Rebuilding Concrete Hoppers
Serving the Midwest’s demand for concrete block, these aggregate hoppers have seen better days.
The white areas above the welder, you can see the crushed stone chips from the next bin used to make concrete block. Here the mild steel walls have completely rusted away, allowing the material to mix from one bin to the next. This compromises the quality of the sand/stone mixture.
When this concrete block plant was originally built, the material bins were installed using mild rather than wear resistant steel. Between the non-stop abrasion and high moisture from the sand and stone, it was only a matter of time before the bins deteriorated and needed to be replaced. This has led to structural issues throughout the entire system.
These 7 doors have aggregate hoppers, each with 2 bins containing either sand or crushed rock, for making concrete block. This plant runs 20 hours/day; 5 days/week.
The Decision On What To Do Came Down To 2 Options:
- Do We Buy New Aggregate Bins?
- Or Rebuild The Bins With Better Wear Steel?
When they reviewed the investment to life ratio, it was an easy choice.
To purchase JUST ONE NEW OEM HOPPER of the seven needed, came in $50,000 to $70,000 MORE; than the capital to rebuild all seven of the existing hoppers with JADCO QT-PLUS ®.
JADCO QT-PLUS ® was chosen for the wear plates in the material bins. They will deliver 3 to 5 times longer life than generic AR400. And over 8 times longer than mild steel.
JADCO’s QT-PLUS ® is 500 BHN hardness. The customer is projecting this application will last 30 years.
They knew that QT-PLUS ® would stand up, since it has delivered greater life in their loaders, screens and crushing equipment since 2008. This gave them confidence to rebuild the bins and hoppers while also ignoring the constant wear.
This photo from 2008 was their first loader bucket lined with QT-PLUS ®. It is still in use today and has not been replaced. Previously they were replacing AR400 liners every other season.
By replacing them individually, production can continue during this upgrade. Here, the two left hoppers have been updated and the right side will be next.
You can see how the abrasion and moisture has rusted out the side walls. The material below is not in any better shape.
These pipes above the rebuilt hopper are heater tubes. These keep the sand and stone from freezing up in cold weather, to prevent the material from plugging. The original heater tubes were made from galvanized mild steel, and were totally rusted through.
When the material was removed from the bins, the old rusted pipes were lying in the bottom, obviously not working as designed.
The new tubes are stainless steel to avoid the corrosion issues.
Here you see the two new bins making up one hopper. The contractor received 96” x 288” full plates and cut them to size on site, assuring an accurate fit.
Your Applications Can See Similar Wear Resistant Improvement.
Which Areas Do You Want To Upgrade?
JADCO’s QT-PLUS ® delivers greater performance IN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING WEAR APPLICATIONS than the various AR400 steel plates you have used previously.
Being able to create wear resistant steel having the same hardness through the entire thickness of the steel, demands you accurately control the alloying chemistry with precise heat treating.
Doesn’t Every Steel Company Make Their Wear Plate Last As Long As JADCO QT-PLUS ®?
The quick answer is No; although the attention to detail required at the steel mill in Pennsylvania is available to anyone. Yet most wear plate distributors choose to reduce the proper quantities and percentages of these essential alloying elements, to get a lower selling price.
When you cut back on these critical alloys, wear life drops and it is always the customer who suffers.
For the past 43+ years, JADCO has provided the longest lasting wear resistant steel to heavy industry. As the industry leader, we know what will deliver the best results for your equipment.
Now you understand why we are able to deliver better results to our customers. We think differently by strictly focusing to improve your current results.
Allow us to help you today by calling 724.452.5252, or email info@jadcomfg.com.
We will schedule a meeting with one of our local wear plate specialists at a time that best fits your schedule.
Remember, the only thing you have to lose by not working with JADCO, are your profits.
