MSW Management | Breaking Down The Facts

SUBSCRIBE

COMMENT
ON THIS
ARTICLE

CREATE A LINK
TO THIS ARTICLE
ON YOUR SITE

How preventive maintenance keeps refuse compactors up and running.

By Steve Wilson

There are many different types of vehicles on today’s roads. There are also different types of vehicle owners. Some are very conscious of the maintenance needs of a vehicle, from simply checking the tire pressure once a month to anticipating problems before they become serious repairs. Others drive their vehicles into the ground, not putting a single minute or penny into basic upkeep. In between are the majority of owners who will get the standard 3,000-mile oil change, but who also tend to ignore minor indications of a future issue.

Fortunately, the majority of landfill operations managers are conscientious about equipment maintenance. If they weren’t, landfills would be occupied by piles of broken-down machinery rather than piles of trash.

A sealed tub protects drive components from damage and keeps material out of the engine compartment.

Hinged access doors expedite maintenance by allowing operators to access the engine compartment more quickly and easily.

Because refuse compactors play such a key role in daily landfill operations, proper maintenance is extremely important. Ignoring maintenance isn’t exactly like disregarding an SUV’s “check engine” light. It’s more like trying to overlook smoke coming from underneath the dashboard. In other words, ignoring refuse compactor maintenance can be costly and devastating.

The environment in which a refuse compactor works poses several challenges to the machine. Instead of smoothly paved highways, refuse compactors churn through mountains of pure garbage. Not only that, but they are doing it all day, every day. Throw in the fact that we’re talking about mammoth machines, many of which weigh more than 100,000 pounds, and it’s pretty obvious why refuse compactors need to be taken care of properly on a regular basis.

Addressing specific areas of concern will enhance the longevity and productivity of a refuse compactor, and in the process will keep the cost of ownership to a minimum. While the maintenance requirements shown in the operator’s manual may provide a good start, a few key issues are worth discussing in greater detail.

Cooling System Protection
One of the most important maintenance issues for a refuse compactor involves the amount of debris floating in the air around the active portion of the landfill site. This material can get clogged in a refuse compactor’s radiator and air intakes. Not only are these areas difficult to clean, but the air filters inside are expensive to replace.

With some refuse compactors, the radiator may need to be cleaned once or twice a day. As much as a landfill manager may want to avoid devoting long man-hours to cleaning out the cooling system, it must be done. The engine will overheat if the cooling system is not properly cleaned and maintained.

Some landfill operators have reduced radiator-cleaning intervals by selecting a compactor that is better able to keep debris out of the machine altogether. Look for a machine with the air intake high above grade. It won’t be as prone to internal trash accumulation since it is avoiding the massive amount of debris close to the ground. This doesn’t mean that the maintenance issue is completely avoided, but it is greatly reduced. Because of the reduced contamination, radiators in these compactors only need to be cleaned about once a week. Consequently, the machine spends far more time being productive.

Engine Problems
The cooling system isn’t the only area of a landfill compactor that is prone to trash build-up. The engine can also be vulnerable. As refuse material gets inside the machine, it adversely affects the engine, along with the drive train components. Protecting a compactor’s power source is not only a maintenance issue, but a safety issue as well.

Debris accumulation in the engine compartment at the very least increases maintenance time by requiring cleanout before work can continue. A more devastating scenario, however, is the potential for the engine to become ruined or even to start on fire. Even the slimmest possibility that a machine worth hundreds of thousands of dollars could be destroyed over a lack of cleaning should underscore the importance of routine maintenance.

To simplify engine maintenance, some compactor manufacturers have provided hinged access doors so that the engine compartment can be accessed quickly and easily. Many have also taken the step of designing a sealed tub around the engine compartment that keeps debris out and protects drive components from damage.

Before the dawn of the sealed tub, belly pans were the norm on landfill compactors. The disadvantage that belly pans present is the problem of leaving cracks and seams exposed. Garbage will inevitably make its way through those cracks and into the machine.

The sealed tub simultaneously keeps all materials out of the engine compartment, while also keeping liquids from the engine inside the machine. If the compactor would happen to leak hydraulic oil or coolant, these fluids would stay in the tub until they could be appropriately drained. For landfills that are not licensed for petroleum products, the sealed tub prevents the spillage of fluids, thus saving time and money for unnecessary cleanup and further avoiding environmental impact issues.

Furthermore, the sealed tub creates residual air pressure inside the engine compartment. Because the holes that bring air into the compartment are slightly larger than those pushing air out, a positive pressure is maintained. This helps prevent debris from entering the engine compartment. With so many features contributing to preventative maintenance, a landfill operator would have a hard time denying that a sealed tub is a valuable asset.

Wheel Maintenance
For any piece of equipment, proper maintenance of internal components is always a primary concern. While this is also true of refuse compactors, it would be difficult to talk about their maintenance without also discussing the compactors’ wheels. The wheels, after all, are the tools responsible for cutting and shredding the refuse material on a landfill into smaller pieces that can be more easily compacted.

As with the engine and the air intake, material buildup is a cause of concern around the wheels. A wheel packed with material limits the refuse compactor’s ability to break up and compact refuse and also impedes its tractive effort. Just about anything can wind up in a landfill, and that trash can get clogged between the wheel and the body of the machine. This buildup must be cleaned out on a regular basis. If the trash buildup isn’t removed, the inside of the wheel can wear down. With time and a lack of attention, the wheel could eventually collapse if it becomes too worn.

The design of the compactor itself can also affect the maintenance needs of the machine. Some compactors use a hydrostatic drive system rather than a mechanical drive system.

This permits the use of an oscillating center joint that allows the wheels to be mounted on all four corners close to the body of the machine. By leaving less than an inch of space between the wheels and the frame, there is less chance of material building up in the gap.

Wire in a landfill is another concern. Wire wrapped around a wheel not only can restrict the wheel’s movement, but can also cause damage to the wheel or other components of the compactor. Some manufacturers add a device that acts as a wire cutter on both sides of each wheel to counteract this issue.

While these features are great preventative maintenance tools for keeping the wheels clean, there will still be some amount of material buildup. An operator should manually remove any excess trash to prevent damage to the machine.

Unidentified Flying Objects
In addition to clogging a compactor’s wheels, trash presents another problem when it comes over the top of the wheels. Material coming over the wheels could hit the operator cabin and break the glass. This problem must be addressed, but it would create far too much downtime for an operator to stop every time there was concern about material getting stuck in the wheels or flying up at the cabin.

With this in mind, some manufacturers produce machines with adjustable knockdown or cleaner bars on the front and rear of each wheel. These bars not only provide cabin protection, but also help keep the wheels free of debris to allow maximum tooth penetration.

Prevention Is the Key
Landfill operators undoubtedly need to pay more attention to equipment maintenance issues than an average car owner. Not only is a refuse compactor expensive and expected to perform over a long period of time, but it also must do so under extreme circumstances.

Manufacturers have instituted several product design features to protect compactors and cut down on maintenance time. Still, the complexity of the machine’s function requires careful consideration of how to keep it running at peak efficiency. Therefore, by instituting a simple, yet consistent, preventative maintenance schedule, a landfill operator can ensure the refuse compactor will do its job for the long haul.

Steve Wilson is product development and support manager for BOMAG Americas, Inc.

MSW - November/December 2006