IMER Mixer and Pump Cleaning, Storage and Winter Care

IMER’s manuals are consistent about one thing: material left to set in a mixer or a pump costs you time and parts. This guide collects what the manuals say about cleaning, freeze protection and storage. Every step is from IMER’s own manuals, and each machine differs, so treat your machine’s manual as the final word.

Mixers: clean after every shift

Storing a mixer

• Wheelman: the manual says to spray and wipe the entire machine with WD-40 and store it inside once the project is done.
• Mix 120 Plus: the manual says not to use the machine in environments with temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F).
• Mix 750 (gas): keep the battery clean and dry, and recharge it if starting power is low. Wipe it only with a moist anti-static cloth, because the manual warns of a danger of explosion otherwise.

Pumps: the daily wash-out

The Step-Up 120 and Small 50 manuals give the same shutdown sequence. Before you disconnect the jet or the pipelines, make sure there is no residual pressure.

1. Empty the hopper completely using the selector, then set the main switch to 0.
2. Open the jet valve, detach the jet and clean it thoroughly. Clean the nozzle with the special tool supplied.
3. Disconnect the material pipelines from the delivery manifold.
4. Remove the hopper grid or vibro-screen and clean it.
5. Remove the plug at the bottom of the hopper and wash the machine thoroughly with water, starting from the bag splitter if one is fitted.
6. Refit the plug and fill the hopper with water.
7. Restart the machine for a few seconds until clean water comes out of the manifold. This confirms the pump is clean.
8. With the pipelines still full, insert two cleaning sponges and refit the pipeline to the manifold.
9. Start the machine again so the hopper water pushes the sponges through the pipelines. When both sponges come out of the hose, washing is complete.
10. Turn off the main switch and disconnect the power plug.

The Koine 4 sequence differs. After pumping the lines empty, you open the mixing chamber, remove and clean the mixer, clean the mixing zone with a brush, and run the machine with the scraper for 5 to 10 seconds. You then clean the pipeline with a washing sponge and the auxiliary water valve.

If power fails mid-job, the Step-Up 120 manual says to wash the machine and pipes promptly, take the pump apart, remove the screw from the stator and clean it. It also says to avoid interruptions of more than 30 minutes, and to keep pauses as short as possible with rapid-drying materials.

Freeze protection

• Step-Up 120 and Small 50: if there is any risk of freezing, open the hopper plug, disconnect the pipelines and drain all water from the circuit.
• Koine 4: if there is any risk of freezing, open the three valves (ref 18 in the manual) and drain all water from the circuit. Remember to reclose them before restarting.

Idle for several days

The Koine 4 manual says that if the machine will not be used for several days, empty the hopper completely, open the drain plug and remove the cell wheel. Make sure the main switch is at 0 and the plug is disconnected before opening the plug or the grille.

When you bring a Koine 4 back into service after draining the circuit or a long layoff, fill the water pump’s intake line by hand to prime it.

Back in service: quick checks

• Mix 750: check tire pressure (the manual says 40 psi), the gearbox oil (change after the first 50 hours, then every 250 hours, with premium SAE 90), the belts, and the paddle hardware (weekly, or after a thorough clean).
• Step-Up 120: check the material hoses, that couplings are intact and that their seals are fitted. Weekly, check the compressor air filter, that the motors are free of dust, and that plug and socket contacts are clean, dry and rust free.
• Koine 4: daily, check that the water filter is clean. Weekly, check the compressor air filter, the mixer, the motor connection, and the plug and socket contacts. Every six months, arrange an inspection by an IMER-authorized technician or dealer.
• Mix 120 Plus: every two months of operation, check belt tension and the condition of the poly-V belt and pulleys.

Parts for this job

Cleaning is when worn seals, belts and rubbers show up. These are the parts the parts books list for items mentioned above: the Step-Up 120 cam coupling seal (DN50), the Mix 120 Plus poly-V belt, and the Mix 750 paddle rubbers. Match them to your own machine and drawing.