Based in North Scarle, Lincolnshire, UK, Grove Pet Foods is a respected manufacturer of high-quality pet foods. Grove Pet Foods has complete control over the manufacturing process from raw materials entering the site to distribution of finished packs, they can provide an unrivaled range of scientifically formulated recipes to satisfy all species and breeds. This client’s manufacturing process includes bulk storage, bulk material discharge and transfer of raw material for pet food production.
The client had a need to replace a flap type diverter valve which had been in service for a considerable period of time. The existing diverter valve had reached the end of its service life and was difficult to clean and maintain due to its design. The new diverter design had to cope with a variety of sticky and abrasive feed material, with easy access for cleaning and maintainability, whilst being fast acting to allow reject material from a metal detector to be diverted out of the production stream.
Features:
- Quick release access panel allowing quick access to the interior of the diverter for inspection, cleaning, or maintenance purposes.
- Designed to channel material flow from the leading edge of the internal flap, preventing wear, leakage, and material cross contamination.
- Live loaded wear compensating seal under the shaft, preventing material leakage down the closed leg.
- Fast acting actuation to allow detected metal material to be rejected from the production process.
- Bespoke design matching the dimensions of the existing valve for ease of installation.
Results:
The Vortex Seal Tite Diverter was identified as the ideal replacement. The Seal Tite Diverter is designed to handle both fine and granular materials in gravity flow applications, providing positive material shut off and dust tight sealing capabilities.
The client specifically liked the access panel, which not only allows access for inspection and cleaning, but all the internal parts of the diverter can be removed and replaced via these access panels, which means the diverter valve can be maintained in situ, minimizing plant downtime.
The valve was also complete with a damped pneumatic cylinder control with quick exhaust assembly to provide the high-speed actuation required on this part of the process.
The valve was designed to have the same dimensions as the existing diverter to allow ease of replacement.
Seal Tite Diverters can be two-way or three-way, straight leg or symmetrical configuration or bespoke engineered.
