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Common Causes of Pellet Machine Malfunctions and Troubleshooting Methods Every Pellet Operator Should Know

Home news-posts Common Causes of Pellet Machine Malfunctions and Troubleshooting Methods Every Pellet Operator Should Know

1. No Raw Material Entering the Pelletizing Chamber

Causes:
  1. Conditioner blockage or arching at the feed inlet.
  2. Fault in the feeder auger drive system.
  3. Blockage in the feeder auger.

Troubleshooting:

  1. Clear the conditioner or feed inlet.
  2. Check the feeder auger drive system and fix any issues.
  3. Clear the material in the feeder auger.

2. Raw Material Enters the Pelletizing Chamber but No Pellets Are Produced

Causes:
  1. Die holes are blocked.
  2. Raw material has too much moisture.
  3. Excessive gap between the die and rollers.
  4. Severe wear of the feed scraper.
  5. Severe wear of the die and rollers.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Clear the feed from the die holes.
  2. Control the moisture content of the raw material and steam.
  3. Adjust the gap between the die and rollers.
  4. Replace the scraper and rollers.
3. Pellet Mill Motor Cannot Start

Causes:

  1. Accumulation of material in the pelletizing chamber.
  2. Electrical issues.
  3. Limit switch not touching the brake disc or the lever on the door.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Remove the accumulated material.
  2. Check the electrical circuits and fix any faults.
  3. Check the limit switch.

4. Noise and Severe Vibration

Causes:
  1. Damaged bearings.
  2. Severe wear of the ring die and rollers.
  3. Too small a gap between the ring die and rollers.
  4. Foreign objects in the conditioner or feeder.
  5. Loose main shaft bearings.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Replace the bearings.
  2. Replace the die and rollers.
  3. Increase the gap between the die and rollers appropriately.
  4. Remove any foreign objects.
  5. Tighten the nuts to reduce bearing play.

5. Unreasonable Fluctuations in Main Machine Load or Uneven Pellet Quality

Causes:
  1. Insufficient steam supply or fluctuating pressure in the steam pipe.
  2. Unstable raw material delivery.
  3. Uneven feeding caused by wear of the deflector scraper.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Check the steam pipeline.
  2. Adjust the feed rate.
  3. Replace the deflector scraper.

6. Pellet Mill Stops During Operation

Causes:
  1. Insufficient tension in the V-belt, triggering the speed controller.
  2. Improper parameter settings in the speed controller.
  3. Severe wear or breakage of some or all V-belts.
  4. Overload or foreign objects jammed between the rollers and ring die causing the main shaft to turn, disengaging the limit switch.
  5. Insufficient clamp pressure or grease on the brake disc causing slippage and disengaging the limit switch.
  6. Electrical faults.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Adjust the V-belt tension or check the hydraulic system pressure gauge and reset the pressure if necessary (carefully).
  2. Reset the speed controller parameters.
  3. Replace the entire set of V-belts; do not replace only part of them.
  4. Reset the main shaft and limit switch.
  5. Reset the clamp pressure or clean the brake disc.
  6. Check the electrical circuits.

7. Frequent Blockages

Causes:
  1. Worn deflector scraper causing uneven material distribution.
  2. Worn rollers.
  3. A roller is stuck.
  4. Incorrect assembly position of the deflector scraper.
  5. High moisture content in the feed.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Replace the deflector scraper.
  2. Replace the rollers.
  3. Check the rollers.
  4. Reassemble the deflector scraper correctly.
  5. Reduce the moisture content.

8. Excessive Temperature Rise at the Main Shaft Head

Causes:
  1. Main shaft bearing clearance too small.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Loosen the compression nut appropriately.

9. Safety Pin Breakage

Causes:
  1. Hard foreign objects entered the pelletizing chamber.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Remove the foreign objects and replace the safety pin.

10. Large Current Difference Between Two Motors

Causes:
  1. The V-belt of the second motor is not tightened.
  2. Uneven fine-tuning of the second motor balance.
  3. Quality issues with the ammeter.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Tighten or replace the V-belt.
  2. Adjust the motor balance.
  3. Replace or calibrate the ammeter.

11. Pellet Machine Emitting Smoke

Causes:
  1. Worn scraper causing a hard layer of material between the roller and the rotor support plate.
  2. Insufficient V-belt tension.
  3. Accumulation of hard material between the roller and the rear support plate forming a hard layer.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Install a new scraper.
  2. Tighten the V-belt.
  3. Remove the hard material and lubricate the main bearing until grease seeps out from behind the support plate.

12. Clicking Sound Every Rotation

Causes:
  1. Metal debris inside the ring die.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Inspect the inner surface of the ring die and remove any metal debris.

13. V-Belt Slippage at Full or Slightly Overload

Causes:
  1. Insufficient V-belt tension.
  2. Inconsistent length of V-belts in the same set.
  3. Grease contamination on the V-belt.
  4. Misaligned V-belt.
  5. Incorrect V-belt shape.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Tighten the V-belt as specified.
  2. Replace the entire set of V-belts with matching ones.
  3. Clean the V-belt and pulley.
  4. Align the motor and intermediate pulley.
  5. Use qualified V-belts.

14. Insufficient Pellet Mill Output with Full Main Motor Load

Causes:
  1. Excessive steam addition (for materials sensitive to temperature and humidity).
  2. The ring die is too thick.
  3. Poor steam quality with high moisture content.
  4. Inadequate conditioning of the material.
  5. Excessive gap between the rollers and ring die.
  6. Overly worn rollers and ring die.
  7. Poor formulation or overly coarse particle size.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Reduce steam addition.
  2. Use a ring die with a thickness suitable for the material.
  3. Adjust the steam supply system.
  4. Increase steam addition or extend conditioning time.
  5. Adjust the gap between the rollers and ring die.
  6. Replace the rollers and ring die.
  7. Adjust the formulation or use a smaller mesh size for grinding.

15. Ring Die Cracks After Wear

Causes:
  1. Foreign objects in the die.
  2. Using an overly thin ring die.
  3. Issues with ring die fastening.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Improve material cleaning.
  2. Use a thicker ring die with stepped holes.
  3. Check if the ring die drive wheel and bolts are tightened, and replace the driv
  4. e wheel if necessary.

16. Roller Bearings Prone to Damage

Causes:

  1. Presence of hard foreign objects in the material.
  2. Excessive gap between the rollers and ring die.
  3. Using inappropriate grease.
  4. Insufficient grease in the rollers.
  5. Using damaged bearing end caps and seals.
  6. Using poor quality roller bearings from other manufacturers.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Improve material cleaning.
  2. Correctly adjust the gap between the rollers and ring die.
  3. Use the specified grease.
  4. Add sufficient grease as specified.
  5. Replace bearing end caps and seals.

17. Timing Belt Damage

Causes:
  1. Timing belt misalignment.
  2. Timing belt is too tight or too loose.
  3. Ingress of grease or dust.
  4. Using a timing belt from an unspecified manufacturer.
  5. Normal wear and tear of the timing belt.
Troubleshooting:
  1. Realign the timing belt.
  2. Readjust the timing belt tension.
  3. Clean the grease or dust and take preventive measures.
  4. Replace with a new timing belt from a specified manufacturer.
  5. Replace the timing belt when it reaches the end of its service life.