One of New Zealand’s largest fruit packing operations has had a triple whammy of benefits from using Challenge Triple Seal Bearings.
Crasborns in Hawke’s Bay was forever replacing bearings in its fruit brush washer units every season.
This was due to the wet and dirty environment created from cleaning fruit.
“Dirty water was penetrating the seals in the bearings making the bearings fail by wearing out or seizing up
They tried a range of protection shields to stop the water getting into the bearings but nothing could resolve the problem.
EQM suggested using the Challenge Triple Seal Bearings and they have so far tripled the life of their predecessors.
Crasborns Packhouse Manager Ross Howard says “the triple seal bearings are definitely worth changing to and are very effective in wet areas. We have only replaced 18 bearings this time rather than 240.”
“Standard bearings wouldn’t even last one season.”
The Challenge triple-sealed bearing units are very competitive as a direct replacement spherical bearing complete with seals that can operate in almost any environment greatly decreasing the cost of bearing units.
“We have been amazed at how long they’ve lasted – they’re now into their third season. They’ve saved down time by almost eliminating bearing failure on the brush washers and saving on maintenance time”.
“They are so satisfied that they are now introducing triple seal bearings throughout the remainder of the plant, even in dry and dusty environments,” Anthony of EQM says.
Triple-sealed bearings feature a secure bearing seal with three lips. This special seal offers reliable dust proofing and waterproofing superior to those of standard bearings.
A bearing life longer than that of a standard bearing unit means extended maintenance intervals, greatly reduced maintenance labour costs for inspection, lubrication and replacements.
Triple-sealed bearings are held on the driven shaft with Challenge’s unique balled setscrew, which features an embedded ball in its tip. Compared with knurled cup point or cup-point setscrews, the balled setscrew provides much greater resistance to loosening, as it does not readily loosen due to vibration or impact.
Challenge bearings conform to the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) for UC-type bearings. It is not only able to be used as a lubricatable bearing, but it also is interchangeable with the conventional bearing units of other manufacturers. It therefore serves as a ready replacement for existing bearing units whether they be metric or imperial.
