Why Wood Pellet Mill Maintenance Is Vital

In previous articles we have explained many of the differences between animal feed pellet mills and wood pellet mills. We have also discussed the importance of the design of the die, and why a wood pellet mill is die is very different that other dies. Its very important to note this down.

Once the right pellet machine has been purchased it is proper maintenance that will make sure that it works as you require of it. The key areas of maintenance are grease, oil and die condition. Something you should always keep in mind with making wood pellets and operating a wood pellet machine is that the temperatures you will be dealing with will be higher than other pellet mills. Therefore this means you need to use higher quality oils in the gearbox and also higher quality grease in the rollers and die. Serious damage can be done to the gear box if the condition of the oil and level of oil is not given the attention it deserves. Likewise for the grease in the rollers and the bearings on the drive shaft for the die. Extreme temperature grease is required and in some cases automated grease systems are used to make sure the rollers are always properly greased. Once the bearings and gearbox are taken care of it comes down to making sure the die is cared for. We will take for granted that the holes in the die are properly finished and smooth. The maintenance aspect is keeping them in that condition. The enemy here is corrosion as the dies are made from carbon steel. Carbon steel is used as it is the strongest and cheapest to produce. During processing heat is produced and moisture is released from the wood. Once the pellet mill has stopped processing and there is no material flow this moisture will start the attack the surface of the metal. Basically it will start to make the surface of the holes rough and this can lead to frequent blockages. Sand, oil and bran can be used.