Piston Casings Repaired
100-Year-Old Piston Casings Repaired, Protected, & Making Chocolate Again
PROBLEM
A prestigious Bay Area chocolate factory approached ENECON’s distributor in CA to see if we could help repair multi-piston cases that move chocolate for production. Several other attempts by other companies to repair these, including cold welding, were unsuccessful.
These piston casings, vital to production, were originally built in the early 1900s and performed well until the cases recently started cracking. Corrosion and erosion were also taking their tolls, so this made it a perfect ENECON Imagineering application. We had never repaired something as specific as this (we are not sure if anyone in the world has), but the customer was in the boat with us and decided to give it a try.
SOLUTION
After receiving the casings, we got to work. Grit blasting the entire inside and outside provided the proper surface preparation, but also exposed the cracks even more. We then applied METALCLAD DurAlloy, a go-to metal repair solution that cures metal-hard, making sure to press it deep into the casing cracks. DurAlloy was also used to fill in all of the pitted areas after grit blasting and to leave a smooth surface ready for the final two topcoats of CHEMCLAD GP (White). The GP will protect the entire case, inside and out, for the coming years of exposure to the warm water on the exterior that helps the chocolate on the inside to move freely — no more corrosion or erosion.
We are happy to report that these piston casings have been put back online and are performing better than ever. This project was extremely gratifying to be able to help put back in service — because who doesn't like chocolate?
