Rotocast #38 | How to Save LPG in Rotomolding — Where Is the Gas Escaping? — LIVE

What you gain by watching

• Discover how to calculate the real cost of your LPG per kilo of resin and identify whether your bill hides waste or is within the ideal metric.
• Learn to diagnose the invisible villains of consumption—from undersized burners to low-quality gas—and save up to 30% in the first month with simple process adjustments.
• Find out how to negotiate supply contracts on a technical basis, avoiding fines and ensuring preventive assistance, turning the relationship with your supplier into a true partnership.

Episode chapters

1. 1

   LPG Cost: How to Know If Your Factory Is Paying Too Much Without Realizing It

   Many factories feel the weight of LPG on their cash flow, but few know if this expense is truly necessary or if there's hidden waste in the process. In this episode, we talk about the villains that inflate the bill—wrong cycle, low thermal efficiency, and off-schedule maintenance—and show that the amount paid at the end of the month only makes sense if it turns into parts within the expected metric. After all, it's not enough to look at the bill: you need to know if every real was used effectively.

   I wish companies paid one hundred, two hundred thousand reais on gas every month, but they'd look and say: "Wow, look, I'm paying a hundred thousand reais here, but I turned all this into energy and managed to turn it into parts." It's within the metric, on average, right? Within the metric.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 6:54
2. 2

   How Much Does Your Gas Cost per Kilo of Resin? The Calculation Few Do on the Factory Floor

   Many people run rotomolding on feel, but efficiency starts with a simple calculation that few actually do: dividing total gas consumption by the amount of resin processed in the month. In this episode, we show how this number is the gateway to diagnosing whether your operation is healthy or wasting money, and we reinforce that the path to changing the labor landscape in the sector involves a collaborative mapping that is already underway.

   It all starts with a calculation. How much gas do I spend per kilo of resin processed.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 12:21
3. 3

   How to Measure Gas Consumption and Why 400g/kg Can Be an Alarm or a Norm

   In the middle of the episode, we confront the question every processor asks: how much gas is too much? We discovered that you can't pin down a universal number, because consumption depends on machine size, burner sizing, and the amount of mold on the arm. What matters is proportionality and efficiency: a large machine with small parts is waste, just as an undersized burner can carbonize the plastic. And the good news is that small adjustments, like one we made at a company that saved 30% of LPG in the first month, show there's real room for cost reduction with simple process changes.

   The obvious also needs to be said; this is a phrase I insist on a lot.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 17:21
4. 4

   Stop Fighting with Your Supplier: Process Efficiency Starts with the Operator Seeing the Leak

   When the heating cycle takes longer than normal, the operator often blames the gas price or the supplier—but the problem might be in the machine itself, an undersized burner, or an air leak that no negotiation will solve. In this section, we show how the rotomolding course teaches the operator to feel and identify these signs before calling maintenance, fixing the defect immediately instead of waiting for burned or undercooked parts. And we tell how this connects to opening in-person classes in four regions of Brazil, with a two-day training that combines theory and practice at the machine's edge, revealing that the true efficiency gain isn't in the supplier's discount but in the ability of those who operate the oven.

   The operator will know how to identify that there's a problem. "Oh, but why is it taking so long?" Then they'll already know, man, it's a burner problem, it's a gas mixture problem, lack of pressure.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 22:48
5. 5

   What's the Real Gas Consumption in Rotomolding? The Calculation Every New Project Needs to Make

   When it comes to sizing the gas consumption of a rotomolding machine, the answer doesn't come from a magic formula, but from a practical rule we learned on the factory floor: the famous average of 250 grams of gas per kilo of resin processed. In the episode, we show how this basis compares with real cases of extreme efficiency—like the client who achieved only 70 grams per kilo—and we reinforce that this calculation is the starting point for anyone who wants to launch a product with a competitive price. We also talk about our trajectory of trial and error, 40 years of experience in machining and maintenance, and how the partnership with researcher Nilton Nicolette elevated our essential rotomolding course from empirical to scientific knowledge, always with the humility of those who learned in practice that good information is what separates a viable project from certain loss.

