10 Essential Tips for Picking the Perfect Conveyor Belt Cleaner

Matching the width of a belt cleaner blade to the material path on a conveyor belt offers several benefits that allow operators to get the most for their money out of their blades, enjoy the best possible cleaning performance, and eliminate improper wear and tear on both the blades and the belt.

"Simply put, if your belt cleaner blade isn't making contact with the belt in the material path, you're not cleaning the belt."

#1. Effective Material Removal

The whole point of installing belt cleaners is to maintain a clean belt and mitigate the long list of problems and maintenance caused by material carryback and spillage.

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When the blade matches the material path, it ensures that the cleaner makes full contact with the belt surface where material is present. This maximizes the efficiency of material removal, reducing carryback and minimizing spillage.

Less material carryback and spillage means no more frozen idlers, improved belt alignment, and less time cleaning up around conveyors.

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Simply put, if your belt cleaner blade isn't making contact with the belt in the material path, you're not cleaning the belt. Sounds obvious, but blades that extend outside the material path end up in that exact scenario. See point #2 below to find out how.

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#2. Reduced Wear and Tear

Proper sizing reduces uneven wear on the blade. Have you ever noticed an oddly worn belt cleaner blade smiling at you? As the blade wears normally in the middle where it's scraping material off the belt, the ends of the blade outside of the material path don't wear as quickly.

The result is a belt cleaner blade that is worn in the middle and not on the ends, causing a smiley face curve to form across the cleaning edge of the blade. While the ends of the blade remain in contact with the outer edges of the belt, the middle is no longer in contact with the belt and material passes right through as if there were no belt cleaner installed at all.

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A properly matched belt cleaner blade wears evenly and provides a longer lifespan for the blade and fewer replacements, lowering maintenance and wear part costs.

Furthermore, a blade that matches the material path applies even pressure across the belt, reducing the risk of damage to the belt itself, which can be costly to repair or replace. 

#3. Improved Safety

By effectively removing residual material carryback, there is less spillage along the conveyor, reducing the risk of slips, trips, and falls in the areas around conveyor systems.

As material carryback accumulates on the underside of the belt, it adheres to rolling components and falls onto structure, walkways, and the ground below the conveyor. This spillage builds up, causing rolling components to seize, belts to mistrack, and supports to rot.

More troublesome than the damage to equipment is the risk carryback and spillage pose to workers and the increased clean-up and maintenance work required in close proximity to conveyors. Slips, trips, and falls are dangerous anywhere, but especially so on walkways alongside running belts.

Piles of fine material create surfaces with loose footing and stray rocks make uneven surfaces with the potential to trip or roll an ankle.

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An additional and significant advantage of reduced carryback is the mitigation of airborne dust. Proper cleaning helps in controlling dust by eliminating the distribution of material fines along conveyors, which can become airborne once dry and pose a significant health and safety hazard. 

#4. Energy Efficiency

When the blade is properly fitted to the material path, it creates less drag on the conveyor belt, reducing the energy required to move the belt and, consequently, lowering energy consumption. 

While some drag from necessary components to keep conveyors running properly and productively—such as belt cleaners, support cradles, and belt sealing—is unavoidable and acceptable, no additional unnecessary drag should be incurred.

#5. Operational Efficiency

Matching the blade to the material path helps maintain consistent cleaning performance, which leads to fewer interruptions in production due to belt cleaning issues. Belt cleaners should be reliable components that perform as designed and require minimal attention and only routine maintenance.

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With effective cleaning and reduced wear, the conveyor system requires less frequent maintenance, keeping staff focused on more critical tasks and leading to greater uptime and productivity.

#6. Cost Savings

Reduced wear on both the belt and the cleaner blade extends the life of the conveyor system components, resulting in long-term cost savings. 

Improved cleaning efficiency translates into fewer unscheduled downtimes for maintenance, contributing to higher overall productivity. 

Ensuring that the belt cleaner blade matches the material path optimizes the performance and longevity of the conveyor system, leading to safer, more efficient, and cost-effective operations.

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