Press Pack pails

Marc Martens

User manual

Last revision: June 2022

Thank you for putting your trust in High Performance Packaging. Please consult the following instructions prior to operating this CurTec product:

Hot filling
Closing
Handling
Strength at negative temperatures
Palletizing
Static stacking load
Dynamic stacking load
Air transport
Opening
Washing

In case you have questions after reading these instructions, please contact us.

 

1. Hot filling

The temperature of the content cannot exceed 70°C. The content has to cool down to 30°C before the container can be closed.

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2. Closing

Press Pack has a unique closing concept: press down the lid to close, tear off the sealing strip and turn to open. After the sealing strips have been removed, the pail can be re-closed by screwing on the lid.

Press Pack has been designed for mechanically assisted closure. CurTec recommends using a Lid Locker and to avoid pressing down the lid manually.

Press Pack is leak tight only and its UN marking valid if the following closing instruction is applied using a Lid Locker:

1. Put the lid on the container. Make sure the loops from the tear-off sealing strip are positioned above the handgrips.
2. Slide the container into the Lid Locker until it reaches the rubber stops.
3. Press both buttons at the same time. The rubber stamp will press down the lid until it snaps onto the container.
4. Remove the closed container from the machine.
5. The container is properly closed when the tamper evident tear-off strip touches the container rim.

Press Pack is also suitable for fully automatic closure. Contact CurTec for more information about fully automatic closure solutions.

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3. Handling

You can lift the pail by using the handgrips.

! Please consider the HSE regulations regarding weight and frequency restrictions for lifting.

Both handgrips and handle have been designed for manual displacement only. They are not suitable for mechanical handling, such as lifting with a hoist.

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4. Strength at negative temperatures

The pails are made of plastic which is resistant to a minimum temperature of -18°C. As of -5°C, impacting or putting extreme loads on the pails should be avoided.

! The volume of pails filled with water-based contents can increase by 10%. The chances that pails will distort is real and it will reduce the stability of a pail stack on a pallet. Please maintain a maximum filling level of 90% and test the stability of a pallet stacking.

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5. Palletizing

Pallet quality

Pallets should have an almost closed surface. Wooden pallets should be fitted with planks that are no more than 5 cm/ 2 in apart. Plastic pallets should have a grid mesh top with openings that do not exceed 5 cm²/ 2 in². Pallets should be fitted with a solid, flat intermediate layer prior to loading.

Pallet schemes

CurTec advises you to respect the following quantities and schemes per layer:

Item no. 4620 - 4630

When positioning the pails on a pallet, it is important to turn handgrips away from the corners to avoid damaging the pallet cover or stretch foil.

Filled pails are placed on a flat surface and stacked by placing the base of the container in the counter shape of the lid.

! Our ex-works palletization is different. Please check our website for more info.

Pallet wrapping

CurTec recommends the use of a plastic heat shrink pallet cover, which needs to be shrunk around the stack including the pallet. In addition, the base of the pallet needs to be stretched with foil as well. The pails at the base of a stack will carry most of the load and to avoid a collapse they cannot be deformed by overstretching the foil or over-heating the cover.

In case a pallet is placed on top of another pallet, an intermediate layer is required to enable an equal spread of the pressure. This layer should also be solid and flat.

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6. Static stacking load

When stacking pails for storage or transport, it is important to know how much weight the lowest pail in a stack can handle.

The stacking load depends strongly on: the weight of a pail, the number of pails to be stacked, the weight of interlayers and pallets, the ambient temperature, the duration of the load and the surface beneath the lowest pail.

The following table shows the maximum stacking load (in kg) at a given ambient temperature, during a certain period of time, for a pail placed on a flat, closed surface or pallet.

Max. temp °C	0	0	0	0	15	15	15	15	25	25	25	25	35	35	35
Months	0.5	2	6	12	0.5	2	6	12	0.5	2	6	12	0.5	1	6
4620	287	260	241	230	225	204	189	180	192	174	161	153	163	155	137
4630	287	260	241	230	225	204	189	180	192	174	161	153	163	155	137

! The weights mentioned in the table have been established after simulation and can only serve as indications. CurTec recommends users to perform tests at all times.

The table allows you to calculate the number of pails that can be stacked: Reduce the stacking weight mentioned with the relevant share of the weight of intermediate layers and divide by the weight of the pail with content. This number, with a figure after the decimal point lower than 8, rounded down is the total amount of pails that can be stacked on the lowest pail of a stack.

Example

How many 20 liter pails (Item no. 4620) with a gross weight of 20 kg can be stacked on a pallet at 15°C during 6 months? The relevant weight share of intermediate layers is 2 kg, so (189-2)/20 = 9.35. The number of pails that can be stacked on the lowest pail is 9.

In case of a different duration or temperature, please choose the next appropriate column. For shorter stacking durations, the table of instruction 7 can be of service.

