Appliances recyclers use baling equipment to bundle their products for ease of transport to processors. Several companies manufacture balers for the purpose of baling or logging appliances and other large ferrous metals.

Bales tend to have a higher density and are sold to steel mills. Logs have a lower density and can be sent to a shredder. Depending on where you sell your scrap metal determines the type of machine needed.

Several manufacturers of balers and loggers had this to say about purchasing the right machine.

Mike Pass, of Vezzani USA, Inc., a manufacturer of logger/balers, said, "The reputation of the company is indicative of the quality of the machine. You will find that companies with a good reputation have that reputation because they make high quality and high performance machines."

Jose Pereya, general sales manager, Sierra International Machinery, said, "Weight is one give away that a machine is well-built. You are working metal-to-metal, so the heavier the machine the better."

Ralph Johnson, owner of R.M. Johnson Company, "Customers need to look at price, durability and wear of the baler. Our E-Z Log Baler only makes logs. It doesn't make a dense bale. This way our customers can be assured the logs will be accepted by a shredder. The reason we did this was if a bale is too tight, it can do a lot of damage to a shredder. Tighter logs may be easier to haul, but they are harder to shred. A bale that is too tight or that has the wrong material in it can break the knives in a shredder."

Vezzani makes a shear/baler/ logger, which can make bales or logs. "The machines include a guillotine shear so recyclers can process the material further if they need to," said Mr. Pass. "Some processors prefer the metal in smaller sections."

Darrell Nowak, operations manager of Colmar USA, Inc., said that the amount of material to be baled is something that needs to be looked at when determining the machine needed. Colmar offers 10 different size units that can vary in output from 2 tons per hour to 10 tons per hour. Most balers are made to bale 10 to 12 tons per hour.

"A customer doesn't need to spend money for a large machine that they don't need," he said. "We have balers that make both a high density and low density bale and we offer an optional shear."

Some recyclers are concerned with the amount of material they will be able to process each day. The items that affect how much material is baled includes the size of the machine, the cycle time the machine takes to make the bale, and most importantly the skill of the operator.

"Cycle time depends on how much material you put into the machine," said Mr. Pass. "The Vezzani has a compression time before the main push ram makes the bale."

Mr. Johnson said, "Production really depends on the skill of the operator. A good operator should be able to do 50 tons a day with our baler, but it depends on the material and operator. Our baler, on average, makes an 800-pound bale. It can make larger bales up to 1,200 or 1,300 pounds. Actually making smaller bales can lead to more production. A 700 to 800 pound bale is easier to shred."

Mr. Johnson indicated that a trainee needs to take his or her time and start out slow. "Get good first, then get fast," he said. "When we deliver a machine, we stay and train the operator. If they need help once we leave, they can call and we can try to work it out over the phone or come back out. Basically, an operator needs to learn how to make a bale. If there are smaller pieces of metal going into the mix, it needs to be placed in the middle. Good equipment operators catch on quick. Usually what works best is to put some big items (appliances), on the bottom. Next the smaller items or items that will break apart when crushed (such as lawn mowers) should be put in the middle. More large items are then put on top. This usually makes a good bale."

Mr. Pereya said that Sierra's baler box is different than others. "It has a curved-door system and only has two moving pieces. The curved-door comes up and closes down on a lid and compresses the material in just two movements. This speeds up the processes."

Balers can be portable or stationary. Portable balers usually come with an attached crane. Stationary balers are offered either way depending on the customer's needs. A crane is necessary to load and unload balers.

The Colmar baler is set up like a roll-off container and becomes portable by loading it onto a roll-off trailer.

Diesel engines are the norm on portable balers. Stationary balers usually come with either diesel or electric. Manufacturers work with the individual customer needs.

Mr. Johnson said, "In the United States, we usually use John Deere engines because there is a large John Deere dealer network and customers can get new filers and other maintenance items just about anywhere. In Brazil they prefer Cummins engines."

Maintenance on a baler is minimal. The engine requires regular maintenance such as oil changes, and so on. The hydraulics in the balers usually require lubrication before each day of use.

"We recommend plenty of grease every morning," said Mr. Johnson. "The place that takes the most abuse is the boom. I often tell people to grease the baler every other day and grease the boom twice a day."

"Spare parts availability is something important to look at," said Mr. Nowak whose machine is made in Italy and sold in the U.S. "We have a zero tolerance for downtime and make sure that we have all spare parts in stock. Also, all of our balers sold in North America have standard U.S. fittings on the hydraulic hoses. We know hoses break all the time from operators dropping things on them and other reasons. We wanted to make sure they could just go to a local supplier and get replacement parts."

Seal replacement and repacking cylinders are other maintenance items.

One other area to keep an eye on is the wear area where the metal is baled.

Mr. Pereya said, "You're working metal to metal and eventually most box liners need replaced."

Some balers are made with replaceable wear liners that are bolted on the hopper. Mr. Pass said keeping an eye on the bolts will give a recycler a good indication as to when the plates will need replaced.

Most companies cite several years of every day use before anything needs replaced on a baler as long as the customer keeps up general maintenance.