results from over loading of the old system in the dairy barn. Suggest you change the delay for solids and eject a little more at a more frequent timing. This should clear up your run and prevent solids from contaminating the clarified product.

reply to 12

I think I would back off the valve to get a "contaminated flow" of the heavies, then valve down to the desired separation..

I also wonder if when in use before new shaft there was possibly a prior degradation of RPM...changinging the matrix separation point in prior use on lower RPM that is now a moot point.

Also see the "leaking seal" as a point of re injection into the inbound flow...enriching the matrix, creating a surging reaction in accomplished separation........

[just trying to mentally justify the "strings" results indicated. I have never experienced that condition/reaction in any experiment]

We did use a secondary cyclonic emitter ...about fist size....to drop -5 micron gold particulate created by a Ph alteration/ionic exchange behind a big De Laval 50 HP separator...sort of a phase 2 step whose constant output was only damp solids...not fluid....tricky to adjust but precluded an accumulation of a hazmat waste fluid disposal problem..... the minor residual fluid evaped at smelting stage of the gold particulate when creating poured bars for market. Fumes exited through a air scrubber with that neutralized/removed adverse Ph or particulate.

If the matrix input is a dairy product the "solids not fat" variation can alter the consistency of the separated heavies...?/// point of "string" creation????

(as you can see...those "strings" really bother me...can't seem to get my mind around the cause)

MR. GUY.