An experiment commissioned to mark the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Beer Festival found that the secret to pouring the perfect pint is in the angle. Traditionally, 45 degrees was thought to be the best angle for taste, but this research found different. Here, Jim Sullivan, territory sales manager at National Flooring Equipment, explains how changing the angle of a stripper blade can improve the efficiency of floor removal and extend tooling life.
Why is the angle important when pouring beer? The bubbles affect the flavor. This means that with an angle too high, beer hits the glass more quickly, resulting in more bubbles and an altered taste. At a smaller angle, around 15 degrees, the shorter beer head makes for a much better tasting beverage.
It’s not only drinks where performance can be affected by angle. Floor strippers must be operated with tools at the right pitch—angle to the floor—to be as efficient as possible.
Efficiency is important during surface preparation because it reduces the time and labor needed to remove a floor, ultimately impacting a project’s return on investment. If a job’s square footage per hour is down, this could indicate that the machine is not working as it should. Maintaining sharp tooling at the correct pitch is a good way to prevent this from happening.
KEEPING UP SPEED
How hard the coating or material is and how it is stuck to the floor dictate how the pitch of the blade should be set. The pitch should be adjusted to the sweet spot between the material on the floor and the concrete for maximum efficiency.
Finding the sweet spot is important, as with too much pitch the machine can dig into the subfloor, which can cause the blade to wear more quickly. The blade can also snap if the operator hits something, which can result in damage to the machine. Not enough pitch, and the machine will jump over the flooring without removing it, as it lacks the downward pressure on the blade
Different tooling requires a different pitch. Tool choice is also determined by the material on the floor, so contractors must choose the correct blade for the application, be it removing ceramic, wood, carpet, or tile. Certain tooling types, like wood or ceramic, may have a recommended pitch. However, with carpet and tile floors, finding the sweet spot can only be done by testing.
Depending on the machine, changing the pitch can either be done manually or with a lever.
National Flooring Equipment offers scrapers with a dual lift feature, where the pitch and angle can be changed in two places, which means that the machine is stronger. The operator has multiple adjustments at their fingertips to allow correct blade adjustment, without manually adjusting the front end of the machine. This is more important when removing ceramic and wood, as the specific angle needed can only be achieved with multiple adjustments.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
National Flooring Equipment designs and manufactures quality flooring equipment. With dozens of patents, National Flooring Equipment boasts the most extensive product offering currently available in the surface preparation industry. For more information, visit www.nationalequipment.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions, July 2018
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