One of the most common customer service calls we receive has to do with adhesives that get mixed together and then create a mess inside the melter tank. It is important for any packaging line operator to understand that not all glue is made equal, which means they might not mix well together. Especially when operating at high heat with high demand.

Know Your Adhesive

There are two main types of adhesives that you could be using in your tank: ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and polyolefin. EVA is a copolymer adhesive, most commonly used in the paper, packaging, and assembly industries, as they bond to a variety of cellulosic materials and have a wide range of formulation. Polyolefin is used mostly at low application temperatures and works best in spray or film form. The best thing to do is keep the adhesive information so that you do not accidentally order the wrong type of adhesive and mix them together. When EVA and PVA are mixed together and heated, they create a thick gelatin formulation that will destroy your melter pot. This is not something that can be cleaned out, even with the strongest of cleaners.

Clean & Purge Your Tank

It is imperative, whenever starting a new batch of adhesive to thoroughly purge and clean your tank, hoses and guns. Removing all remanence of previous adhesive build up. This will prevent any clogs or char from filtering through your adhesive system and causing any unnecessary adhesive mixing. Universal Systems offers a cleaner called Purge Plus that, when heated to the correct temperature within your tank, will remove all of the old adhesive and char.

For more information on Universal Systems SE or our Purge Plus cleaner, please contact us at (800) 848-5018 or email us at sales@ussefl.com.