What You Need to Know Before Switching Adhesives in Your Hot Melt Tank

In a recent blog post, we detailed certain hot melt tank preventive maintenance tips to help avoid costly equipment issues and downtime. Now, take a look at these tips on how to properly switch adhesives in your hot melt tank to keep it running efficiently and effectively. Always Consult Your Adhesive Supplier First Often, production plants switch from using one type of adhesive in a hot melt tank to using another. It’s important to check with your adhesive supplier prior to making the switch to ensure compatibility. The supplier can then:

• Assure you if the two adhesives are compatible
• Provide purge materials to run if they aren’t compatible

Understand What Can Happen if You Use Incompatible Adhesives If a plant switches from one adhesive type to another and the two aren’t compatible, the following issues can occur:

• Adhesive residue can build up in the hot melt tank, causing it to fill with a substance that won’t fully melt.
  • This causes the tank to not run as efficiently or effectively.
• The hot melt tank’s gear pump can get locked up and its filters clogged.
  • This may require the tank to be sent out for maintenance and repair, resulting in costly downtime and production delays.

Keep in Mind the Overall Impact It’s important to note that downtime may be for an extended period of time, depending on the state of the hot melt tank and the work needed to repair it. This otherwise avoidable issue can significantly impact plant productivity and ability to meet output demands. Additionally, plants may assume switching from one rubber-based adhesive to another rubber-based adhesive means the two products are compatible. This is not always the case and can be a costly assumption to make. Likewise, switching from a rubber-based to an acrylic adhesive does not ensure compatibility, either. Therefore, it’s especially important that you consult with your adhesive supplier first to mitigate risk and impact. Bostik works directly with customers to solve hot melt adhesive issues and ensure compatibility is met. Additionally, Bostik maintains a close relationship with Valco Melton, a company that designs and manufactures adhesive dispensing equipment. By working together, these two companies are able to keep customers’ plants running efficiently and effectively. For more information on switching adhesives in hot melt tanks, visit www.bostik.com.