Sentrimax overhauls legacy Sharples decanter and tricanter centrifuges used by Los Angeles-area wine, environmental services and energy plants, receiving units at a Sentrimax facility for teardown, inspection, parts replacement, gearbox work, balancing and a full test run before the machine ships back into service.
A Regional Service for an Older Fleet
Sentrimax does not operate a facility in Los Angeles. Southern California’s legacy
Sharples fleet is served by shipping equipment to one of Sentrimax’s three facilities –
Mansfield, Texas; Edmonton, Alberta; or Kitchener, Ontario – depending on scheduling and
freight routing, then returning the rebuilt unit through a dedicated broker network.
Sentrimax is an independent MRO provider founded in 2002; it is not authorized, certified or
partnered by Sharples or any other manufacturer, and the brand name here describes equipment
serviced, not an affiliation.
Three Different Industries, One Aging Fleet
Los Angeles-area Sharples units are not concentrated in a single industry, which makes
this a different repair conversation than a typical single-purpose regional page. California
wine producers use decanter and tricanter centrifuges to clarify must and separate lees
during wine production, a duty that is gentler on the rotating assembly mechanically but hard
on seals and bearings from the acidity and sugar content of the process fluid. Environmental
services operations run Sharples units for contaminated soil treatment and industrial
effluent processing, where the solids load is often abrasive and highly variable batch to
batch. Older oil-producing areas of the state still run legacy Sharples decanters on crude
oil separation and produced water clarification, duty that behaves like any other oilfield
solids control application.
| Application | Dominant wear mechanism | What the inspection focuses on |
|---|---|---|
| Wine must and lees clarification | Seal and bearing degradation from acidic, sugar-laden process fluid | Seal specification review, bearing condition assessment |
| Contaminated soil and effluent treatment | Abrasive and variable solids loading | Bowl and scroll tile wear measurement, hardfacing evaluation |
| Legacy oilfield crude and produced water | Abrasive solids and cyclic gearbox torque | Rotating assembly measurement, gearbox inspection |
What a Full Rebuild Involves
- Documentation and ID tagging of the unit on receipt
- Oil sample pulled and sent for third-party analysis
- Full disassembly, steam clean and polishing of critical surfaces
- 75-point inspection performed by a licensed technician
- Measurement of every critical precision fit before a quote is issued
- Dynamic balancing to ISO G 0.5 and a full test run before shipment
Every job includes a fit evaluation, a detailed inspection report, dynamic balancing and a
test run – the standard baseline on any Sentrimax repair, not an optional add-on.
Parts for a Machine the Manufacturer May No Longer Fully Support
Sharples has changed ownership and product lines several times over its long history, and
older bowl, scroll and gearbox designs are not always fully supported through current OEM
parts channels. Sentrimax’s engineering services and machine shop – milling, lathe-turning,
precision-grinding – can design new or reverse-engineered replacement components machined to
meet or exceed OEM specifications, which keeps a mechanically sound Sharples unit in service
rather than treating parts scarcity as a reason to replace equipment that has not actually
reached the end of its working life.
Gearbox and Controls Condition
Sentrimax repairs planetary two- and three-stage gearboxes and CYCLO gearboxes as well as
hydraulic backdrives, and treats a gearbox inspection as a standard part of every teardown.
On older Sharples units where the original control panel has become unreliable, PLC and HMI
upgrades, VFD troubleshooting and replacement, and brake system integration are available
alongside the mechanical rebuild, backed by ETL-certified control panel and automation
support.
Inspection Through Delivery
- Receiving and inspection. The unit is documented, disassembled and
steam-cleaned for a 75-point technician inspection, with an oil sample sent for third-party
analysis. - Quotation package. Inspection findings, scope of work, required parts,
photos, pricing and an estimated delivery time are prepared for approval. - Reparar. Approved parts are machined to meet or exceed OEM tolerance, and
the rotating assembly is reassembled and balanced to ISO G 0.5. - Test run and delivery. A full performance test run precedes shipment
through Sentrimax’s broker network, with a detailed report of parts, labor and analyses
completed.
Stop the machine if
Vibration increases noticeably and does
not settle, a bearing runs hotter than its normal range, or the gearbox produces a new
grinding or whining sound. Continuing to run an aging Sharples unit through these symptoms
risks converting a bowl-and-scroll repair into a full rotating assembly replacement.
Deciding Between Rebuild and Replacement
An older Sharples unit that has been through several rebuild cycles eventually reaches a
point where the underlying castings and housing have absorbed enough cumulative wear that
another repair no longer makes economic sense compared to a refurbished replacement.
Sentrimax sells new and refurbished centrifuges and ancillary equipment, including gearboxes
and electrical components, and the inspection data gathered from a current teardown is useful
evidence for making that comparison rather than guessing at remaining service life.
Seasonal Demand From the Wine Industry
California wine production has a pronounced seasonal peak around harvest, when
must-clarification and lees-separation demand on a winery’s centrifuges rises sharply for a
concentrated stretch of weeks. A Sharples unit that has been running lightly the rest of the
year can reveal deferred wear right at the point when the winery can least afford unplanned
downtime. Scheduling an inspection before harvest, rather than waiting for a failure during
it, is the more reliable way to avoid losing capacity during the one period of the year when
it matters most. Sentrimax’s inspection and repair timeline is planned around the
information gathered during teardown rather than a guessed seasonal deadline, so getting a
unit in early enough to allow for parts fabrication, if needed, is the customer’s best lever
for avoiding a harvest-season surprise. A rental unit can also be arranged in advance for a
winery that wants a backup in place regardless of what the inspection ultimately finds.
