Balers are a wonderfully efficient bit of kit, and they generally help to enrich recycling processes in a myriad of reliable capacitates. Unfortunately, even the very best balers can get jammed up from time to time, and no baler is a match for a poorly trained or irresponsible workers.

When you’re working with any type of machine in any kind of industry, safety should always come first.

Learning how to safely unjam a cardboard baler should be one of the first skills you learn if you aim to maximize efficiency and stay out of harm’s way.

If you’re lacking a bit of confidence when it comes to unjamming the baler, or you just need to brush up on your memory, don’t worry. Here are some tips that you might find useful.

Push the Red Stop Button

The big red stop button is there for a very important reason: it cuts off the machine in the event of an emergency.

Knowing how to shut off power to the machine is possibly the most critical part of the balers safety protocol.

Push this button if your machine is malfunctioning, and do not attempt to remove the clog until the machine is completely off.

If the stop button (it might not actually be red) has failed to cut the power, or you need to kill all power to the baler, pull the disconnection switch handle at the mains.

Only once the power is completely off should you consider removing the jam.

Reverse the Ram

If it’s a non-major jam, you could always think about manually reversing the ram, as this may eject the blockage quickly and efficiently.

Never Reach Inside During Operation

Whatever you do, do not reach inside the machine while it is operating. Balers can exert tens of thousands of pounds of pressure tremendously quickly, and you’ve seen what it does to cardboard.

Keep your awareness levels up when using the machine, and if it jams, don’t instinctively reach in. This can prove utterly disastrous.

The machine guarding should be in place to prevent this from happening, so make sure yours is working to prevent any serious issues from occurring. Don’t use your baler if this guard is broken.

Follow the Manual

You should not ever go too far wrong if you manage to stick to the rules. Reading the manual that came with the machine and familiarizing yourself with all the parts before you start using it is a must.

Many accidents like jams and general malfunctions are down to loading the machine with excessively large amounts of cardboard boxes. If you never read the manual, you won’t know how big your load should be in the first place, so don’t risk it, as repeated strains could irrevocably damage the mechanism.

While there are indeed a huge variety of baling machines available, the fundamentals of bales safety stay relatively unchanged.

Call the Manufacturers

If you cannot seem to unjam your jam, contact the manufacturer of the machine, as they should be able to point you in the right direction.

If your baler keeps jamming, even when you follow the instructions to the letter, then it’s probably time for an upgrade. Recycling Balers can help you with this, so why not check out our online superb online marketplace and start looking for solutions today?