What was failing
BHI Coatings performs Conveyor Pulley and Idler Lagging for industrial plants in Alvin and across the Texas Gulf Coast.
On a bulk conveyor, the drive and bend pulleys carry the belt on a layer of lagging that has to stay rough enough to grip. As that lagging wears smooth, the pulley loses its hold on the belt and the belt starts to slip, especially under load.
The idlers run into the same trouble from a different direction: the belt and the carryback wear the rolls flat and cut grooves into the faces, so the rolls no longer turn round and the belt tracks off line. Once the belt slips and wanders, it spills material, frays at the edges, and drags the whole line down with it.
The usual fix is to pull the pulleys and idlers and wait on replacements, which keeps the conveyor down longer than the plant can afford.
How BHI Coatings approaches Conveyor Pulley and Idler Lagging
We take the pulleys and idlers as we find them and work the metal first. On the pulley shells we strip off the worn lagging and blast back to sound, profiled metal, then rebuild any spots where the shell has lost profile so the new lagging sits true. Over that we apply a tough cold-applied elastomer lagging that grips the belt and stands up to the abrasion coming off the material. On the idlers we build the grooved and flattened faces back up to a round profile and protect them against the carryback that cut them in the first place. Everything is done cold, so there is no hot work on the shells and no waiting on new castings, and the crew gets the conveyor back running true.
Assess the drive train
We inspect the drive and bend pulleys and the idlers to see where the lagging has gone smooth and where the faces have worn flat or grooved.
Strip and blast to sound metal
We remove the old worn lagging and grit-blast the pulley shells and idler faces back to a clean, profiled surface so the rebuild and lagging bond.
Rebuild lost profile
We rebuild any lost shell profile and build the grooved idler faces back up to round with cold-applied composites, no hot work on the rolls.
Apply elastomer lagging
We lag the pulley shells with a tough elastomer that grips the belt, and protect the rebuilt idler faces against the carryback that wore them.
Return to service
We let the lagging cure and check the profile, then hand the conveyor back so the belt drives true without waiting on replacement pulleys.
The result
What Conveyor Pulley and Idler Lagging looks like
Repair and protection work of this kind, performed by BHI Coatings crews across the Texas Gulf Coast.
