Chocolate Tanks
Description : In the food process industry, any kind of leakage in production equipment is unacceptable. Wasting product can be a major expense plus it creates unsanitary conditions in the plant. To solve this problem, traditional mechanical packing can be replaced with CinchSeal®.
CinchSeal® a leading provider of sealing technologies, manufactures the CinchSeal®. The CinchSeal® is designed to prevent leakage in process equipment such as mixers, pug mills, screw conveyors and air locks.
Many equipment suppliers are providing CinchSeal® in place of the outdated mechanical packing. In 2003, a manufacturer of chocolate equipment supplied a major chocolate manufacturer in Pennsylvania with more than 30 pieces of equipment-all equipped with Cinchseals.
According to Drew Schmidt, President of Wm. A. Schmidt & Sons, “We chose Cinchseals for the new equipment because they are easier to install and simpler to maintain. The old style mechanical packing requires periodic adjustment, and can wear the shaft. If it is not properly and frequently maintained, the chocolate leaks out of the stuffing box. The CinchSeal®, on the other hand, has none of these issues. The shaft seal is one piece—split silicone elastomer that is static to the shaft— not multiple rings of packing—so installation and maintenance are easier and more cost effective.” With the addition of an air purge, extended seal life can be expected.
David Pitchko, President of CinchSeal®. explains the unique design of the Cinchseals. “The concept is to transfer the seal interface from the surface of the rotating shaft to a larger, self-lubricating and self-cleaning interface provided by the CinchSeal® module plates and rotor cup washers. The seal is an inherently low friction design.”
To ensure the best possible seal design for the equipment recently delivered to their customer in Pennsylvania, Wm.A. Schmidt & Sons worked closely with CinchSeal® engineering team. Ït was definitely a collaborative effort that included a lot of input and feedback from the chocolate manufacturer,” says Schmidt. “We are encouraging companies to replace the old packing seals with Cinchseals and offering the technical support and instructions on how to install the seal.
In addition to providing seals for the chocolate industry, Cinchseals have been used in applications including spices, chemical, aggregates and pulp. CinchSeal® is located in Pennsauken, N.J.
Return on Investment when converting to CinchSeal VS. Packing:
Old Method of Braided Packing Based On 5000 gallon McCarter Choc. Tank for 4 ½ inch shaft:
Sealing with Mechanical Packing Cost:
Old Method of Sealing: |
|
| 1″ Teflon® Packing costs $150 / pound 5 rings to fill stuffing box weighs 8.75lbs x two stuffing boxes If packed twice per year (150×8.75=$1312.50×2=$2625×2 times/year) |
$5250.00 Per Year |
| Labor to Install Packing / Housekeeping 2 Men x 4 Hours x $65.00 per Hour = $ 520.00 $180 Labor x 2 Times per year |
$720.00 Per Year |
| Product Lose due to Leakage Leakage Rate of 200 pounds per month x 12 Months = 2400 Pounds 2400 Pounds x .18 Cents per Pound |
$430.00 Per Year |
| Total operating cost when Packing twice/year | $6,400.00 Per Year |
CinchSeal Method of Sealing: |
|
| Seal Cost OFXT 4.5 shaft Chocolate tank CinchSeal Seal Cost $ 2,000.00 each x 2 seal units initial installation |
$4,000 |
| Labor to Install Seals 1 Man x 4 Hours x $65.00 per Hour = $ 260.00 $260 Labor, one time per year |
$260.00 |
| Product Lost Leakage Rate of 0 Pounds per Week x 52 Weeks = 0 Pounds 0 Pounds x .29 Cents per Pound |
$0.00 per Year |
| Total Operating Cost First Year | $4,260.00 |
Comparison |
|
| Old Method Of Sealing Cost Per Year | $6400.00 per Year |
| CinchSeal Method Of Sealing Cost First Year |
$4,260.00 per Year |
| Savings First Year | $2,140.00 |
| CinchSeal Second Year | $0.00 |
| Old Method | $6,400.00 |
| Cost savings at second year | $6,400.00 |
As you can see changing to the CinchSeal Chocolate Tank Seal can save your company on average $2,120 the first year and $6,400 per tank the second year.
Presently, our seals have been running for four years resulting in savings of approximately, $19,200 per tank.