BUCKET CONDITIONING UNIT

Gravity-driven, energy-free automatic dampening station

An autonomous dampening unit for giving grain or purpose-specific product masses a targeted amount of moisture (water) in flour, semolina and pulse processing plants, operating without external electricity. Usually integrated at the inlet of double-tier AISI 304 stainless-steel tempering screws, this device runs on the flow’s own weight and gravitational acceleration, reducing operating costs to zero.

WORKING PRINCIPLE

Volumetric pocketed-rotor acceleration — specific-gravity drive: the wheat mass arriving at the conditioner or screw inlet fills the pockets on the device’s circular rotor; under the grain’s specific gravity (density) and gravity, the rotor begins turning at a speed exactly synchronised with the incoming product flow. Transmission gears and plastic-bucket disc — mechanical water dosing: the rotor’s rotation is transmitted through rigid transmission gears to the main disc in the water-tank section, on which special plastic buckets are mounted; as the product flow rises, the water disc speeds up too, forming a proportional dosing mechanism. Central-channel discharge and mixing — homogeneous penetration: the plastic buckets, having taken water from the water tank, empty it at the disc’s top point into the central collection channel; from there the water flows by gravity into the double-tier screw and is blended 100% homogeneously with the wheat kernels.

KEY ADVANTAGES

- Zero energy consumption (eco-friendly autonomous design): The system runs entirely on the wheat’s own flow energy and a hydraulic-weight principle; it needs no motor, cabling, panel or sensor investment and offers uninterrupted tempering unaffected by power outages.

- Corrosion-free material technology: To definitively prevent rotting, rusting and deformation of the lower frame and mechanical sections exposed to intense water contact, the water tank and related components are made of high-strength fibreglass.

- Double-sided model for lentil-process optimisation: In red- and green-lentil processing plants, the final product’s surface needs polishing-oil injection alongside water to gain a smooth, glossy commercial look; special double-sided models that can proportion water and oil simultaneously are available for this process.

ENGINEERING NOTE

The Bucket Dampener is the simplest and most flawless synergy of mechanical kinematics and hydrodynamics. Even if the product flow rate (capacity) fluctuates, the pocketed rotor’s speed changes in direct proportion to the incoming wheat volume; the water disc speeds up or slows down to the same degree, so that — with no automation panels — the water proportion given to the grain always stays constant and stable relative to the raw-material flow.