Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions Highlights Pumps for Seed Treatment Applications
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions Highlights Pumps for Seed Treatment Applications (Image source: Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions)
Farmers use proven seed treatment methods to battle crop diseases and destructive insects, while simultaneously encouraging germination and promoting early season growth. Seed treatment also improves planting. The pumps within seed coating machines have a range of challenges to overcome and demands to meet, so correct pump selection is vital for seed treatment applications.
Peristaltic pumps have several operational advantages over progressive cavity (PC) and diaphragm pumps for all major seed treatment application criteria. They are simple to install and quick to maintain, making them ideal for use in seed coating machinery. Not only can peristaltic pumps run dry, but the fluid only contacts the bore of the hose or tube, making abrasive fluids such as pigments easy to handle. Furthermore, varying viscosities of the chemical treatments have no effect on flow accuracy, so chemical overshoot is never likely to be a problem.
Qdos peristaltic chemical metering pumps deliver flow rates that remain constant right up to 100 (PSI), providing a unique advantage over diaphragm metering pumps. Qdos pumps also offer long maintenance intervals, reducing the impact of process downtime and lowering the overall cost of ownership. They require no backpressure valves, pulsation dampener, degassing valves, foot valves, strainers, or float switches.
The 505L and 625L low pulse peristaltic pumps also deliver unrivalled accuracy with a simple-to-use human machine interface (HMI) requiring minimal key presses during operation. Fluid is fully contained within the tube, providing complete isolation of the pump. Operators can easily maintain product integrity with visual status indication and an intuitive user interface. Standard pumphead options available include continuous tubing; pumpheads for low, medium, and high pressures; and a dual channel low pulse, high accuracy dispensing pumphead. The cased pumps range offers six drive options, color display, with pumps available in flow rates from 0.0002 GPM to 8.8 GPM depending on model and pumphead/tubing options.
