When you think about it, for many areas of the U.S., that’s a mild winter. If your operations depend on hoping the temperature doesn’t dip below zero — let alone minus ten degrees — because what you’re using can’t handle more severe conditions, then you need to trust your belt conveyor systems to Midwest. Midwest will co-develop a customized program with you to proactively deal with winter weather, preparing the right program with the right products to provide solutions for your problems.

The advantages of the Midwest conveyor belt deicing program is largely based on the right combination of product with application. Midwest Ice Free Conveyor Winter Operating Agent prevents belt icing, removes ice glaze and prevents and removes build-up on idlers and pulleys to -70°F. Midwest Cobra Winter Spray Systems serve for both anti-icing and deicing application.

As the longest-lasting formulation available, Ice Free Conveyor uses Midwest’s superior ice-fighting chemistry and powerful active ingredients to combat everything that conveyor systems are subjected to by nature and the coal handling process. Better still, less material is needed to get better results. When used as an anti-icer, Ice Free Conveyor outperforms ordinary products within their temperature range in smaller amounts.

Midwest Ice Fyghter D eliminates conveyor problems caused by snow, moisture, freezing and sub-zero temperatures to temperatures as low as -41°F. Ice glaze is prevented or instantly melted if already present. The most economical non-chloride-based belt deicer available today also saves motors from burning up and belts from tearing when the conveyors are started. Ice does not build upon the idler or cause tracking problems ordinarily caused by ice accumulation.

Midwest Liquid Ice-Mlt keeps you operating during peak demand times by eliminating coal and material handling problems caused by ice glazing and fines build-up to temperatures down to -34°F. This protects productivity by eliminating issues that compromise or interrupt operations. It works whether proactively applied or to treat an existing problem. Prevent snow and ice buildup before it starts, or melt it if it’s already on conveyor belt surfaces.

Midwest EnviroMLT serves as both preventative and deicing agent, with the flexibility for a variety of applications and active to freezing points below -65 F. This proprietary, non-chloride formulation is safe, ready to use and environmentally sound.

Overall, the Midwest collection of winter products provides a comprehensive suite of options to best meet your needs and investment level. We help you co-develop the optimum program based on those alternatives in relation to annual usage and the costs associated with operational failure — defined as the economical cost of a shutdown during critical times; cleanup costs; and manhours shifted that may create a labor shortage for productive work by reacting to problems and performing subsequent cleanup efforts. To help make these decisions, we ask you these questions:

Do I need anti-icing or deicing? | What are my site-specific operational challenges? | Is there a cost failure?

Fines and other fugitive materials can’t be ignored, either.

Midwest looks at the entire belt conveyor system and combats all factors that negatively impact operations as a consequence of winter weather. Ice buildup is an obvious problem, but other materials can be a direct cause of belt failure. In general, as much as 85% of bulk belt conveyor maintenance problems have been attributed to fugitive materials. Between dust, spillage and carryback, complex belt systems are pushed to their limit.

It makes sense that Midwest's conveyor belt deicer science concentrates on preventing ice buildup. But Midwest does not stop there, also producing cover friction to promote productivity while minimizing carry-back. Ice Free Conveyor is the only product formulated with ingredients that, when sprayed lightly, actually produces belt cover friction. Belts carry coal even when extremely hard. Backslides are prevented, even when belts harden (which typically starts at 20°F and worsens with colder conditions). Ice Free Conveyor is also the only product formulated to prevent or minimize fines carry-back and build-up on belts, idlers and pulleys. Since these represent the major causes of winter systems problems, only Midwest offers the total winter preventative program.

With Ice Fyghter D, fines do not build-up, avoiding improper belt alignment. Coal keeps going up the conveyor instead of sliding down, through a process that increases friction on the belt surface. Maintenance is simplified, protecting productivity by reducing the chances of problems before they can develop and by reducing the labor required.

Liquid Ice-Mlt also prevents fines buildup on conveyor belts to eliminate coal and material handling problems. Apply to tail pulleys, the bottom cover, or trough idlers to keep buildup from occurring both with fugitive materials and ice glazing. This is crucial because while fines OR ice can cause operational problems, their combination results in dramatic issues such as interruption and shutdown.