Troubleshooting Common Small Wood Pellet Mill Problems. Part3

This article will be a series about how to solve the pellet mill problems. First of all, let's be clear that these solutions are especially given to the small pellet mill, or you can say, wood pellet mill, and the pellet machine must be flat-die type. If you have a troubled ring-die pellet press, we may talk about it later in other series, but not here.

This series include three parts. In the first part, we will know about the inner structure of both die-turned and roller- turned small pellet mill. And I will make a brief about how does the wood pellet machine work and how are wood pellets made. In the second part, we will learn how are the crucial parts of the small pellet mill broken, and how to maintain the wearing parts. In the third part, we will talk about pellets, why there are no pellets produced, why the pellets are soft or powdery, what to do if the motor halts suddenly and why the rollers quickly wear out.

Why there are no pellets produced

Fault	Cause	Solution
No pellets are produced	New die has not been ground by oily mixture or ground insufficiently.  Material contains too much moisture. Material is not organic in nature or does not contain proper amount of lignin.	Clean feedstock out of the pelletizing holes and grind the die with oily mixture.  Adjust material moisture content.  Add 3-5% additive binder into the material.

Although the main problems are listed in the frame, I still have some tips to provide.

• First, about the new pellet mills.
  Brand new pellet mill should be properly ground before they are put into use. The die you have received has never been used. Therefore, you need to grind in the mill in advance. Please grind in before the first operation, and if the clients asked, we can grind the new die in our factory before shipping. In case there are clients who prefer to grind the die by themselves, we offer solutions about how to grind the new die, we have answers here, please check the article or find it in FAQ. (How to grind a new die will be posted next week, please wait patiently.)
• Second, about the moisture of the raw materials.
  The requirement of moisture depends on different kinds of raw materials. The moisture content of sawdust is specified to 10%-18%. The materials should be mixed evenly.
• Third, about the binder.
  Our mills are designed to pelletize without any additive binder. However we recommend using a binder, which can increase capacity and extend service life of die, roller and other wearing parts.

why the pellets are soft or powdery

Fault	Cause	Solution
Pellets are soft or powdery	Material is too dry. Die is worn out.	Add water to material Change the die. Most of the die can be used both sides.

To be clear, that the requirement of moisture depends on different kinds of raw materials. The moisture content of sawdust is specified to 10%-18%. The materials should be mixed evenly.

If you want to know more about how to maintain your pellet mill die, please check Troubleshooting Common Small Wood Pellet Mill Problems. Part2, you can get tips there.

What to do if the motor halts suddenly

Fault	Cause	Solution
Motor halts suddenly	Voltage is low. Pressure between roller and die is too high.	Start the mill again when voltage is stable. Adjust the clearance between die and rollers.

 

Talked about the motor, I should remain that, it's very important to check the safety protection before you start the pellet machine. Check whether the safety protection measure is completed or not. Before operation, check electric motor, electric cabinet and wires to prevent the possibility of electricity leakage. Make sure safety shield works well, make sure the floor is dry to avoid any accident.

Why the rollers wear out quickly

Fault	Cause	Solution
Rollers are worn out quickly.	Pellet mill runs for a long time without materials between rollers and the die. Small hard impurities of iron, stone, sands and metal are mixed in materials.	Charge materials in time and make sure materials fill between the die and rollers. Clean away impurities.

 

To know more about how to maintain the roller, check Troubleshooting Common Small Wood Pellet Mill Problems. Part2. With those tips, most of the problems you may run into in the operation of a small wood pellet mill can be solved by yourself, I think. But there must be something else I haven't met or thought about, so if you have more issues need to be solved, I'm happy to accept your messages. Leave your massage below, and I will try my best to give back answers. All the articles about pellet mill problems will be posted at the FAQ. If you are a small pellet mill owner, I recommend that you check our FAQ usually, maybe there are information you need exactly.

GEMCO provide quality pellet mills and plants. And we want to be helpful at the same time. If you're interested in our products, please leave us messages and get a quote. If you already have pellet mills, we are happy to solve your problems and also, we offer ISO spare parts. This troubleshooting series ends here, and other tips on small wood pellet machine will be posted weekly. If there is any trouble you are experiencing and I haven't talked about, leave a message, I'll give answers in the FAQ in the following days.