Screen Box Maintenance Tips for Improved Efficiency and Uptime

Many operators have a conflicted relationship with screen boxes. On one hand, everyone wants more screening capacity and uptime. On the other, few are eager to spend time working on or inside a screen box.

Until the product is properly screened, no money is made, yet it’s often the least experienced crew member who ends up inside the screen box during inspections or screen changes. This reality underscores the importance of thorough inspections and winter rebuilds—most production bottlenecks happen right at the screen box.

Whether it’s between seasons, jobs, or during planned downtime, here are some critical maintenance checks and product upgrades to keep in mind:

Structural Considerations

Inspect the condition of trays, sidewalls, and support tubes. The continuous shaking of a screen box will eventually wear down its structure. Addressing broken welds or weakened areas proactively can prolong the box’s life. Consider rubber or urethane lining options to increase wear resistance.

Springs

Replacing compression springs in the field can disrupt operations, so check their condition now. Measure them and compare the results to OEM specifications. If they’re out of tolerance, replace the entire set. Worn springs cause improper screen box vibration, reducing production efficiency.

At startup and shutdown, tension springs control the “bucking” action of the screen box, protecting the surrounding structure and maintaining v-belt tension. Surprisingly, these are often neglected. Ensure they’re properly installed and tensioned; a credit card receipt should pass snugly between coils to confirm correct tension.

Crown Bars

Maintaining a continuous crown on all decks is essential for preventing premature screen media failure, inefficient screening, and unplanned downtime. If you need to repair your crown bars, make sure you maintain the correct crown height. Consult your Owner’s Manual or the OEM for exact specifications.

Always use crown rubber to protect bars when operating without screen cloth.

Feed Boxes & Transfer Points

Feed point wear is a common issue. Welding an AR plate to the floor or using conveyor belting are standard solutions. However, consider thicker wear rubber as an alternative—it may last longer than conveyor belting and have comparable durability to AR plates, without requiring welding.

Screen Media Hardware

Conduct a thorough inspection and inventory of your screen media hardware. Check the heads and threads of shaker bolts. Running the bolt threads across a wire wheel can clean off buildup. Replace any clamp bars that are thin or caving in, as this will enhance the wear life of your screen media. When replacing clamp bars, make sure you’re using the correct OEM profile. If you’re not satisfied with their durability, consider rubber or urethane-lagged clamp bars.

Do you have enough crown rubber in stock? Different crown rubber thicknesses allow you to adjust the crown, improving media wear life and product throughput. A typical 6×20 triple deck screen box requires around 300 feet of crown rubber, so plan inventory accordingly. Urethane crown strips are a larger initial investment, but they pay off quickly, as they can be replaced in a fraction of the time.

Improved and Safer Material Flow

Rocks thrown from the screen box pose a significant safety risk, especially in scalping applications. Polyurethane wall extensions reduce the chance of rocks escaping. Rubber curtains help slow material as it moves down the box, increasing media longevity and screening efficiency.

Creating a dam on the feed chute can improve screening by ensuring the material starts with an ideal bed depth at the front of the screen. This also reduces wear in the feed chute by forming a rock shelf for material to hit.

Maintenance Seminars

Many reputable suppliers offer offseason maintenance seminars to help improve screening efficiencies. Topics can include proper lubrication schedules and correct installation of tensioned screen media. Utilize these seminars to bring crew members up to speed on industry best practices.

As with any winter maintenance, erring on the side of caution is always worthwhile. Money spent on preventative measures now will pay off when you avoid the dual drain of lost production and higher parts costs during the busy season.

These are just a few key considerations for screen box maintenance.

Still Having Screening Problems?

If you’ve performed all the necessary inspections and maintenance, but your screen still isn’t meeting production goals, it may be time to consult our parts and service team. We’re here to help! Find your nearest branch on our contact page.