There is one guarantee when working with bulk fertilizers – lumpy material. The vast majority of fertilizer raw materials — like urea, for example — are hygroscopic in nature and moisture from almost any source can cause clumping, crusting, cliffing, and any number of dastardly deeds. Enter, de-lumping systems.
Many high-capacity de-lumping systems are designed break up materials and to be fixed to an early point in the system where it can be both advantageous and easy to access. However, that’s not always the possible at transload locations. Warehoused material can sometimes agglomerate all over again and require de-lumping prior to forwarding. Since having another fixed system in a warehouse space is not always feasible, Sackett-Waconia offers semi-portable conditioning & transfer units.
These systems are mounted to a skid base and are comprised of a large loader-fed intake hopper, with grizzly, a Sackett-Waconia Bulk Conditioner or Lump Buster, and a Sackett-Waconia Bulk-Toter with Dust Spout. They are generally used for loading material out to trucks and are offered at capacities up to 600 tonnes per hour (540 metric tons per hour). These semi-portable systems can be moved from place to place as needed, provided there is power available at the locations they are set in.
As said above, Sackett-Waconia offers two de-lumping options for these units: Bulk Conditioners and Lump Busters.
Sackett-Waconia lump busters are a great choice for use with firm lumps in high humidity conditions. These units offer simple lump breaking for better flowability, employing highly efficient ‘rock pick’-style blades that grab lumps, then bite and crushing them all in one efficient step. They are heavy duty units, built for a long life, and since they are built with an open v-grate, maintenance is kept to a minimum.
If material requires a softer touch, Sackett-Waconia proudly offers its Bulk Conditioner. A bulk conditioner works by gently popping lumps apart, back into their granular form. They are designed with a rotor and screen arrangement that do not touch, to eliminate scalping and prevent granule degradation. The rotors are comprised of round bars that push lumps against a curved screen containing round holes. The screen holes catch granules and the ensuing pressure causes them to pop apart. Bulk Conditioner screens are removable and also catch foreign objects larger than the size of the screen holes. Bulk Conditioners feature a door on the front which allows operators to clean out or change the screen.
The base of these units is the Sackett-Waconia Bulk-Toter, a flighted chain conveyor. Bulk-Toters efficiently move materials up from under the de-lumping unit at 45° and send material out though a built in dust spout. All units are placed on heavy duty structural steel skid bases that support the entire system and come with a mount for a control panel. All of the systems we offer are based on a simple system containing a hopper, de-lumper, bulk-toter, skid base, dust spout and control panel mount. However, Sackett-Waconia offers options for materials of construction, hopper size, screens, combination MCC/control panels, and electric or manual dust spouts. The one thing that all options have in common is safety. All units are provided with safety grates, flashing safety start-up lights and horns, and pinch guards. Sackett-Waconia never compromises on safety and is happy to meet any safety standard for its customers’ sites.