Adhesive Char = Higher Downtime, Rejects, and Operational Costs...Get more productivity and lower your total cost of operation!!

Adhesive char is present in your hot melt hose....even if the adhesive in your tank is clear.  Time & Temp & O2 = Adhesive Char

• Every hot melt adhesive has a pot life - a point in time at which the heat and oxygen cause it to degrade.
• Heating elements in hot melt hoses are used to keep adhesive flowing at the right viscosity and temperature.
• Char forms during idle periods when your system is on/heated and no adhesive is flowing.
• Adhesive near the heated walls of the hose moves slower than the adhesive in the center of the hose.  This hotter, slower adhesive degrades faster and sticks to the hose wall - forming char.
• Char inside the hose breaks loose and clogs filters, guns and nozzles.
• Lower-grade hot melt adhesives degrade and form char more quickly.

• Changing adhesive and bending or flexing a hose makes char to break off easier/faster.

Why should I replace my hose?  It looks fine.

• Even if you can't see it, char cuts your productivity and increases your operating costs.
• Char restricts the adhesive flow and requires more system pressure to force adhesive through the hose.
• Slow, restricted flow then increases the melter's "heater-on" cycle.  Problems multiply as more heat produces even more char.
• More heat and char increase your energy use and production costs.
• Char causes uneven adhesive beads, missed beads and clogged nozzles.  You lose time and productivity long before your line shuts down.

• Flaking and loose char results in poorly glued packages, pop-opens and char on your products .

Why can't I just clean my hot melt hose??

• There are newer technologies which can clean your hot melt hose in many instances.....these services need to be conducted by trained technicians to make sure that proper techniques are used.  Contact Astro Packaging for more information on the "hose mole service" that we offer.

How can I lower char and hose replacement costs?

• A good preventative maintenance program, smart operating procedures and common sense call all help.  For example:
• Flush your melter regularly and whenever you change adhesives.  Do-it-yourself flushing kits contain everything you need to get the job done.
• Replace melter filters.  Newer melters have disposable, basket filters that take less than one minute to replace.
• Install Astro Packaging in-line filters between your hose and gun to trap char before it reaches your guns and nozzles.
• Avoid bending, flexing and moving your hose whenever possible.
• Keep hoses off the floor.  Stepping on a hose, running it over with a forklift, getting it wet or having it covered in dirt will shorten its life.
• DON'T LEAVE YOUR ADHESIVE SYSTEM ON WHEN IT IS NOT IN USE

When should I replace my hose?

• At least every 3 years
• If your new nozzles clog in less than 3 months.
• If the hose shows external damage
• If the (non-waterwash) hose has ever been wet.

• If hose fittings are leaking.

DON'T WAIT.  WITH TODAY'S TIGHT PRODUCTION SCHEDULES, SMALLER MAINTENANCE TEAMS AND THE NEED TO REDUCE EXPENSES, DOWNTIME CAN BE A MAJOR FACTOR IN YOUR TOTAL COSTS.  CALL US AT 1-800-642-7876 TO SPEAK WITH A SALES ASSOCIATE.