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Vibratory Feeder Helps Prevent Chipping and Breaking

Client
Van Air Systems
Date
11/30/2014
p
Info
Compact Vibratory Feeder Helps Prevent Chipping and Breaking of Dry Tablets

With more than 65 years of experience developing desiccant formulas at its production facilities in Lake City, PA, Van Air Systems is the original and leading manufacturer of several deliquescent desiccants for removing moisture from compressed air and gases. The products are used to dry biogas, landfill gas, natural gas and compressed air.

Van Air Systems markets the non-toxic and environmentally-safe air drying tablets under the brand name DRY-O-LITE®. The ¾” diameter tablets are available in 50 lb. bags or pails, 506 lb. steel drums and 2,000 lb. bulk bags.

In November 2014, Van Air Systems installed an Eriez Model 76C Feeder to help efficiently convey DRY-O-LITE tablets onto a bucket elevator which feeds into an automatic bagging machine.

“We run 2,000 pounds per hour of product, eight hours a day, six days a week,” says Dale
Oesterling, Project Manager for Van Air Systems. “That product is our lifeblood; it keeps us going, so we cannot afford a lot of downtime or breakage of the product when it moves from one part of our processing plant to another.”

One reason Van Air System chose the 76C Feeder was the ability to adjust the amplitude and gentleness of the vibratory motion so the tablets are conveyed without excess up and down movement, according to Oesterling. “If you start bouncing the tables, they begin to chip which creates a lot of dust. Eventually you have a bad product,” he says.

“The vibratory motion of the feeder can be adjusted so the bounce is not perceptible,” Oesterling observes. “You want to be able to dial the motion down and use as little energy as possible. But if you turn it down too much, the product just sits there. The Eriez feeder gives us the ability to adjust the motion in just the right manner so the tablets move along efficiently without damage.”

Dale Oesterling, Project Manager.
We were pressed for time after our older piece of equipment went down. Eriez recommended their new 76 Feeder. This new feeder is a longer version of one of their previous designs, so it conveys the product very smoothly onto the bucket elevator. We just stuck it there and turned it on. It’s worked well. If something can survive in our environment and work six days a week, then it’s a good product.

Related Equipment

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HVF Mechanical Vibratory Feeders
Eriez Compact Feeders