Rotocast #38 | How to save LPG in ROTO — Where is the gas escaping? — LIVE

What you gain by watching

• Learn to calculate LPG consumption per kilo of processed resin and find out whether your process is efficient.
• Identify signs of gas escaping: long cycle, yellow flame, lack of flow, unregulated burner, and delayed maintenance.
• Leave with criteria to negotiate with suppliers, compare calorific value, and use a technical visit or consulting to reduce cost.

Episode chapters

1. 1

   Do you know how much of your LPG turned into parts this month?

   We opened episode 38 with that question that squeezes the cash flow of many factories: did the amount of LPG we pay for every month actually turn into real parts, or did part of it slip away along the way through the wrong cycle, poor thermal efficiency, and off-line maintenance? That's why we call on people to look beyond the final bill — what matters is knowing whether every real paid in gas turned into energy and into product, and we also share our journey and the form we created to map the pain points of labor and training in each region.

   It's not just about looking at what you pay in the month.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 6:54
2. 2

   The calculation almost no one does: how much gas goes away per kilo of resin

   It seems obvious, but for many people it isn't: everything starts with a calculation — how much gas you spend per kilo of transformed resin, dividing the month's consumption by the total processed, already taking losses into account. An entire episode is born from this first step, and it's what reveals whether your company is being efficient or just putting out fires on the factory floor.

   Everything starts with a calculation. How much gas I spend per kilo of transformed resin.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 12:21
3. 3

   How much gas does your rotomolding really consume per kilo of resin?

   We talk about a number that almost no one measures accurately: gas consumption per kilo of transformed resin, and we show how the calculation can range from 250 to 400 grams depending on the product and the process. The big insight is that the size of the machine is misleading — what defines efficiency is what you put inside the arm, and a small adjustment can generate savings that last month after month.

   A small adjustment I made on the machine, we already managed to save 30% of LPG in consumption.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 17:21
4. 4

   Rotomolding course: the operator who sees the problem before calling maintenance

   On the factory floor, the cycle that takes too long, the part that comes out raw or crumbling usually turn into a fight with the supplier's price — when often the problem is an undersized burner, an air leak, or gas out of spec. That's why we brought the rotomolding course into the conversation: two days, theory of the fundamentals and hands-on practice at the machine, in open classes for the Northeast, South, Minas Gerais, and Guarulhos, with special conditions for those who provide the space and gather people from the region. Form filled out, class assembled, and the operator starts identifying and correcting immediately, without waiting two rounds to find out the part didn't cook.

   The operator will start to see, will feel, will identify this before calling maintenance

   ▶ Watch at approximately 22:48
5. 5

   Sleep, waiter, and the gas bill that changes everything

   We opened the chat talking about something that seems like a detail, but that runs through the day of those on the factory floor: sleepless nights, accumulated fatigue, and the difficulty of understanding that behind a yawn there's a real life and a serious medical condition. From that experience we pulled the story of someone who spent eight years as a waiter, plus forty inside the industry, and learned the hard way that no one treats a team generically — each person, each machine, and each process calls for an individual look.

   People usually do two hundred fifty grams per kilo of gas, yeah, per kilo of gas to, per kilo of transformed resin

   ▶ Watch at approximately 27:53
6. 6

   How much gas your rotomolding is burning without you noticing

   We ran the numbers on a real case — 450 grams of gas per kilo transformed — and the question was simple: how do you know if that's a lot or a little? The answer starts with a metric: without a number, you don't know if you've improved or worsened. From there, we showed that the first symptom of inefficiency shows up in the heating time — if the ramp takes too long, the problem may be in the door seal, the arm, or the burner, and each case is a case, with companies heating in three, seven, or even twelve minutes. We also reminded that Portal Rotomoldagem does this assessment of your process, and that we've already brought Marques, from Rotomax, to talk about the equipment that precisely measures the ideal time for each part.

   If you don't have a metric to base yourself on, you can't do anything, right? You won't know if you worsened or improved according to the adjustment you made.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 33:05
7. 7

   Cheap gas can end up expensive: the mystery of the cycle that never closes

   If your cycle doesn't close and the burner takes too long, the first step is to measure efficiency — because the average cycle time in the market is around 20 to 22 minutes, and the oven accounts for about 30% of that. But the cause may be well before the burner: we talk about gas batches with compromised calorific value, the practice of putting oil or water inside the cylinder to add weight, and the importance of purging in stationary tanks. The lesson is not to hire based only on price — ask for the technical datasheet, compare the calorific value among at least three suppliers, and analyze real consumption before closing the deal.

   You're only going to look at price, you're only going to look at price there.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 38:16
8. 8

   Cheaper CNG can end up expensive: the sloppy savings that stalls your oven

   The gas arrives cheaper on the bill, but the lower calorific value can turn into a longer cycle and stalled production — and then the math doesn't work out the way you expected. That's why we show that every detail counts: mold positioning, burner shadow, and flame modulation are points that define whether the gas really delivers efficiency.

   You save on one side, but you lose much more on the other side

   ▶ Watch at approximately 43:17
9. 9

   Why the second machine never works when the first one is doing well

   You have a good burner, good sealing, and even so the machine doesn't perform — it has happened that one machine ran perfectly and, when the second was turned on, everything stalled. It took changing the tank, calling the gas company several times, until understanding that pressure alone isn't enough: flow was missing, and the thin three-quarter piping was the bottleneck. The lesson we brought is to plan expansion before you need it — leave the base and area ready for more tanks, size the pipe, distance, and evaluate the vaporizer to keep pressure constant — because all of that goes into the invisible cost of rotomolding.

