Wet Lubrication

Application of wet lubricant to steel slat conveyor

Wet Lubrication
In wet lubrication systems, automatic dosing equipment dilutes concentrated lubricant down to typically 0.1 to 1%v/v in water. The resulting solution is then distributed around the conveyors via jets located at convenient points (typically the end of discrete section of track). Rather than spraying continuously, timers allow lubricant to be dosed in short bursts. By adjusting concentration and timing, different amounts of lubricant can be delivered to different unit operations. For instance, around a Pasteuriser outlet there is typically a need for more lubricant than for lines approaching packaging machines.
In addition to providing lubrication to track surfaces, wet lubricants are designed to:-
Provide detergency to remove spillage and environmental soiling from conveyor surfaces.
Provide passive lubrication to bearing and drive shafts.
Some wet lubricants also provide a biocidal or biostatic property to aid slime control.
Traditionally wet lubricants are based on solutions of soap. These provide excellent slip properties, but must either be used with softened water, or be formulated to contain a suitable chelant. When hard water is used in conjunction with a chelated lube, it is essential to match the minimum use strength for compatibly with the level of water hardness, this can result in very high delivery strengths and excess foam. Careful optimisation of dose timers is then needed to prevent foam fouling electric eyes/movement detectors. Synthetic wet lubricants do not generally contain soaps; instead they use a variety of molecules that are inherently hard water compatible.