LabTecta ends contamination problem at Australian mining company

With Murray Christou

What was the main problem the company was facing and how long had they been struggling to find a solution?

The main difficulty was bearing contamination leading to pulley failure as well as requiring maintenance for checking and changing lubrication for the previous sealing method.

What would have happened if you hadn’t been able to find a solution?

They would have continued as is or looked at doing more frequent pulley change outs.

Is this a common problem in the mining industry, why is the AESSEAL LabTecta 66PB-HD ideal for this sort of application and what would have happened if an alternative had been used?

Yes, it is a common problem. The LabTecta 66PB-HD is ideal because it doesn’t require any lubrication or maintenance and offers IP66 protection that eliminates contamination ingress and increases the MTBF. The alternative solutions require additional lubrication constantly but still allow contamination ingress to the bearings.

What was used pre the installation of the LabTecta 66PB-HD?

A grease purged labyrinth system, which required constant maintenance.

Was this an existing customer? Did they approach AESSEAL and how pleased were they with the work?

Yes it was. We approached them to fix the issue and they are happy with the solution as it has now been operating effectively for more than two years.

How much money will this have saved them and has AESSEAL received any more orders as a result?

It is hard to put a $ value, but we could estimate around $10,000 as it negates the need for continuous grease, and maintenance hours to check the single point lubricators, as well as reducing downtime and improving the MTBF.