Your Countries’ Water Can Affect Your Seal

About one year ago, Colonial Seal had a revelation similar to that of the hydraulic fluid discrepancy that we posted about two weeks ago. Interior flooding was occurring from soda dispensing machines that contained Colonial Seals within their structure. Our seals were dissipating inside these machines and we were not sure why. What most puzzled the staff of Colonial Seal was the fact that these were not new customers. Our seals had been used in these machines for up to two years prior to this dilemma.

After quickly contacting our suppliers and thoroughly communicating with the distraught customer, we discovered the root cause of the problem. Water was said to have been the only fluid coming into physical contact with the product that the customer bought. However, the facility where the customer was having issues is based in the United Kingdom. After researching the issue, Colonial Seal realized that the United Kingdom’s water contains an organic compound called, “chloramine.” Since we are a supplier based in the United States (and our water does not usually contain chloramine) we never thought to ask our customers if any extra compounds were mixed in with their water.

Individuals involved in the process asked, “Why wasn’t this an issue two years ago when the soda company first began using Colonial Seals?” When the customer first started using our seals, our EPDM seals’ substance contained less than 1% of filler. When we adjusted the consistency of our EPDM seal two years later, it contained 4.01% of filler. The new consistency just so happened to not be compatible with chloramine. Although the company had a testing process they used on their seals before putting them to use, the customer never thought to retest a seal that they had used plenty of times in the past.  

Such a simple, small mistake turned out to be a huge problem. Anyone who has dealt with seals on a large scale before knows how much of an impact a tiny, little seal can have on a huge machine or system. In order to prevent cases such as this in the future, we have put to use a published specification that provides buyers and suppliers with a standard way to describe rubber, known as ASTM D2000. Implementing the specification ensures that we are always on the same page as our customers. We, Colonial Seal, know (from experience) exactly what substances our seals are suited for and can ensure that precise details provided by our customers will maximize seal capabilities.