Maintenance Tip of the Month: How to Diagnose and Solve Alignment Issues With Your Belt Filter Press

Are you Experiencing Tracking Problems with Your Belt Filter Press?

Did You Know? Uneven sludge distribution and misaligned belt seams result in poor performance and may cause tracking problems. Over time, this will damage belts (e.g., wear, seam fatigue/failure, wrinkles) and wear rollers. Both unplanned downtime and replacement parts can be costly for your belt press operations.

While it is hard to have a belt in perfect alignment all of the time, here are some tips that may be helpful.

Pro-Tips:

• Generally, a seam that is straight within 4-6” is “okay.”
• A seam with a misalignment of 12” or more requires action. After making adjustments, it will typically take 1-2 hours, or more, to see the complete effect on the belt seam.

Observations About Sludge Distribution

Good immediate indicators of your belt press’s sludge distribution are:

• observations of sludge flow down the incline of the feedbox onto the gravity table and
• sludge build-up at the leveling gate at the end of the table

Ideal distribution is slightly heavier at the edges – which can be observed at the leveling gate – to compensate for the edges spreading in the pressure zone.

Changes in belt press feed rate and/or sludge feed consistency may result in an uneven sludge distribution that will need to be addressed. This can be achieved through manipulation of the feedbox paddle speed and/or furrowing plow adjustment.

The feedbox paddles require periodic cleaning.  This practice should be incorporated into the normal belt press cleansing procedure.

Guide to Common Causes of Belt Misalignment and How to Fix Them

Case #1: Sludge Distribution is heavy on both sides of the belt and light in the middle.

• Cause: Feedbox paddle is too slow
• Solution: Increase feedbox paddle speed

Case #2: Sludge Distribution is heavy in the center of the belt.

• Cause: Feedbox paddle is too fast
• Solution: Decrease feedbox paddle speed

Case #3: Sludge Distribution is heavy on the right side of the belt.

• Cause: Imbalance from feedbox due to flow change
• Solution: Direct sludge to the left side of the machine with one row of furrowing plows

Case #4: Sludge Distribution is heavy on the left side of the belt.

• Cause: Imbalance from feedbox due to flow change
• Solution: Direct sludge to the right side of the machine with one row of furrowing plows

Contact Us for assistance with addressing uneven sludge distribution, belt press cleaning, replacement belts, and the entire range of belt press services that the Micronics team offers.