Epoxy Backing Grout: The Key to Long-Lasting Crusher Reliability

You likely know about the importance of epoxy grout’s role in ensuring long-term reliability of crusher installation, but what about maintaining their ongoing crushing performance? Well epoxy grout is critical here too, read on.

Crushing is an extreme operation, it generates significant vibration and impact forces, which can reduce equipment life. As both gyratory and cone crushers rely on rotation combined with compression to size the ore, accordingly their mantle, concave and/or bowl liner wear as sacrificial components.

Epoxy backing grout is used to fill the cavities behind and to support these wear components when under load due to its easy of application, moreover its proven durability under extreme duress.

As maintenance schedules vary considerably depending on type, throughput, and abrasiveness of ore, change out frequency of wear linings do so too. Although mine operations can adjust the wear lining thickness and hardness to ‘tweak’ the serviceable life, for example higher grades of mantles and/or concaves including higher manganese content levels, these are far more expensive and can get more brittle with the higher hardness; hence can introduce potential for unplanned shutdown. A gyratory crusher maintenance schedule may require:

• Iron ore: ~3-4x concave change outs per annum

• Copper/Gold: ~1-2x concave change outs per annum

Hence underpinning any ongoing crusher performance is a high-performance, high reliability crusher backing grout that consistently outlasts the maintenance schedule; one that can be applied with ease and is available on demand to help streamline tight shutdown schedules.

Don’t take the risk using a sub-standard crusher backing grout to save some material cost fails, the potential cost in lost operations from unplanned shutdowns can be MASSIVE!

We know this because ITW’s epoxy backing grouts are used throughout the globe, either directly by mine operations, indirectly through contract crusher maintenance services, supplied by reputable crusher spare businesses or directly purchased and recommended by major crusher machine vendors.

The most important criteria are:

Low Shrinkage.

During the hardening or curing stage, controlling the shrinkage of the crusher backing is critical to a successful pour. Using a properly formulated crusher backing compound engineered to manage shrinkage greatly reduces the risk of voids and misalignments between liners.

High Strength

Crusher backing compounds offer a higher level of compressive strength, a broader array of service temperatures, and higher impact and vibration resistance. This level of toughness greatly improves the efficiency and durability of protected components and machinery.

Gap Elimination

By eliminating wear liner gaps and smoothing alignment errors, crusher backing compounds provide equipment with superior impact resistance compared with equipment not treated with a crusher backing compound.

Shelf life / ease of use

Particularly in Australia’s West and North, the ability to be consistently applied, stored, transported and work in extreme conditions is critical.

Availability

Epirez® 5137 has been the crusher backing of choice for decades, with our latest generation formula still designed and manufactured here in Australia. It is available at all major mining distributors throughout Australia.

A quality crusher backing grout, applied on an appropriate maintenance schedule can help extend the life of equipment and related components, minimizes downtime, and lowers replacement part costs. Don’t risk it, use and specify Epirez® 5137.

For product information, including a technical data sheet, click here.