Top Entry Mixers: A Buyer's Guide

Choosing the right industrial mixer or agitator is essential for an effective fluid blending process. If you are looking to purchase a top entry mixer, you must take some important project considerations into account. Top entry agitators can be customised to suit your exact application, from their motor and gearbox to impellers, shaft, materials and more. Read on for FluidPro’s guide to selecting the right top entry tank mixer for your process operations.

 

Whether you are mixing in a 200L or 500 000L tank, FluidPro top entry agitators come in a range of sizes to suit small or large scale operations. For smaller batches, an ST-10 top entry agitator is suitable, while our LT-10 Series large top entry agitators feature more powerful motors and thicker and longer shafts, and are designed for larger tank operations.

As well as considering the volume of your tank, you should take into consideration the shape of your tank, and whether it is open or closed top, as this will affect the installation of your mixer. Top entry mixer mounting can be customised to suit tank openings. For open top tanks, mixers are typically bridge mounted, while closed top tanks require a specialised rounded flange to mount to the nozzle opening of your vessel.

Low clearances between your vessel and the ceiling of your plant can impact the installation of a top entry agitator. If you require top entry agitation, but have limited space, FluidPro can customise the design of your mixer and motor to fit. Alternatively, a side entry or base entry mixer could also be suitable for your application, to make efficient use of your space.

The viscosity of the fluids you are blending will affect the type of impeller you require. Low viscosity fluids such as water require impellers that will rotate faster, as well as reducing splashback, such as marine style blades or axial flow impellers. For thicker, or higher-viscosity substances, such as blending creams or other foodstuffs, square-edged axial blades or specialty impellers such as Viscopro can be suitable. For gaseous substances, an impeller designed to create flow in opposing directions, such as UltraShear, is ideal. With the right impellers, top entry mixers can also be ideal for maintaining solids in suspension. Axial flow impellers can keep solids suspended, and prevent them from settling at the bottom of the tank –suitable for e-waste metal extraction and other similar applications.

Your choice of motor is essential when dealing with potentially fire-hazardous substances. When blending gas, vapours, dust or other combustible liquids, pneumatic or air-driven mixer motors are a popular choice, as these are less likely to spark or ignite than an electric motor. For highly volatile mixing environments, FluidPro can also offer an EXD flameproof (or explosion proof) motor. This is an electric motor that has undergone safety testing to ensure it can withstand high temperatures, as well as airborne particles, without ignition.

Corrosive chemicals such as bleach may erode certain agitator materials. The material of your shaft and impellers depends on the corrosivity of the substances being blended. While top entry agitator shafts and propellors are typically made out of 316 stainless steel, if you are mixing corrosive chemicals, titanium components may be more suitable for your application.

If you are blending foodstuffs, or other materials with hygiene requirements such as medications or cosmetics, a polished shaft and impellers may be more suitable for your application.

FluidPro agitator motors can be customised to suit various power requirements, from pneumatic and hydraulic motors to different electric motors based on your available current and the intensity of your operation. If your top entry mixer needs to perform intense or heavy duty operations, you may require a 3-phase electric motor, while a single-phase motor may be suitable for smaller applications or batches.

FluidPro tailors all our mixers and agitators to suit your exact project requirements. Our custom agitator design and selection software tool allows us to customise your mixer, motor, shaft, impellers and more to suit your exact process specifications. If you are seeking guidance on choosing the right top entry agitator to suit your project, contact our friendly team today.