15HP meat grinder

[MNSparky]

Gonna need some help on this one. I'm not too familiar with industrial machines so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Customer bought a 15HP meat grinder and would like me to get it working. It currently has just an undersized cord with no plug cap on it. No motor starter, E-stop or anything. See pic. Will be feeding it with 240v 3ph.

This is the motor:

http://www.baldor.com/catalog/M2333T-9

He wants it cord and plug connected to allow for it to be moved and stored out of the way when not in use. My thought is mount a motor starter on the unit and include a on/off/jog on the motor starter. I will also have to mount an E-stop somewhere close the the business end. Is this the easiest way to do it? Is there a better way? Any suggestions on the E-stop?

Also, I haven't done motor sizing in many years and am a bit rusty. Here's what I came up with. Please let me know if I'm calculating it correctly:

FLC = 42a from table 430.250
BC breaker would be 42 x 250% max = 105a. Table 430.52. I would use a 60a breaker
BC conductors would be #6 CU - 42 x 125% = 52.5a 430.22
Motor starter would be a Nema 2 size
Heaters would be 42 x 125% = 52.5a 430.32(A)(1)
plug and receptacle would be 60a, horsepower rated. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks!

 

[GoldDigger]

That thing, with the wide open input hopper over the feed screw, looks scary as heck to me!

At least the drive belts are fully guarded.

 

[MNSparky]

That thing, with the wide open input hopper over the feed screw, looks scary as heck to me!

At least the drive belts are fully guarded.

Yes, it's pretty wicked. I'm both intrigued and afraid to crank it up for the first time.

 

[ptonsparky]

Heaters should be sized per the FLA on the motor nameplate. Do not add the 25%. The starters take care of that and many of the IEC style have selection for Class 10, 20 or 30.

 

[Cow]

If were doing this I might be inclined to source a pump panel for it, we use a lot of them for farm work. Then your breaker, starter, and HOA with start button are right there in the pump panel. There is usually room next to the pump panel buttons if you wanted to add another hole for an E-stop. Another option might be to pipe over to a separate little PB enclosure with an E-stop if you needed to get it situated in a little better spot than right where the pump panel is.

We typically use Allen Bradley pump panels, starters, and pushbuttons/e-stops, etc. But everyone makes this stuff nowadays, so I'd pick any decent brand that you can get in your area with good customer support.

 

[drcampbell]

That thing, with the wide open input hopper over the feed screw, looks scary as heck to me! ...

Indeed. My first question would be whether this machine meets contemporary OSHA safety standards. It might be no longer usable.

Anything you install on a food-processing machine probably needs to tolerate washdown and sanitizing.

 

[ActionDave]

If were doing this I might be inclined to source a pump panel for it, ...

That is a great idea.

 

[Ingenieur]

you might want a reversing starter in case of a jam

The FDA or USDA may have some regs on this type of equipment

 

[ptonsparky]

you might want a reversing starter in case of a jam

The FDA or USDA may have some regs on this type of equipment

You might need one if you are trying to force concrete blocks as filler through it.

 

[Ingenieur]

You might need one if you are trying to force concrete blocks as filler through it.

or God forbid someone is jammed up in it

 

[Jraef]

Just eyeballin', that cord doesn't look big enough for 15HP @240V, it was probably put there for a 480V setup.

That thing is old, probably will not pass muster for modern OSHA safety requirements for guarding etc. That thing is a hand mangler if I ever saw one. Modern meat grinders I've worked on have much much smaller and deeper throats so that you can't get your hand into the blades.

Bigger ones have a bin with a cage over it and you load the bin, then close the cage, which is interlocked with a safety relay system so that you can't start the motor if its open, or it stops it if the cage is opened while running. Most likely your customer got a good deal on this one because someone got nailed in a safety inspection and had to get rid of it or upgrade it. He found a sucker to buy it after he bought new. This kind of thing happens a lot through FleaBay and Craigslist.

I'd be careful hooking that up as-is, you might find yourself answering a call from a lawyer some day for negligence in connecting a machine that you "should have known" was unsafe. You can argue all you want about that not being what you were contracted to do, but ultimately even if you win, you lose. Only the lawyers win, regardless of the outcome.

I'd tell the owner to look into having it retrofitted with appropriate safety systems, then you will hook up whatever that entails.

 

[hbiss]

That thing is old, probably will not pass muster...

Besides OSHA, look at the rust and corrosion in that hopper! Yuck! Would you eat a burger ground from beef by that thing? I would have the health department take a look at it before you even bother to try and get it working. Guaranteed it's going to be red tagged and condemned. And seeing as your customer is slovenly enough to even consider using something like that I'll bet the health department will find all kinds of other violations too.

-Hal

 

[Ingenieur]

hazards of meat grinders
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3170/3170-02R-2007-English.html#Hazards24

 

[Barbqranch]

Besides OSHA, look at the rust and corrosion in that hopper! Yuck!

-Hal

Iron enriched ground beef, a value added product!

 

[GoldDigger]

Besides OSHA, look at the rust and corrosion in that hopper! Yuck! Would you eat a burger ground from beef by that thing? I would have the health department take a look at it before you even bother to try and get it working. Guaranteed it's going to be red tagged and condemned. And seeing as your customer is slovenly enough to even consider using something like that I'll bet the health department will find all kinds of other violations too.

-Hal

These days all of the food-contact parts (and maybe more for washdown tolerance?) would be made of stainless. The only possible exception would be the actual grinder plates.

 

[jim dungar]

These days all of the food-contact parts (and maybe more for washdown tolerance?) would be made of stainless. The only possible exception would be the actual grinder plates.

Food grinder may be for non-human consumption.

 

[Jraef]

Food grinder may be for non-human consumption.

That occurred to me too, might be for dog food. I did some work at a dog food plant, basically it was only slightly better than a rendering plant. Made me stop using that brand of dog food. They are not all like that, but the food safety regulations are much much more lax.

 

[MNSparky]

Food grinder may be for non-human consumption.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

Good points on the guards and safety, I definitely don't want to be named in a lawsuit. I know the grinder is going to be used to grind fish, I'm 99% sure it isn't for consumption. I was guessing it was going to be used for fertilizer or something. I have an email into the customer asking about safety concerns and if this is for food production. I said it should have a cage over the hopper and asked if it came with one. I'll let you know what he says.

 

[Saturn_Europa]

Heaters should be sized per the FLA on the motor nameplate. Do not add the 25%. The starters take care of that and many of the IEC style have selection for Class 10, 20 or 30.

If the OP uses a NEMA starter with bi-metallic OL s. Shouldn't he take the FLA and multiple it by the service factor of the motor (usually 1.15) to size the OLs.

BTW....... I tend to stay away from IEC rated starters. They have a shorter life then NEMA gear.

 

[ActionDave]

If the OP uses a NEMA starter with bi-metallic OL s. Shouldn't he take the FLA and multiple it by the service factor of the motor (usually 1.15) to size the OLs.

Depends on the starter.

BTW....... I tend to stay away from IEC rated starters. They have a shorter life then NEMA gear.

I agree, but it's getting harder to stick with NEMA gear.