ForConstructionPros.com

In an industry where downtime usually makes the difference between profit and loss, proper and diligent maintenance practices should be a major part of every crushing operation. But don’t become paranoid about it and overdo in the extreme. That can actually cause you problems.

Four experienced crushing professionals offer their views on proper maintenance of horizontal impactor plants used for crushing limestone, concrete and asphalt rubble. An impact crusher requires more maintenance than a jaw crusher, but each operator believes the impactor to be more efficient for concrete and asphalt recycling, and for crushing most limestone.

Each expert emphasized the obvious importance of following the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule and procedures.

John Thompson, president, Thompson Recycle, Tecumseh, MI

Thompson Recycle crushes about 95 percent asphalt rubble. The company employs an electric-motor-powered Grasan road-portable crushing plant with a Hazemag 1515 APSE horizontal-shaft impactor. Thompson states:

We run our crushing operation from March 15 through December 15. We’ve been in business for about nine and a half years and have moved from one site to another more than 500 times. We’ve crushed about 14 million tons of asphalt rubble, and our plant is still solid, efficient, dependable and runs like a top.