   It's not because his machine is top of the line, no. If you look at his machine, you'd say: 'Wow, I think it must be wood-fired there

   ▶ Watch at approximately 27:53
6. 6

   Rotomolding: The Gas Consumption That Haunts the Factory Floor

   When gas consumption seems like a monster without an owner, the first reaction is to fear the worst, but the conversation showed that the path starts with a simple calculation: knowing how much you spend per kilo processed. From there, the diagnosis gains method—heating time becomes the first symptom to investigate, revealing whether the problem is in the seal, the burner, or the machine's thermal efficiency. In the end, we talked about how a cycle that should take seven to eight minutes to reach peak temperature, when it exceeds that, hides inefficiencies that make the process more expensive and explain the high cost of gas.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 33:05
7. 7

   How to Know If the Gas You Buy Is Efficient Before Signing a Contract

   When the oven cycle exceeds seven minutes or 30% of the total time, the first suspicion falls on the burner—but not always is the problem yours. In the seventh chapter, we talk about a silent villain: the quality of the gas delivered by the company, which can vary in calorific value even between batches from the same supplier, as we've seen in three different companies. And the solution, we show, starts before the purchase: you need to analyze the technical data sheet, compare the calorific value of at least three suppliers, and be suspicious of prices that are too low, because cheap sometimes comes with oil or water inside the tank—a problem only purging solves.

   Sometimes you contract a gas, but you have—considering price, right. Mainly this, right? … you only look at price … but they send you gas of very poor quality.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 38:16
8. 8

   Why Your Oven Might Be Slow Even with the Right Gas?

   In this section, we dive into diagnosing an oven that doesn't heat as it should, revealing that efficiency goes far beyond the flame: we compare the calorific value of CNG and LPG, showing how the 'penny-wise economy' of a cheaper gas can be lost in longer cycles, and we arrive at the importance of details like burner modulation and mold positioning, which create thermal 'shadows' and steal productivity. In the end, it's clear that the path to efficiency requires questioning everything—from the supplier's data sheet to the type of burner installed—and that even we are always learning, like when we admitted we had never stopped to think about what happens before the gas reaches the machine.

   It's the famous penny-wise economy, right, so you have to understand exactly what you're doing so you don't end up saving the wrong way—saving on one side, but losing much more on the other side.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 43:17
9. 9

   Gas That Oscillates, Machine That Stops: What's Behind Your Supply Line

   When the second machine starts operating and the burner begins to fail, the first suspicion is usually the equipment—but it's not always that. In this section, we discuss the hidden causes of a classic factory problem: line sizing, distance from tanks, sun exposure, presence of curves in the piping, and even the difference between having pressure and having flow. We tell the real case where just increasing the gas stock didn't solve anything, and we reveal the solution—which involved changing a 3/4 pipe to a 1-inch one and understanding that the VAP maintains constant pressure, avoiding the dreaded water hammer. It's a warning about the invisible cost that lives in project details, and a practical recommendation to already plan the base for future expansion, because the time to grow comes too fast.

   I said: 'No, I want a pipe with greater flow. It's no use just having pressure if you don't have flow.

   ▶ Watch at approximately 48:27
10. 10

    After Gas and Pressure: Why Does Your Part Still Burn?

    When the gas is okay, pressure arrives smoothly, and the burner is correctly sized, the oven can still seem slow—and that's when the operator needs to see beyond the flame in the inspection window: that's what we told when showing that burner maintenance depends on opening the oven to observe the flame tongue, which can vary in color and reveal invisible problems, like poorly positioned sensors that make the programmed temperature spike and burn the part, we've seen cases of thirty to sixty degrees difference between one side and the other of the mold due to lack of an air circulator, and then we revealed the method we used to solve everything without losing a week of production: the Ishikawa diagram, which along with the maintenance team helped us eliminate each possible cause until the root of the problem.

    We've seen cases with a difference of thirty degrees… up to sixty degrees, right? From one side to the other on the part, of the same mold.

    ▶ Watch at approximately 53:32
11. 11

    From Checklist to Accounting: The Path to Eliminating Problems in the Factory

    When the lamp's frequency insists on not responding to the tightening, the solution isn't in improvisation, but in meticulous planning that eliminates delays and forgetfulness—a lesson we take from the factory floor to our consultancies, where the Ishikawa diagram becomes a roadmap to attack the most critical points. But efficiency doesn't stop at production: we also talk about the silent trap of fiscal classification, which might be inflating your costs with unnecessary taxes, and we remind that the deadline for packaging rules with recycled content is running out—a warning for those who haven't heard this from their own accountant yet. Thus, we show that true savings are born when technique and accounting walk together, and that's exactly what Ivan from CX Contábil will present next.

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

    ▶ Watch at approximately 58:35
12. 12

    Gas Supplier Who Never Showed Up: The Case That Exposes the Difference Between Price and Real Partnership

    On the factory floor, choosing a supplier rarely comes down to price per kilo—and we told the case of a gas company that, in three years, never visited the client, while the factory fought on the phone with the salesperson. It was only when setting up a second unit and calculating consumption that the realization of what was missing came: advisory, preventive maintenance, and a contract that looked beyond product delivery. We showed how negotiation involves burners on loan, loyalty periods, and contractual fines, revealing that the true difference lies in the support the company offers—not in the free lunch.