Attention points

• Before stacking the pails, the temperature of the contents must be equal or lower than the ambient temperature.
• the maximum stacking time is reduced considerably at temperatures above 35°C. The stacking load in the table is at 50°C only 75% of the last mentioned value and at 60°C only 50%.
• When a stack is higher than 2.5 meters, the floor angle cannot exceed 0.5%.
• CurTec strongly discommends stacking pails horizontally, lying on the side.
• When changing transport mode, from storage to shipping or vice versa, the lowest pails of a stack must always be placed highest in a new stack.

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7. Dynamic stacking load

When stacking pails for transport, it is important to know what the maximum load on the lowest pail in a stack can be.

For transport, this stacking load is called dynamic load and can be found by dividing the admissible static load by a so-called safety factor. These factors are:

• Air transport > 3
• Road transport > 2
• Rail transport > 1.8
• Maritime transport > 1.3

The stacking weights mentioned in the table below are indicative and depend on temperature and time: 5°C is the temperature for cooled transport, 30°C is the temperature for the average transport by road or inland waterways and 40°C is the temperature for transport in warmer surroundings.

Max. temp °C	5	5	5	5	5	30	30	30	30	30	40	40	40
Weeks	0.5	1	2	3	5	0.5	1	2	3	5	0.5	1	3
4620	293	279	266	259	250	196	187	178	173	167	167	159	147
4630	293	279	266	259	250	196	187	178	173	167	167	159	147

! The weights mentioned in the table have been established after simulation and can only serve as indications. CurTec recommends users to perform tests at all times.

In case of a different duration or temperature below 40°C, please choose the next appropriate column. In case of even higher temperature, please consider that the dynamic load is at 50°C only 75% of the last mentioned value and at 60°C only 50%.

The table allows you to calculate the number of pails that can be stacked: Divide the stacking weight by the appropriate safety-factor, reduce the outcome with the relevant share of the weight of intermediate layers and divide by the weight of the pail with content. This number, with a figure after the decimal point lower than 8, rounded down is the total amount of pails that can be stacked on the lowest pail of a stack.

Example

How many 20 liter pails (Item no. 4620) with a gross weight of 20 kg can be transported by road at 30°C during 3 weeks? The relevant weight share of intermediate layers is 2 kg, so ((173/2)-2)/20 = 4.28. The number of pails that can be stacked on the lowest pail is 4.

Attention points

• When changing transport mode, from storage to shipping or vice versa, the lowest pails of a stack must always be placed highest in a new stack.
• The pails must be stowed professionally and fixed in such a way that makes moving impossible.
• For the use of pallets, see instruction 5.
• For stacking pails in a warehouse, see instruction 6.

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8. Air transport

During air transport, the pressure drops inside a plane’s cargo hold, which causes air inside a package wanting to escape. After landing, normal atmospheric pressure prevails again which, depending on the amount of escaped air*, can cause the wall of the package to cave in.

CurTec packaging has not been designed to compensate pressure differences. The construction is such that a correctly closed packaging allows air to escape relatively fast, but does not allow it to return easily.

Since CurTec has no influence on the use of its packaging by end users, they advise to test each transport mode.

It remains the responsibility of end users to verify whether a package and content comply with relevant transport regulations. CurTec refers to the regulations mentioned in the UN certificates.

* The quantity depends on the content type (the shape and air between) and the filling degree/ level

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9. Opening/ re-closing

1. Remove the tamper evident strips one by one.
2. Release any pressure inside the container by briefly lifting the lid at the height of the studs.
3. Use your thumbs to turn the lid. Turn the lid at least 180°, and then lift the lid.

1. To re-close, put the lid on the container as shown and turn it at least 180° until the lid catches on the container rim.

! A leak tight closure can no longer be obtained after the sealing strips have been removed.

! Placing a rubber mat underneath the container makes opening and re-closing easier as less force is required to turn.

Emptying

You can use the rim and the base to tip the container and pour out the contents.

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10. Washing

The washing instructions below apply to the cleaning of all CurTec packaging products that are made of polyethylene and polypropylene:

• Best results will be achieved with ultrasonic washing machines or machines equipped with spray nozzles.
• Best qualified detergent is a low-foaming alkaline substance with a PH-value of 10 to 12 (solvents.)
• The recommended temperature of the washing water lies between 40°C and 50°C.
• The temperature of the rinsing water can only be up to 65°C.
• Washing at maximum temperature can only take up to 35 seconds and rinsing at maximum temperature only up to 20 seconds. It prevents the plastic from warming up and shrinking.
• Increased drying of products can be effected by means of applying cold air. If warm air will be used the drying can only last up to 30 seconds at a maximum temperature of 65°C.
• The blowing and drying part of the installation needs to be adjusted to the product, so those difficult spots of the kegs can also be dried.

! Check the thermostat and programmed times of your equipment regularly.

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Disclaimer

CurTec manufactures packaging material for a wide range of purposes. This declaration is restricted to the packaging material as it leaves the production facility. CurTec has neither control over final end use of the product nor over processing conditions. It is therefore the responsibility of the end user to check compliance with the relevant regulations and to validate material performance in the end application through proper end use testing.

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