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Many businesses face challenges during the processing, storage and transport of materials, including minimizing product losses, reducing vapor emissions, decreasing the risk of explosions and/or keeping operating pressures close to the maximum allowable tank pressure.

One key to reducing such challenges is a quality tank hatch. Tank hatches can be used for bulk storage silos, grain elevators, baghouses for cement, food products, grain and industrial products.

They provide venting when adding and removing product from storage silos or other structures. In addition, hatches enable access to the tanks and silos if an employee has to enter to clean or inspect the structure. They feature a large, 24-inch opening for access. A weather hood provides protection from environmental elements, and there are no internal components that may contaminate the product.

Other specifications include: stand-off extension tube, flanged matching-bolt pattern for easy installation, stainless-steel construction that withstands harsh environments, minimal effect on air flow rate, and the internal configuration allows air flow while protecting the PRV hatch.

KC Supply sells a variety of tank hatches and also is the only Knappco authorized repair facility in the United States for Knappco tank hatches. Our Knappco factory-authorized repair center employs factory-trained repair personnel and specialized testing equipment. We can disassemble and clean spring assemblies as well as reassemble and test Knappco tank hatches to factory specifications.

Whether you need to repair your current Knappco tank hatches or purchase a new one, call your tank hatch experts at KC Supply, 800.527.8775 or 800.KC.SUPPLY, or visit www.kcsupply.com.

“Lagging” is the term used to describe the application of a coating or cover applied to a pulley. As more conveyor systems are being built to go faster with increased capacity, the importance of pulley lagging is obvious.

Lagging is often applied in order to extend the life of the pulley by providing a replaceable wearing surface or to improve the friction between the belt and the pulley, thereby preventing costly maintenance and replacement of damaged pulleys. It also can reduce the chance that a belt will slip. Slipping belts will wear out, cause fires and damage your equipment. There are three common types of lagging used on pulleys:
1. Rubber – This lagging is soft and won’t damage the belt but also does not have a long lifespan. Drive pulleys are often rubber-lagged to improve the friction between the conveyor belt and the pulley.
2. Ceramic – This lagging is used in instances where the pulley operates in extremely aggressive conditions.
3. Replaceable strip – This lagging comprises a series of steel support strips, which are welded or bolted to the pulley. The lagging material, which is either rubber or ceramic strips, is then slid into the steel retaining strips to provide lagging on the pulley.

Pulley lagging lowers maintenance costs, minimizes downtime, extends the life of pulleys, easy to install and replace, and is self-cleaning. The only maintenance pulley lagging requires is

• Regularly inspecting and monitoring its condition
• Repairing local damage before it affects other areas
• Ensuring that re-lagging of pulleys is done by experienced personnel to maximize the life of the lagging
• Having a spare pulley available so that a damaged pulley or damaged lagging can be removed from service

If you have questions or want to know more about pulley lagging, the experts at KC Supply Co. can help. We are your trusted source for pulley lagging and field-formable lagging, which offers on-the-spot re-lagging. Call 1.800.KC.SUPPLY or visit www.kcsupply.com

Conveyors are only as good as the belts they are fitted with, but choosing the right conveyor belt is a critical, yet often overlooked, detail. The wrong belt can significantly affect your throughput, cost, downtime and safety, so you need to get it right.

So how do you choose the best belt for your conveyor? When it comes to choosing the best belt for your specific application, there are many considerations, including:

• The material or materials you need to move
• The size, weight and distribution of the materials to be conveyed
• The environment the conveyor will operate in (temperature, dry or wet conditions, hazards, etc.)
• The speed the materials will need to travel and whether they move up or down

Conveyor belts are available in a variety of materials, cover thicknesses and grades that can be selected to meet your specific application. Available materials for belting include: rubber, PVC, urethane, neoprene, nylon, nitrile, polyester and kevlar.

For grain and feed applications, PVC and heavy-duty rubber belting are both good options. No matter which conveyor belt you decide is best for you, make sure that the belting meets or exceeds OSHA safety standards for static conductivity and Mine Safety Health Act (MSHA) flame-resistance standards.