    I spent six years at this company, and in those first three years I was there, the gas company never came.

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

    When the Gas Supplier Disappears, Production Pays the Price: The Lesson from Those Who Learned to Switch Companies Out of Necessity

    On the factory floor, we told the real case of someone who discovered that the production problem wasn't always the material, but the gas pressure—and that the company responsible for maintaining the valves for three years never showed up. After fighting against abusive increases, we made a list of competitors, called the company to terminate the contract, and only then did the visit from the salesperson, manager, and director happen: that's when you meet the entire chain of command. The turnaround came when switching suppliers, but only after learning that a good price comes with a delivery route in your city and preventive technical assistance at least once a year, because some companies pull their truck off the route up to a hundred kilometers for emergencies. The final insight is not to get stuck with a single contract: compare competitors, analyze the conditions you pay for, and above all, know that after signing the paper, no company is that concerned anymore—so negotiate before committing to the contract.

    And one of the fundamental things for you when hiring the company is to know if it has a route in the city where you're going to be.

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

    Supply Contract: The Argument That Avoids Headaches and Fines in Rotomolding

    We talked about how a raw material supply contract can become a trap if you don't have a technical basis to negotiate—we showed the real case where a preventive maintenance clause, with clear deadlines and conditions, became the key to reversing a termination without paying a fine, shifting the burden to the party that failed to provide assistance. We also explored alternative fuels for burners, like the residual cooking oil used by a motel chain and gasogenio, discussing that the viability of each depends on a careful analysis of cost, consumption, and stock—and that the smartest way to deal with high costs isn't to pass the price on to the customer, but to look at your own process and reduce operational costs.

    Those who don't provide assistance open space for competition.

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

    Consulting That Pays for Itself on the First Visit: The Case of Saving Half a Million per Year

    When we started putting together this episode about LPG, we thought we wouldn't have half an hour of content—but we discovered it could fill days. In this conversation, we showed that cost reduction is the best investment a factory can make, and we told how our consulting, in two stages, identifies problems and the biggest saving opportunities on the first visit, with real cases: a client saves half a million per year on a single product, and the projection for other plants reaches two million. In the end, it's clear the work is a two-way street: we present numbers and solutions, but the company needs to be open about its pain points so we can attack the right problem—and if the result doesn't come as promised, our commitment is not to charge.

    Cost reduction is the best investment you can make. Every consulting case we've done paid for itself on the first visit.

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

    Consulting Requires Partnership: The Case Where We Waived Payment

    On the factory floor, not every solution comes easily—and sometimes, the obstacle isn't in the machine, but in the client's lack of openness. We told the real case of a company that hired us to solve a quality problem in export parts, but didn't provide basic process information or allow us to go deep. The refusal to collaborate was so great that, even with the work completed, we recognized the solution hadn't pleased them and waived our payment: if it wasn't useful for them, it wouldn't be for us either. From this experience, we changed our approach: today we tie everything up in a contract, because true partnership requires commitment from both sides.

    He wanted me to perform a miracle. I said: 'No, I don't do miracles; it's not our department.

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

    Material Recovery: A Ready-Made Business That Still Buys 90% of Your Production

    We've reached the end of another direct conversation about what truly drives the factory floor, and the message was clear: Portal's support is a two-way street, with NDAs to protect information and training so you don't depend on third parties. We told the case of a supplier who wants to sell their recovery factory for health reasons, but guarantees a rare differential: they teach the entire material manufacturing process and also commit to buying 90% of the production, since they can no longer handle both fronts. This is the type of opportunity that doesn't stay on the website, so we revealed the fastest way to find businesses with guaranteed returns, including machines that go for less than a third of their market value.

    He teaches you how to make the material, do everything there, and will still buy it. I think 90% of the material will all be for, for his own consumption there.

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

    When a 180K Business Appears: The Art of Recognizing and Closing

    We talked about the importance of seeing opportunities, even when the price seems high—like in that case where the molds alone were worth the investment. We showed that negotiation goes beyond value: it's about talking, listening, and seeking an agreement that makes sense for both sides. And we reminded that, for those who want to buy or sell, we're always ready to help via WhatsApp or Instagram, while preparing for the next episode about burners and maintenance.

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

    ▶ Watch at approximately 1:35:02