Introduction:
Peristaltic pumps are electronic dosing pumps specifically designed to dispense precise amounts of chemicals during each wash cycle. These pumps play a crucial role in commercial dishwashers and glasswashers, ensuring accurate dosing of detergent and rinse aid to achieve optimal cleaning results.
When you first install your machine or if the machine is operated without chemicals attached it is essential to prime the pumps and ensure they are operating correctly and free from airlocks. Below are detailed instructions for priming the detergent and rinse aid dispensers on commercial dishwashers and glasswashers equipped with electronic (peristaltic) pumps.
Locating & Identifying the Pumps:
- Locate the pumps. These are usually at the front of the machine behind the services panel, which can easily be removed by unscrewing the two screws at the bottom.
- The Identify the Pumps: Upon removing the bottom front panel, you'll find two pumps: one for detergent and the other for rinse. You can discern their functions based on their respective destinations - the detergent pump directs to the tank, while the rinse pump leads to the boiler.
- Prepare for Priming: Ensure the water hose is connected to the mains supply but remains turned OFF. Switch the machine on to provide power to the pumps.
Priming The Chemical Pumps
- Adjust Detergent Pump: Using a small flathead screwdriver, locate the small round dial on the detergent pump, typically found in the top right-hand corner. Turn the dial clockwise to the OFF position.
- Adjust Rinse Pump: Turn the dial on the Rinse pump anti-clockwise to the FULL position. This will allow the pump to draw chemical through the dosing lines freely. With the pump running, wait until you can visually see that it has brought rinse aid from the chemical bottle to the pump, ensuring there are no bubbles or trapped air. This indicates that the pump is primed.
- Prime the Detergent Pump: Once the rinse aid has primed the pump and is visible in the dosing lines, repeat the steps from point 4 to prime the detergent pump.
- Final Adjustment: Once both lines are primed, switch the machine OFF. Set both pumps to halfway between Max and Minimum.
- Turn the water and machine on and allow the machine to fill.
- Fine-Tuning: Further adjustments can be made by turning the dial on the desired pump. Turn left to decrease and right to increase the dosage until the desired results are achieved.
Any adjustments made to the rinse aid may take up to 10 washes for results to fully change, due to the volume of water being treated.
Conclusion:
By following these steps, you'll ensure that your detergent and rinse aid dispensers are properly primed, leading to optimal performance of your commercial dishwasher or glasswasher.