When you select the right belts for your application and needs, make sure to also consider how that belting should be maintained, replaced or modified, and the associated costs.

If you need help determining the best belts for your conveyor and your agricultural application, call on KC Supply Co. to help. KC Supply Co. offers a full supply of conveyors, belts and accessories. We have the equipment, parts and accessories you need for your business, including bucket elevator belts, elevator buckets, bolts and parts. Call our knowledgeable sales staff today, 800.KC.SUPPLY.

To keep your facility safe, you need a way to accurately monitor the atmosphere for dangerous gas levels. Because most gases are undetectable to humans, it is critical that you have the right tools to keep your personnel and property safe at all times.

Gas monitors are typically portable, allowing workers to clip them onto their uniforms when working in an area that might have gas leaks. Monitors can detect one or several different gases simultaneously.

Two new Draeger personal-use monitors are now available from KC Supply Co.: the X-am 8000 multi sensor monitor and the PAC 8500 dual sensor.

The Draeger PAC 8500 dual-gas detection device is a reliable and precise monitor even under the toughest conditions. It can be equipped with a hydrogen-compensated CO sensor or a Draeger dual sensor. This gives you the option of measuring two gases at once: hydrogen sulphide with carbon monoxide or oxygen with carbon monoxide. It provides a data and event logger for recording concentrations and events along with the date and time. Dual sensors enable detection of even low concentrations, all in one device. Measuring two gases at once reduces downtime, as well.

Other features include:

• Large display
• 360-degree alarm signal can be easily seen from all sides
• Clear color-coding prevents mistakes
• Easy fastening with tightly closing crocodile clip

The Draeger X-am 8000 multi-gas detection monitor makes clearance measurement easy and convenient. The X-am 8000 measures up to seven toxic and flammable gases, vapors and oxygen all at once, either in pump or diffusion mode. Innovative signaling design and handy assistant functions ensure complete safety throughout the process. A pump adapter makes it easy to switch between diffusion and pump mode at any time. This means the pump only operates when you actually need it, saving energy, reducing wear and tear and extending the pump’s lifespan. Handy and durable, the X-am 8000 is intuitive to operate single-handedly using three function keys. The easy-to-read color display clearly shows all the information for you.

Additional features include:

• Switch easily between pump and diffusion mode
• Optional Bluetooth module to connect with the CSE Connect app for Android
• Easy-to-read color display with zoom function
• Five slots for DraegerSensors to measure up to seven gases, two new high-performance PID sensor

Gas monitors are a vital safety tool for your facility and employees. KC Supply Co. will help keep your workplace safe. If you don’t have gas monitors, or have old models that need to be upgraded, call 1.800.KC.SUPPLY to discuss your needs and we’ll offer solutions. We can answer any questions you may have about gas monitors, especially Draeger gas monitors.

Visit KC Supply Co. at GEAPS Exchange 2018

Come see KC Supply Co. at the Grain Elevator and Processing Society’s GEAPS Exchange 2018 – the “biggest and best show in the grain industry!”

The show, to be held March 24-27, 2018, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, features the best education, networking and expo in the grain industry. In the Expo hall, hundreds of suppliers from all over the world will display and demonstrate a variety of products and services. The Exchange will offer nearly 40 hours of educational sessions, including an opening workshop, idea exchange and hour-long concurrent sessions and hands-on Expo Pods.

If you’re planning to attend the show, come by and visit KC Supply in corner booth #1931. We will be demonstrating the “latest and greatest” in

• Self-Closing Safety Gates
• Ladder Climbing Systems
• Bin Level Monitors, and more

Come get a look at the newest models and safety features while learning about products you need for your facility. If you can’t wait for GEAPS Exchange 2018 or you cannot attend this year’s event, you can learn about safety gates, ladder climbing systems, bin level monitors by calling KC Supply at 800.527.8775 or 800.KC.SUPPLY for more information.

