Biopellets Clumping

[Boga]

I am just wondering if after so many "clumps" pellets are somehow compromised. The surface is not perfectly smooth so friction is increased and batch is more susceptible for clumping again.

After shaking the reactor do you break all the clumps or do you have pellets still stuck in clusters of 3-4 pellets? That would increase again the chance of clumping again.

Have you tried to create an unbalance condition in the reactor? Like to obstruct a small zone, so more turbulence would happen?

I do not run pellets yet, so please forgive me if I said something too "unlikely" to happen.

 

[curiousphil]

All good thoughts Boga.  Sometimes I would still get small clusters of 3-4 pellets after shaking the reactor, but the turbulence of having full flow again would normally break them up.  Due to the way I had the screen glued to the bottom reactor plate, some holes were blocked and I was incidentally creating some unbalanced conditions by accident.  I also tried sticking pieces of cardboard under one side of the reactor, and under the hanging mount, to encourage more flow where the clumps were developing.  Alas nothing really helped.  I think that I just wasn't getting enough flow through the 550.

So far so good with the RX-u.  I'm on day 5 now with the Vertex reactor and no clumps yet!!  Actually turned the flow down the other day, to create more of a "slow boil" motion rather than keep the pellets suspended about 8".  Wanted to make sure that at max flow they would NOT clump first, then experiment with the optimal amount of flow.

On the subject of the pellets being compromised... I don't know if that is possible?  Maybe someone else could chime in on that.  The pellets I am using are not perfectly smooth to start with, like some other brands.  I've noticed that the TLF NPX pellets are the shape of a grain of rice (more similar to risotto actually) but mine are more like rabbit feed pellets - small cylinders with hard 90 degree edges at the top and bottom of each pellet.

 

[Boga]

On the subject of the pellets being compromised... I don't know if that is possible?  Maybe someone else could chime in on that.  The pellets I am using are not perfectly smooth to start with, like some other brands.  I've noticed that the TLF NPX pellets are the shape of a grain of rice (more similar to risotto actually) but mine are more like rabbit feed pellets - small cylinders with hard 90 degree edges at the top and bottom of each pellet.

Now seeing that they are a total different shape: I think that it could have a huge impact on how they tumble and/or flow requirements. My best guess is that round pellets would be less susceptible for clumping compared to other fusiform shapes. I am thinking that shape and initial surface roughness were part of your initial issues, but again I do not have a reactor running, so "zero" experience.

Overall, is good you have solved the issue and have them tumbling well .

 

[davesolo29]

Can u post a video of the rx-u tumbling them?  Did you use the sponges or did you make mesh screens?



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[spyd]

You should be running the reactor without the sponges as they will build up with bacteria and other crap clogging the output of the unit over time.

 

[curiousphil]

Can u post a video of the rx-u tumbling them?  Did you use the sponges or did you make mesh screens?



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I am running the reactor just using the top and bottom plates.  As spyd said using the foam with pellets is a bad idea.  The holes in the Vertex plates are about as fine (or finer) as the mesh screen that I was using with the TLF reactor, and certainly smaller than my pellets, so I figured I'd try this out and see how it goes.  Will try and get a video up for you tonight once I'm home from work.

 

[jroovers]

The pellets I am using are not perfectly smooth to start with, like some other brands.  I've noticed that the TLF NPX pellets are the shape of a grain of rice (more similar to risotto actually) but mine are more like rabbit feed pellets - small cylinders with hard 90 degree edges at the top and bottom of each pellet.

Tyler and I noticed that the BRS pellets changed shape, they are a bit bigger and geometrically different.  They used to be as you described (small cylinders with hard 90 degree edges at the top and bottom of each pellet).  The most recent batch received were more risotto shaped lol like you described the NPX pellets.

 

[davesolo29]

I wasn't using the sponges but instead made mesh screens. I'm thinking I should take them out. Not a whole lot of tumbling with them in there.


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[davesolo29]

[quote author=davesolo29 link=topic=7333.msg76257#msg76257 date=1389244477]
Can u post a video of the rx-u tumbling them?  Did you use the sponges or did you make mesh screens?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am running the reactor just using the top and bottom plates.  As spyd said using the foam with pellets is a bad idea.  The holes in the Vertex plates are about as fine (or finer) as the mesh screen that I was using with the TLF reactor, and certainly smaller than my pellets, so I figured I'd try this out and see how it goes.  Will try and get a video up for you tonight once I'm home from work.
[/quote]
funny,  my pellets go right through the holes in both the top and bottom plates.

 

[curiousphil]

http://youtu.be/DKwEWsExxbk

 

[davesolo29]

nice.  i was looking online and from what i can see,  i may need to just switch to a different brand of bio pellets.  the ones i have are the brs ones and they go thru the plates.
my vertex rx-u is different than yours.  mine is the rx-u 2.5 and has an inner chamber.  until today when i started googling them i thought they were all built the same.

 

[davesolo29]

I tried mine without the screens, worked great for about 10 minutes.  then it got clogged up because the pellets go thru the plates.
So i really do need to switch pellets.