Frequently Asked Questions

CESCO Magnets have many uses and are a low cost way to ensure production quality. Magnets can be used to remove contaminant from the product batch. This contaminant may be large or small.  Common use cases include:  Putting a magnet after a pump or equipment to catch any debris a piece of equipment may put into the product stream. By checking the magnet during cleaning cycles, a pump failure can be caught early when small debris are detected on the magnet. This protects the product and downstream equipment. In some cases, this can save a pump from a major repair if issues are caught early enough. Putting a Magnet before a pump or piece of equipment. This would protect the pump from any magnetic particulate that may have been introduced into the product upstream. Putting magnets at the point of ingredient entry. Many times contaminant is introduced from powder bags, or other ingredients coming from outside your facility. This catches it before it can go into your mixed product stream and cause damage. Putting magnets before an x-ray or metal detector. This allows the magnets to catch contaminant before your other inspection operations. This will reduce batch loss, and the magnet can catch small fines that are undetectable at typical inspection calibration values. Putting magnets in line to reduce maintenance. Products that typically have high iron contaminant such as powders are very abrasive to the line. This reduces life on seals, gaskets, valves, and all the process equipment. By removing these contaminants with magnets, the production line sees much less damage and becomes more reliable, reducing cost of replacing seals and parts along with reducing downtime in the line. There are many other strategies and reasons to use magnetic separation in your production line. With CESCO’s experience in custom work, we can fit a magnet in almost any situation. If needed, CESCO’s engineers can help your operations determine the best fit for a magnetic solution to your processing needs.

Almost all MagGrates, MagDucts and MagPlates are custom fabricated to a specific application. There are many variables to consider including product flow, particle size, multiple magnetic fields, maximum temperatures, the need for full sanitary construction, and the installation configuration. Please call customer service and ask for engineering to ensure the proper design for your application. All application specific CESCO Magnetic Separators are powered by magnets configured to form a magnetic field appropriate for the task.

Buna-N (Nitrile) Temperature range from -65⁰ F. to 250⁰ F. with characteristics that make it superior to most elastomers when measured for compression set, cold, flow, tear and abrasion resistance. Buna-N “O” rings should not be used with strong acids or steam, stored in direct sunlight, or near electric motors that generate Ozone. EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) Temperature range from 65⁰ F. to 300+⁰ F. or 350⁰ F. with steam.  EPDM “O” rings should not be used with products whose recipe includes petroleum or vegetable based oils. Viton (Fluorocarbon Rubber) Temperature range from 20⁰ F. to 400⁰ F. with characteristics that make it superior with most aromatic solvents, synthetic lubricants, nitric and hydrochloric acids. Viton “O” rings should not be used with steam. These are also available as Metal Detectable/X-rayable materials.

Yes, if a separator has been dropped, usually only one edge or a portion of the flange will have been bent and it can be straightened. You can check your separator for bent flanges by placing a non-magnetic straight edge across the diameter of the face of the magnetic base and across the separator’s “O” ring groove surface looking for areas that are not flat. CESCO is also expert at making repairs to competitor’s separators when a weld has broken or one or more tubes become bent in service.

Nickel plating on cast iron machinery can peel or chip, stainless steel can be sheared, abraded, cut or torn off mixer blades, kettle sides, pump parts, or cutter blades, but all can be successfully removed by CESCO Magnetic Separators placed on line.

Magnets have “maximum” working temperatures or a temperature that causes the magnet to have a permanent loss of strength. This is called the Curie temperature. In the unlikely event that a magnet is raised to its Curie temperature the magnet will have to be replaced. If the magnet’s temperature is elevated, but the Curie temperature is not exceeded, the magnet will recover all of its magnetism when the temperature returns to normal. Ceramic, Samarium Cobalt, Alnico, and Neodymium magnets all have different Curie temperatures. Making CESCO aware of the normal operating temperature for your process will allow us to supply the correct magnet or magnets for your application.

Iron, nickel, cobalt, and 304, 316, 410, 420, and 430 stainless steel shear are routinely captured in beverage, chemical, food, and pharmaceutical applications by CESCO’s magnetic separators.

Magnetic separation efficiency is dependent on several factors including strength and gradient of the magnetic field, size and composition of the metal trash, distance between the trash and the magnet, viscosity of the product, and the rate of product flow. Customers have found their magnetic separators to operate at as much as 99% efficiency. CESCO can provide data that based on another customer’s experience, will suggest what your efficiency in a given application might be.

Magnetic strength is measured in terms of Gauss. Gauss is the amount or number of lines of magnetic flux per square centimeter. The strength of a magnet is calculated using either a “Pull Test” in which the force needed to pull a piece of steel from the face of magnet is measured or by an electronic Gaussmeter. The pull test usually requires disassembly of the magnetic separator and with more powerful magnets puts the operator at risk. CESCO sells an easy-to-use Magnet Metrics Kit including a digital Gaussmeter. For more information, click on the “Gaussmeters” button on the tool bar at the top of this page.