For more information on GEAPS Exchange 2018, visit http://exchange.geaps.com/GEAPS18/Public/Enter.aspx.

A high concentration of airborne dust can create an explosion hazard as well as workplace-induced asthma and other diseases. Protecting your employees and facility from combustible and respiratory dust hazards is not just prudent, but also may save lives.

Many materials can be explosive in dust form and they exist in many industries and processes. Examples include: food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal and metals (e.g., aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, and zinc).

In grain processing and storage facilities, grain dust is the main source of explosions, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). In the last 35 years, more than 500 grain dust explosions have been recorded in the U.S., killing more than 180 people and injuring more than 675, according to OSHA.

On May 31, 2017, an explosion rocked a milling plant in Wisconsin, killing killed five workers, injuring 12 and destroying a corn processing plant. After a five-month OSHA investigation determined that the incident was preventable, the company was fined $1.8 million.

OSHA’s investigation found that the company failed to take several safety measures, including failing to control highly combustible grain dust that leaked from enclosures and accumulated throughout the plant. In addition, the company didn’t maintain equipment to prevent heat or sparks that can ignite the dust.

The company’s willful citations were issued under OSHA’s grain handling standards for machine maintenance and dust control, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Among other failures, the serious citations included violating rules requiring that dust-filtering machinery installed inside a building are equipped with explosion-suppression devices. The company was also cited for not creating a written dust-removal plan and schedule, and not training employees. Instead of requiring sweeping, workers were allowed to use compressed air to clear dust from surfaces around machinery that could ignite it, OSHA’s report said.

NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids, contains comprehensive guidance on the control of dusts to prevent explosions. Some of its recommendations include:

• Minimizing the escape of dust from process equipment or ventilation systems
• Using dust collection systems and filters
• Using surfaces that minimize dust accumulation and facilitate cleaning
• Providing access to all hidden areas to permit inspection
• Inspecting for dust residues in open and hidden areas, at regular intervals
• Cleaning dust residues at regular intervals
• Use cleaning methods that do not generate dust clouds, if ignition sources are present
• Only using vacuum cleaners approved for dust collection
• Locating relief valves away from dust hazard areas
• Developing and implementing a hazardous dust inspection, testing, housekeeping and control program (preferably in writing with established frequency and methods)

In addition, the OSHA ventilation standard, 29 CFR 1910.94, contains ventilation requirements for certain types of operations (such as abrasives, blasting, grinding, or buffing) which involve dusts, including combustible dusts. In addition, 29 CFR 1910.22(a)(1) requires employers to keep workplaces and other areas clean, which includes the removal of dust accumulations. Learn more at www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib073105.html.

“It is important to keep dust to a minimum. Dust accumulation is not allowed beyond a threshold depending on the product and type of facility,” said Jeff Lavery, KC Supply Co. owner.

Industrial vacuums can help contain hazardous dust in certain environments. KC Supply Co. offers electronic and air-operated vacuums, with 30- and 55-gallon capacity and including static conductive and hazardous location options. If you need help cleaning up hazardous dust in your facility, call us at 800.527.8775 today. We can answer your questions and help you get a plan in place for cleaning up dangerous dust in your facility.

Removing old, stuck bolts from buckets and belting is not a fun way to pass the time. When bolts rust or have damaged threads, they can be painstakingly difficult and time-consuming to remove. A ratchet socket wrench can be slow and doesn’t always work. After spending hours attempting to remove stuck bolts, taking a hammer to them might seem like a great idea, but it will only hurt your bucket.

A better option is using an elevator bucket bolt cutter. They can help you safely and quickly remove bolts from buckets and belting. You’re not going to re-use the bolts, so it’s easier just to cut them off. Standard bolt cutters just won’t cut it though. Elevator bucket bolt cutters are made for stuck elevator bolts and are more efficient and only require a fraction of the time – snip and done vs spin the nut off and hope they come off. In addition, standard bolt cutters are designed to be used at a 90-degree angle – a luxury you don’t have with elevator buckets.

