Energy & Power, Heating, Cooling & Drying

Sponge and felt dryers help remove moisture in fresh pack operations

Phil Black - PII Editor 28/08/2014

93 1 minute read

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Sponge and felt dryers from Herbert Engineering, the leaders in root crop handling systems, have been integrated into freshpack plants in Britain and Europe, with excellent results both in terms of removing surface moisture and minimising maintenance, both issues to most fresh packer operations.

As standard, Herbert’s sponge roller dryer uses sponge discs or felt rollers to absorb moisture from potatoes and other crops with optional pintle de-watering rollers to remove excess water at the feed in end. A soft start system prevents premature wear of the drive system historically associated with continuous stop / start of the dryer and a simple single chain drive system reduces downtime associated with short chain under load failing.

Dryer options include brush rollers for the removal of loose stones and a catchment tank for water management. The roller dryer also now features blue sponge rollers that enable easy visual detection of pieces if cut or damaged.

A new manual produce clearing system is also available as an optional extra, this speeds up the process of clearing produce once the system is turned off, for instance when changing variety. This system is also now available as a retro fit to certain models of dryers. It’s a simple modification that saves time and helps prevent product contamination.