The following are standard features incorporated in most systems proposed by Bethel Engineering & Equipment, Inc. They can add up to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings over the life of a finishing system.
1) Our systems start with all stainless steel spray chambers, tanks and burner tubes. Some equipment builders only offer stainless steel as an option. Bethel Engineering bids all systems with 100% of the wetted surfaces fabricated out of high quality 304 stainless steel. We recently replaced a mild steel pretreatment system built by a competitor. In only 5 years it had rusted to the point where it was unusable. A stainless steel system has an estimated use life of 20 years or more.
2) We utilize type 304 stainless steel monorail though the entire washer.
3) Our systems have removable spray risers utilizing cam-loc style couplings. This means shorter down time and ease of maintenance and replacement. Making our risers removable saves countless hours of maintenance time over the life of the unit. Periodic maintenance and cleaning times are cut dramatically because of the ease of removal and assembly.
4) To improve chemical mixing, all concentrate tanks are supplied with eductors. This creates greater turbulence in the solution and prevents "dead" areas where solids and residues can settle out. As these solids are kept in suspension, they can then be removed by the screens and bag filters.
5) Bag filters are standard on all Bethel systems where the concentrates and rinses are prone to generate sludge and residues. This greatly extends pump, spray nozzle and chemical life, and reduces overtime and maintenance costs.
6) Our designs have gasketed, leak-proof, stainless steel doors between stages for ease of entry.
7) Our washer stages have sloped ceilings to drain condensate to sidewalls and eliminate chemical drips on cleaned parts. This one item can save an enormous amount of money on reject parts. It is easier, faster and cheaper to build systems with flat ceilings, but sloped ceilings mean alot to your profits.
8) All our tanks have sloped bottoms to insure efficient drainage and sludge removal.
9) Our designs use a pump gallery catwalk with overhead 3" monorail for ease of pump removal and maintenance. With a hand winch, only one person is required to do this work instead of 2 or 3. Our catwalks insure safe access to all pumps, plumbing and doors in a safe manner, eliminating slippery and dangerous access ladders.
10) The vast majority of our systems apply modular construction for ease of installation and relocation. This is also one of the biggest differences between Bethel and other equipment manufacturers. Part sizes up to 7 feet in height can be accommodated with a one-piece washer. The system will be shipped with the tunnel and tanks assembled, plumbed and wired. Washer sections of up to 65 feet in length can be fabricated and shipped. This means less assembly time at your facility, giving you more time to construct a new building or less downtime when replacing equipment.
This is also one of the greatest value-added features of a Bethel system. Because it is pre-assembled in large sections, it can also more easily be disassembled and moved to another facility or sold. This adds tens of thousands of dollars in resale value when compared to a system, which has to be torched apart.
11) To save you valuable floor space we can design your system with an overhead, rooftop or outdoor cure oven. For example: a typical 2,000 square foot oven when mounted overhead, saves $60,000 worth of floor space. (based on $30/sq. ft.)
12) Our ovens are constructed of 6" aluminized steel panels containing high-density mineral wool insulation. When compared with an oven having only 4" panels, our extra insulation pays for itself in as little as 6 months. After that it is just putting money in the bank for you. All our ovens have insulated walls, ceilings and floors. The floor and ceiling panels are reinforced to allow foot traffic without buckling the panels.
13) Our ovens are of the open convection design utilizing prop-type circulating fans that consume less energy, eliminate the use of ducting and simplify cleaning. Ovens with no ductwork for dirt to hide in produce fewer rejects. Axial fans can move as much air as a centrifugal blower using as little as 1/3 the horsepower. This translates into reduced operating costs for years to come.
14) Our dry-off ovens and cure ovens are completely separate units each having separate burners, air supply and controls. Many equipment builders try to cut costs by making the dry-off oven part of the cure oven or have them share a burner. In many cases this can lead to contamination in the cure oven and result in more rejects. Often a company has had to learn the hard way and finally separate the two processes at great additional expense.
15) Unless otherwise specified, we use Allen-Bradley electrical controls and Honeywell burner and temperature controls. All of our pumps are equipped with remote disconnect feature for ease of lock out/tag out.
The Bethel Company