“These, unique, one-of-a-kind conversion of snippers have specially designed teeth specifically for cutting bolts from within the buckets,” said Jeff Lavery, KC Supply Co. owner. “Since the cutter is inserted directly into the bucket, the teeth ‘bite’ through the bolt, nut and washers.”

To see how quickly our bolt cutter cuts through an elevator bolt, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51p7EOtY5X8

If rusted-over bolts are keeping you from replacing your old elevator buckets and belting, KC Supply has a solution for you. We can answer any questions you may have about elevator bucket bold cutters and help you find the right cutters for your needs.

KC Supply, founded in Kansas City in 1988, is an industry leader in supplying industrial/agricultural products. For more than 25 years, we’ve been leaders in conveying and elevating equipment. We also offer safety supplies and are proud to offer one of the largest selections of Knappco and Civacon products. Call us at 800.527.8775 or visit www.kcsupply.com.

Hazardous locations – where there is the potential for a fire or explosion due to electrical equipment operating in an area where there might be flammable or ignitable gases, liquids, vapors, dusts or fibers – require equipment rated for the environment, including lighting.

The National Electrical Code (NEC) along with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) have a published guide that classifies hazardous areas into classes, divisions and zones.

Class II locations consist of locations where combustible dusts may exist and have the potential to become flammable or ignitable. In Class II locations, the dust’s ignition temperature, electrical conductivity and thermal blanketing effect it can have on heat-producing equipment such as lighting fixtures and motors are the deciding factors in determining the Class II groups. Locations that would be considered among Class II locations include grain elevators and grain-handling facilities, and flour and feed mills.

Group G dusts include plastic dusts, most chemical dusts and food and grain dusts. They are not electrically conductive. These dusts, in general, have the highest thermal insulating characteristics and the lowest ignition temperatures. Thus, equipment for use in Group G atmospheres must have the lowest surface temperatures to prevent ignition of a layer by the heat generated by the equipment.

In 2017, there were three major dust explosions in the United States, which killed several employees. Most recently, in May, an explosion at a mill in Cambria, Wisc., killed five and injured 12.

Dust explosions are one of the most dangerous and challenging hazards facing a grain handling facility. That’s why Class II-G electrical components are required in grain elevators. These components include lighting.

This lighting is important for safety and for meeting OSHA’s hazardous location lighting safety standards (OSHA 29 CRF 1910.272). According to OSHA, compliant lighting should be “An apparatus enclosed in a case that is capable of withstanding an explosion of a specified gas or vapor that may occur within it and of preventing the ignition of a specified gas or vapor surrounding the enclosure by sparks, flashes, or explosion of the gas or vapor within, and that operates at such an external temperature that a surrounding flammable atmosphere will not be ignited thereby.”

Lighting rated for a grain handling facility must be designed to prevent inadvertent ignition, either by preventing ignited gases or materials from escaping the light during a fault or ignition within the light – which could ignite the surrounding volatile atmosphere – or by prohibiting the potential for the creation of sparks and heat. Also, switches, contacts, internal wiring and other potential sources of electrical energy are heavily shielded and sealed against the possibility of contact or damage that may cause sparks or overheating should the unit become damaged. So lamps and electrical contacts are encased within rugged sealed housings that can contain an internal explosion and/or channels are created through the use of finely threaded joints and pathways within housings that force escaping ignited gases to travel along lengthy passages before exiting the housing, in turn lowering the temperature of these gases to a safe level before exiting the unit and gaining exposure to the environment outside of the lamp.

Do you have questions about Class II-G-compliant lighting? Call the experts at KC Supply Co., 800.527.8775. KC Supply stocks an extensive inventory of Class II-G lighting as well as confined space entry, single-gas and multiple sensor gas monitors to maintain a safe working environment in your grain handling facility. Reduce the risks of fire, explosion, hazardous exposure and asphyxiation, and keep your employees safe with equipment rated for the environment. Visit us at www.kcsupply.com to learn more.