Industrial Parts Washers and Wash Cabinets

An industrial parts washer, or spray wash cabinet, cleans production parts, utensils and containers in batches inside a closed cabinet. Pohjaranta's Multiwasher parts washers are multi-purpose wash cabinets for crates, bins, containers, moulds and machine parts. Interchangeable adapter trolleys fit the same cabinet to different loads, and the wash programme is chosen to suit the item.

Not a workshop parts washer

In a workshop, a parts washer usually means a small sink or bench unit where individual parts are cleaned by hand. The Multiwasher is a different class of machine: a closed stainless steel cabinet washer with two separate 350-litre tanks, programmable wash cycles and detergent concentration set from the control panel. It is built for production, where the items are large and washes are frequent.

Two-tank system: separate pre-wash tank and wash tank

Multiwasher cabinets have two separate tanks. In the MW-3 the pre-wash tank holds 350 litres and the thermally insulated wash tank another 350 litres. The pre-wash takes off coarse soil, food residue and fat into its own tank, and the actual wash runs on a separate washing solution, either alkaline or acid.

In a single-tank machine the soil from the pre-wash ends up in the same solution as the actual wash: the solution gets dirty, detergent performance drops and the result varies within the shift. A separate pre-wash tank keeps the washing solution clean longer, evens out the result and extends the interval between solution changes. The insulated wash tank holds the temperature steady, so less heating energy is used.

What the Multiwasher washes

With adapter trolleys the same cabinet washes, for example, lift trolleys, stackable crates, screen plates, freezing plates, plastic pallets, metal bins and other containers, 660-litre containers and meat industry trolleys. In practice it works as a crate washer, bin washer and utensil washer in one cabinet, and further adapters and programmes can be added later when the items you wash change.

The cabinets are used in the meat, fish, bakery, beverage and food industries, in logistics and in the automotive industry.

Wash programmes and consumption

The control system holds 20 modifiable wash recipes. A recipe can be set up for each washing solution and each item, and also for cleaning the inside of the machine. Detergent concentration is adjustable from the control panel between 0.2 and 1.5 %.

Water consumption is 30–90 litres per wash depending on the item, and the MW-3 runs 10–30 wash cycles per hour. The wash tank is heated by steam injector, water-based radiator or electricity.

MW-3 or MW 3-2-2

The Multiwasher MW-3 is the base model. The extended MW 3-2-2 uses the same two-tank washing process, but its larger chamber takes bigger batches and raises throughput by up to 60 % per wash. The adapter trolleys fit both models, so accessories can be moved between them.

Wash cabinet or washing line?

A wash cabinet works in batches, so it suits production where the items vary and volumes are moderate. When identical crates are washed by the hundreds or thousands per hour, a flow-through crate washing line is the right choice. The MW-3 runs 10–30 wash cycles per hour, for example, while the High Capacity Crate Washing Line washes 2,000 crates per hour.

Both the cabinets and the washing lines are designed and built at Pohjaranta's factory in Säkylä, Finland.