Principle of Operation
Suction side
Intake nozzle
The suction blower consists of a
powerful blower and a rotary valve.
Conveying is started by using the
suction air of the blower to lift and
accelerate the grain towards the
blower.
Function and Use of Air Regulator
The blower is provided with an
automatic air regulator positioned in
the pipe between the cyclone and
the blower intake.
10
Blower
Rotary valve
Just before the grain reaches the
blower housing it is separated
from this air stream in a cyclone
and dropped into the rotary valve,
whereas the air continues to the
blower. The rotary valve conveys
the grain from the suction side in
the cyclone to the pressure side in
the transport pipe.
The purpose of the air regulator
is to limit the max air speed of ap-
prox. 25 m/sec. Thus grain damage
owing to excessive speed as well
as overloading of blower will be
avoided.
The air regulator is a spring-loaded
butterfly valve. When the blower is
stopped the air regulator is com-
pletely open. When the blower is
started the air flow will close the
regulator so that the air speed does
not exceed approx. 25 m/sec.
When the back pressure drops, the
air regulator will close sufficiently
to prevent the air speed exceed-
ing approx. 25 m/sec. A typical
example is the variations in back
pressure which occur at clean-up
operations.
The air regulator will only be effec-
tive if the spring of the regulator is
Suction
cyclone
Pressure side
Grain is carried to the outlet cy-
clone in air stream. In order to
secure a balance between air and
material, the suction blower is
equipped with an adjustable intake
nozzle.
properly adjusted. Therefore, never
adjust the spring unless the proper
equipment is used to check that
the ideal conveying speed is main-
tained.
If the spring of the air regulator is
too slack, max air speed will be
reduced and thus conveying capac-
ity will fall. At the same time there
is the risk of material settling in the
pipes and plugging could occur.
If the spring is overtightened, the
max air speed will be increased,
increasing risk of damage to the
product conveyed. Capacity will not
be increased but blower and trac-
tor will be under more load. Hence
belts and bearing of the blower will
be loaded in excess of what they
are designed for. Consequently,
their life will be considerably
shortened.
Discharge cyclone