Recently we had a couple of customers report excessive vibration on their top mounted mixers. Excessive vibration can lead to loaded bearings, bent shafts, and possible catastrophic failures, so we visited the processing sites see what was going on and offer guidance.
It was evident that the excessive vibrations were caused by the customer supplied tanks not having enough structural support to handle the torque and loads created when mixing product. Both tanks had structure on the top of the tank that was connected to the nozzle and the mixer. Unfortunately, the structure was insufficient and there were not enough gussets attached to the nozzle. Having enough gussets will improve the structural rigidity and load dispersion of the tank to properly support the mixer, and we advised as such. Once additional gussets were installed, the vibration was significantly reduced.
A mixer that is properly supported can provide years of trouble-free service. If you are seeing excessive vibration on your unit, take into consideration how it is supported on the tank. Admix would be happy to come to your facility to provide an audit, observe your conditions, and make a recommendation to correct the vibration if needed.