Egg mix was pumped into a unit with two integral spinners. These created a mist that formed a glaze on pasties on a conveyor below.
"The problem with an impeller pump is that it lacks a non-return valve, so if the process stops then the pump needs to be re-primed," explains Rowe's engineer Phil Thomson. "Also, because egg congeals, the pump and its connections need to be cleaned. The escalating downtime meant that we had to find an alternative."
Peristaltic pumps have no valves, seals or glands, and the fluid contacts only the bore of the hose or tube, eliminating the risk of cross-contamination from pump to fluid and vice versa.
Users can clean in-line at full velocity, without the intrusion of the bypass that most positive displacement pumps require. The pump self-drains, has low-shear action and straight-through flow, and the tube is fully swept for superior hygienic performance.
"While impeller pumps are cheaper, we could easily burn out four a year on a single production line," says Thomson. "If you add in the downtime and labour costs, peristaltic technology makes far more economic sense."
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