Environmental Remediation Duty Cycles
Environmental services operations running Sharples decanters for contaminated soil
treatment or industrial effluent processing often see highly variable feed characteristics
from one project or batch to the next, since the material being processed depends on
whatever site or waste stream is currently under contract. That variability makes consistent
wear-pattern prediction harder than in a steady industrial process, and it is part of why
Sentrimax measures actual precision fits during teardown rather than assuming a fixed wear
rate based on hours of operation alone. A unit that has processed several unusually abrasive
batches in a short period can show more wear than its total runtime would otherwise suggest.
Legacy Oilfield Units in California’s Older Fields
California’s oil-producing regions, including areas of the San Joaquin Valley, still run
legacy decanter centrifuges – some of them Sharples units that have been in service for
decades – on crude oil separation and produced water clarification. That duty wears bowl and
scroll surfaces the same way any oilfield solids control application does, through abrasive
sand and formation solids, and it loads the gearbox with the same kind of cyclic torque seen
in any drilling or production environment. A legacy unit in this service often benefits from
the same reverse-engineered parts approach used on Sharples equipment elsewhere, since
original components for decades-old oilfield decanters are frequently no longer available
through standard channels, and Sentrimax’s machine shop can measure a worn part directly off
the machine rather than relying on a catalog number that may no longer correspond to
anything currently manufactured.
Wider Coverage for Sharples Owners
This page covers full Sharples repair across Los Angeles-area industries. For parts
availability and reverse-engineering options specifically, see the
piezas de centrífuga page. The general decanter and tricanter
El proceso de reconstrucción que se aplica una vez que se abre una máquina está cubierto por
Reparación de centrífuga decantadora, y esta página se encuentra
bajo el marco más amplio Reparación de centrífugas Sharples centro.
Coverage details for the rest of North America are on the
áreas de servicio de centrifugadoras página.
Solicite una evaluación de su unidad Sharples
Sending the model and serial number, along with photographs and a description of the
process fluid and recent symptoms, helps Sentrimax scope the inspection before the unit
ships. Rental centrifuges are available for facilities that cannot run without coverage while
their own unit is being rebuilt, and English, French and Spanish-speaking representatives can
help coordinate logistics.
Documenting Condition Across Different Duty Types
A facility running more than one Sharples unit across different applications – a
winery with both a must-clarification decanter and a lees-processing tricanter, for
instance – benefits from treating each machine’s inspection report as a separate record
rather than assuming shared maintenance needs simply because the equipment carries the same
brand name. The 75-point inspection, oil sample analysis and annotated photographs generated
at each teardown reflect that specific unit’s actual duty and condition, which is a more
reliable basis for prioritizing maintenance spending across a mixed fleet than treating every
Sharples machine on site as functionally identical. Over several service cycles, that record
also makes it easier to justify a capital request for a refurbished replacement once a
specific unit’s cumulative wear crosses the point where another rebuild stops being the
better economic choice.
Preguntas frecuentes
Does Sentrimax have a facility in Los Angeles?
No. Sentrimax operates three facilities in North America – Mansfield, Texas; Edmonton, Alberta; and Kitchener, Ontario – and Los Angeles-area equipment is shipped to whichever is handling the workload, then returned through Sentrimax's broker network.
¿Está Sentrimax autorizada o certificada por Sharples?
No. Sentrimax es un proveedor independiente de servicios de mantenimiento, reparación y operaciones (MRO) y no está autorizado, certificado ni asociado con Sharples ni con ningún otro fabricante de centrífugas. La marca describe el equipo al que presta servicio, no implica ninguna afiliación.
Does a Sharples unit used for wine production need different service than one used in an oilfield?
Yes. A wine-duty unit typically shows seal and bearing wear from acidic, sugar-laden process fluid, while an oilfield unit shows abrasive wear on bowl and scroll surfaces. Sentrimax measures actual condition during teardown rather than assuming duty from the model number.
Can Sentrimax replace Sharples parts that are no longer available from the manufacturer?
Often, yes. Sentrimax's machine shop can design new or reverse-engineered components machined to meet or exceed OEM specifications when an original part is discontinued, which is common on older Sharples product lines.
Is our old Sharples unit worth rebuilding or should we replace it?
That depends on the condition of the housing, drive and major castings. Sentrimax's inspection report documents actual findings so the decision is based on measured condition rather than the machine's age alone, and Sentrimax also sells refurbished replacements for comparison.
Can we get a rental centrifuge while our Sharples unit is being rebuilt?
Sí. Sentrimax ofrece centrífugas de alquiler para mantener un proceso en funcionamiento durante una reparación, revisión o período de máxima demanda; lo ideal es coordinarlo antes del envío de la unidad, en lugar de después de que ya se necesite cubrir la necesidad.
Hable con un especialista en centrífugas.
Envíenos los detalles de la máquina y le enviaremos un informe de inspección y un presupuesto.