Development of a Power Tiller Operated Safe Grain Cleaner

Abstract

Threshed grain contains impurities which should be removed as soon as possible after harvesting and certainly before storage. A clean grain has esteem value, improves storability, reduces price penalties, and improves milling quality. Traditionally farmers use wind or fan to remove foreign matter from the grain. In mechanical grain cleaner, a fan and several superimposed reciprocating sieves or screens are now used. These can be operated manually or by electric motor. Traditional cleaning methods are laborious and mechanical cleaners are costlier for a farmer. An attempt was made to develop a power tiller-operated grain cleaner incorporating safety protection. Power tiller-operated (PTO) grain cleaner has been developed at the BRRI research workshop and tested at farmers’ yards. Two flat bars of 680x100 mm size were taken and both ends of the bars were curved in the same direction. Those were fixed with a pulley as a cross blade and fitted rigidly with the flywheel of a power tiller engine and a protection cage was made as safety measures to protect the operators/ users from accidents. The cage was made with mild steel (MS) wire (1/8th) and tightly attached to the chassis and oil tank by nut bolts. The air flow rate was found 7 m/s at a linear distance of 1 m and decreased to 3 m/s at 5 m from the center of the flywheel. No foreign matter was observed in the cleaned grain during the operation. Fuel consumption was found about 700 ml/hr. About 1200-1600 kg paddy can be cleaned in an hour. Males or females can use it easily without any accidental risk i.e. clogging dress with flywheel. However, the developed safe grain cleaner can significantly contribute to improving product quality by separating un-ambient materials, especially foreign matter, insect bored, and diseased grain.