Support Equipment

Commercial Dehydrators offers a complete line of equipment to compliment your drying equipment. Below are some of these products, please contact us for more information.

Trays

The Tunnel Dryers support many types of tray and car (dollies) combinations. While the wood trays (3 feet by 6 feet) are the least expensive, you may run into problems with the local Food and Drug Inspector. They will be looking for aluminum, plastic or stainless steel, all of which are available from CDS. For products that have a tendency to adhere to the trays, a Teflon cloth liner is available. The liners are tough, made from Kevlar and Teflon, and last several years under daily use.

Stackers

The stacker loads the wet product laden tray on to the Tunnel Car.

Traylines

For most products, one traying line can support 12 Tunnel Dryers, when the traying line is operated for one shift per day, and the dryers run 24 hours a day. A second shift doubles the capacity of the traying line, and minimizes the need for extra trays/cars(dollies). A standard traying line includes a elements that are modular in design. The operator has the option to mix and match the elements to the needs of the product that will be run that day.

Bin Dumper

There are several styles of Bin Dumpers available through CDS. They range from simple, robust chain driven systems, mounted above the bulk tank, to multiple (two or four boxes at a time) dumpers supported by in-feed and discharge conveyors with a bin re-stacking function.

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Bulk Tanks

The Bulk Tank provides a cleaning and washing function for fresh fruit and vegetables as they enter the Traying Line. An active "live bottom" agitator gently moves the product towards the discharge elevator. The tank is filled with water, and as the product is poured into the tank, the leaves, trash and other debris are removed from the product stream and carried away on a trash belt. The internal discharge elevator comes with a variable speed control, giving the operators a flexibility not normally available in similar equipment. The Bulk Tank comes in two sizes: 54 inches and 72 inches wide.

Leaf Shaker

The Leaf Shaker separates leaves, small twigs and other debris from the product stream. Used primarily on whole fruit, the Leaf Shaker also removes most of the surface water from the fruit prior to being loaded on the trays.

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SHAKER TABLE:

The Shaker table functions like the Bulk Tank, but is designed to deal with high volumes of product with lower percentages of trash and debris. A single bin dumper or double bin dumper is used to fill the Shaker Table.
The standard Shaker Table, model ST-01, utilizes multiple spray bars, and oscillating tables to clean and separate the product stream from dust, dirt, and light debris loads. Options include stainless construction, and several sizes to meet increased production needs.

Tray Washer

The Tray Washer cleans the tray, and carries the empty tray to the Trayer.

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Scraper

The Scraper removes the dried product from the tray, lifts the product to the boxing belt.

Dollies

Dollies are used when stainless steel or plastic trays are required. The dollies are made using stainless steel, and are built according to the tray size chosen.

Spreaders

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DE-STICKER

The De-Sticker includes an elevator, and oscillating pan. The elevator lifts the product and a chute spreads the product over the full width of the pan. Perforations in the pan allow the nuts to fall thorough the holes, finger sized sticks continue to the end of the pan and are collected in a trash bin. A hopper below the oscillating pan collects the nuts and feeds an elevator. Options include stainless steel construction, and variable speed drives on the elevators. Custom configurations (lengths, widths & heights) are available to meet unique needs.

CLEAN GREEN SCALE

Having removed the maximum amount of trash and debris from the product stream, the De-Sticker discharge elevator fills the Clean Green Scale. Included with the scale are the upper hopper with horizontal slide gates, the lower hopper with platform scale, and the discharge elevator. An automated sampling system selects an appropriate amount of clean green product for testing/payment. A digital recorder/printer totals the lot and prints a receipt. Options include stainless steel construction, and variable speed on the elevator, automated slide gates, and upgrades for the scale recorder/printer. Custom configurations (lengths, widths & heights) are available to meet unique needs.

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SURGEHOPPER and HORIZONTAL DISCHARGE CONVEYOR:

The Box Dumper loads the surge hopper. Hoppers range in holding capacity from three to eight bins. The discharge conveyor and shear gate provides a continuous flow of raw product from the surge hopper. Options include stainless steel construction, variable speed drive on the conveyor, and custom hopper sizing.

ELEVATOR AND AIR SEPARATOR:

The elevator receives the product from the horizontal conveyor, and lifts the product to the Trash Screen. As the product exits the discharge end of the elevator, the air separator forces an air stream up through the product. Rock falls through the air stream and is boxed off. The clean product stream falls into a chute that feeds the Trash Screen. Leaves, husks and nuts with husks attached are blown into the Husker. Options include stainless steel construction,

Each product will have unique elements that will be added the to the basic line. Some products like Apples will use peeling, slicing, coring, while others (like grapes) may only require a fresh water dip. Many of the cut fruit will benefit from exposure to Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) to maintain the very white color of the flesh.

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