   It's no use just having pressure, you don't have flow.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 48:27
10. 10

    The yellow flame that exposes an unregulated oven

    We've already seen an operator think the problem was in the burner when, in fact, it all started back in the gas distribution or in the temperature sensor positioned in the wrong place — and that's why hands-on factory floor experience makes a difference. After checking for leaks, pressure, sizing and burner maintenance, what truly reveals thermal efficiency is looking at the flame and facing the distribution inside the oven: we've already seen cases of up to sixty degrees of difference between one side and the other of the same mold, and that's where the air circulator and the Ishikawa diagram come in to eliminate the causes one by one.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 53:32
11. 11

    The checklist that keeps a fiscal time bomb from going off in your factory

    Before the general shutdown, we would already put together the map with the technicians from each area — the same reasoning of the Ishikawa diagram we apply when we enter a factory for consulting: tackle the critical points before they turn into delays. And there's one front that many people forget: accounting, because you can be paying more tax than you should — and that's where CX Contábil comes in, with Ivan, classifying product by product. Extra attention for those who work with packaging: the decree deadline is running out and, if your accountant hasn't warned you, it could be a bomb exploding in your hand.

    If your accountant hasn't told you this, it's going to be a bomb that explodes in your hand.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 58:35
12. 12

    Price per kilo isn't everything: what the gas company doesn't tell you

    When the conversation turned to supplier selection, we remembered that price per kilo isn't everything — and a case came up: six years at a company and, in the first three, the gas company's salesperson never showed up; contact was a fight over the phone. It was when setting up the second factory, with much higher consumption, that the penny dropped: what was missing was support, consulting, preventive maintenance, presence. And then came the detail that almost nobody looks at: you can even negotiate the burner on a loan basis with the gas company itself, diluted into the supply contract — but you need to know how much time is left, what the penalty is and what stays yours in the end.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:03:50
13. 13

    When the gas supplier disappeared for three years, the bill hit production

    We thought the material arriving was bad, but the problem was in the temperature and pressure because no one had shown up for preventive maintenance in two, three years. That's when we sat down, listed the prices of the other companies and said we were going to terminate the contract — and in no time salesperson, manager and director showed up, but it was already too late: we learned that we can't be tied to a single supplier and that route, frequency and maintenance are worth as much as price.

    We thought the problem was the material that arrived there that was bad, but it varied, after we started observing that it really was the temperature, that it was exposed there.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:08:54
14. 14

    Before signing the gas contract, have an argument to fight with

    Have you ever thought about being tied to a gas supply contract with a penalty and mandatory consumption for four years, without having an argument to negotiate? That's what we discussed when showing how mandatory maintenance clauses open room for termination without a penalty, because whoever doesn't provide assistance opens room for the competition. And we even went beyond traditional fuels: we went through reused frying oil that generated soot and smoke, through firewood and reached the gasifier, whose efficiency similar to LPG makes sense for some cases and not for others — that's why the path is to analyze cost, consumption and stock before deciding.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:14:10
15. 15

    The best investment is cost reduction, and it pays for itself on the first visit

    We thought LPG wouldn't give half a topic, but when we went to put the episode together we realized it could give days — and that's exactly what drives Portal Rotomoldagem's consulting: cost reduction as the best investment that exists. In all the cases we did, the consulting paid for itself already on the first visit, when we identified the problem and showed where the biggest savings are; in a real case, we talked about half a million per year on a single product, potentially reaching two million considering other plants.

    Cost reduction is the best investment you make

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:19:42
16. 16

    A technical visit that pays for itself on the first problem — and the client who wanted a miracle

    We arrived at the first visit and immediately identified a problem that, fixed on the spot, paid for the entire visit — but not everyone wants to be helped: there was a client outsourcing an export part with a problem, who called us, and even with the whole path laid out was reluctant to give basic information, as if we could work a miracle without knowing the plastisol formulation. The lesson we took from that was harsh and became a rule: when the solution didn't please them and they didn't hold up their end, we refund the money and don't charge what was owed, and today we tie everything into a contract, because a service has to work for both sides — "I don't do miracles, that's not our department."

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:24:59
17. 17

    A two-way street: what we need from you

    The conversation turned a corner when we said that all the support, path, and foundation we offer only work on a two-way street — if there's information on the other side, an NDA handles confidentiality. And for those who want to walk on their own two feet, the Essential Rotomolding Course has open cohorts (only 10 spots), plus the burner course coming next week; and for those thinking about business, there's our marketplace, where machines and entire factories, with clients and molds, sometimes show up at well below market price — but those opportunities only reach those who message on WhatsApp.

    It's a two-way street, there's no point in you demanding from us and not giving me the information I need

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:30:00
18. 18

    A deal closed for R$ 180 thousand and the community that grows along with Portal

    You know when the price seems too high, but the molds alone are already worth all of that? That's how we told the story of an opportunity that only appeared because we were paying attention — and what seemed expensive turned into a good deal. At the end of the day, the message is simple: negotiation is conversation, and it's that exchange that turns those who just watch into those who take part in our community.

    At that price I'd find a way, I'd buy it, because the molds alone were worth that

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:35:02