Slant Plate Clarifier Maintenance: Your Total Guide

Slant plate clarifier maintenance is essential to ensuring that your system runs smoothly with as few hiccups as possible. When running well, slant plate clarifiers are a highly-effective form of water treatment.

During daily routine inspection of your clarifier system, you’ll want to maintain the entire system while paying close attention to the settling rate, sludge inventory, and the slant plates.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these parts and how they need to be maintained to ensure they run smoothly. Then, we’ll go over the basics of slant plate clarifier maintenance in case this is your first time using them. This is your total guide to slant plate clarifier maintenance.

 Before You Start Maintenance

As important as maintenance is, proper operation is of greater importance.

Proper operation begins upstream of the clarifier feed with complete chemical treatment and accurate flocculant feed of water prior to the clarifier inlet.

Periodic review of operating conditions during each shift not only enhances clarifier operations but extends operational up times between required clarifier maintenance schedules.  These periodic reviews must include an inspection of the flocculant feed and settling rate.  Inspection at sludge sampling ports located at the clarifier cone bottom to confirm adequate solids(sludge) draw-off is occurring.  Traditionally these periodic reviews should occur a minimum of 3 times per shift.

Operators should plan to drain the clarifier completely every two weeks and pressure wash the slant plates removing solids buildup.  This requires some coordination to ensure proper holding capacity is available while the system is unable to process water during this operation if only one clarifier exists.

It should be noted that if a gross clarifier upset occurs (gross amount of solids overflowing the clarified outlet), the clarifier may need to be drained prior to the schedule to rectify the problem.

Maintenance Instructions

First, stop water feeding and chemical dosing. You can resume these later, but for now, you’ll want to keep them off.

Second, completely empty the water to the sludge thickener and expose the slant plates to the air. Clean the exposed plates with pressured water.

Third, after cleaning, keep the slant plate from being exposed for long periods of time, especially to air or sun, as this could cause damage. At this point, you can turn the feeding pump and chemical dosing back on.

Bi-monthly maintenance should include stopping the feed to the slant plate clarifier, draining it completely, cleaning it with clean water, and inspecting it with a high candela flashlight. 

Facts About Slant Plate Clarifiers

If you’re using slant plate clarifiers for the first time for your water treatment, there are a few facts you should know to understand how clarifiers work and why they can be extremely beneficial for your industrial water supply.

 Best for Industrial Uses

First, slant plate clarifiers clarify water for industrial purposes by removing solids from water. They quicken the filtration process and are a great form of water treatment for most industrial uses. Because of how quickly they work, they’re a great way to save money, too.

 There Are Multiple Steps Involved

Second, there are multiple steps involved in the clarifier maintenance process. Before the slant plate clarifiers can do their work, a few things need to happen.

The water filtration system must be correctly set up so that the solids in the water naturally settle by gravity in the clarifiers. Taking the time to get this part of your slant plate clarifier system up and running will be well worth the time in the long run.

Gravity Plays A Role

Gravity is a huge part of the clarifier water filtration process. The system works with a counter-current flow pattern that forces the solids up through the plates after it reaches the sludge chamber. Without gravity, this process could not happen.

Flash Mixer Tanks Are Optional

It’s up to you whether you use a flash mixer tank with your slant plate clarifier system or you have a dedicated flocculation tank. Flash mixer tanks disperse and blend chemicals in the water, making it easier to remove unwanted solids from the water. But you don’t need one if you don’t plan to use those chemicals as part of your water treatment process.

We hope this information has given you clarity as to how slant plate clarifiers will improve your industrial water supply, as well as how to maintain them so that they last for years to come.  

J.Mark Systems Can Help

Following the steps outlined in this blog will keep your slant plate clarifiers running smoothly. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by clarifier maintenance, it’s time to bring in the professionals. J.Mark Systems can provide a state-of-the-art WTRBOX Slant Plate Clarifier system with multiple treatment capacities that will stand the test of time.

We also offer maintenance plans, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business while your water treatment runs smoothly. Contact J.Mark Systems today to get started!