Urea Briquetting Machine (Setting up, Production, & Maintanance)

The Urea Briquetting Machine is a mechanical equipment that has been devised to produce Urea Super Granules (USGs) of 1.8g and 2.7g of sizes from granular or prilled Urea. In this video, we shall be teaching you some basic things you need to know before, during, and after using your Briquetting machine TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND VARIOUS PARTS OF THE MACHINE The machine is composed of two compact rollers, two pre-press feed rollers, one delivery tray, one cone –shaped 20” long trammel and one feeding hopper. It is a semi-automatic machine of 330 kgs. weight that is powered by 10 hp motor capable to produce spherical shaped briquettes at a capacity of 450 kgs per hour As soon as you take out your equipment from its package, First do a check to make sure all the parts are available.

INSTALLATION: You need to select a suitable location (dry, with open air flow, secured and kept from children, thieves, etc…) for your the Briquetting machine The Briquette machine should always be installed on a level and stable surface. The location you choose for your machine should be open and airy to manage the fertilizer dust during operations You need a concrete cemented base or any solid flat surface to support the operating weight of 360kg Also make sure you construct a roof over your machine to protect it from direct sunlight and rain. Compact rollers are the main parts of the briquetting process. These are the main parts that form the USGs. This is where all the granules are produced. The compact rollers heads have calibrated gears and feed rollers. There are usually two compact rollers assembly heads which come with your new set of equipment. Corrugated rollers and smooth rollers. Always use the smooth rollers whenever you want to briquette NPK only or in combination with other fertilizers. And use the corrugated rollers any time you want to briquette urea. You can always change the corrugated rollers to smooth rollers. one head has the compact rollers of 1.8g while the other has a compact rollers of 2.7g The hopper: The hopper is where you feed in the prilled urea into the machine to get your briquettes. The hopper is fixed on top of the compact rollers assembly. Without the hopper, you cannot feed the granular or prilled urea into the machine. We have two hoppers in the package for the two compact rollers assembly heads. Each compact rollers assembly head has a different hopper to feed in, due to the difference in sizes. You must have two hoppers to feed in the two heads. The exhaust pot: the exhaust pot is mounted to the steaming engine to send out carbon monoxide and other exhaust gasses. This unit is usually hot while in operation. Do no touch it during production. Air filter: The air filter usually filters air into the convulsion chamber. Dust guard: the dust guard is mounted on the machine to reduce the quantity of fertilizer dust from getting up to the operator during production. Trammel: the trammel acts as a basket to sieve the dust from the granules during production Tool box: You will also find a tool box, The tool box contains: A spare diesel filter element, A starter which is used in starting the engine, There are also some spanners, screw drivers, bolts and nuts, in the tool box. In the tool box, you will also find a pack of metal rings, sill, top cylinder gasket and piston rings. Which you need during overhauling. Grease gun. The grease gun is used in greasing the bearings on the compact rollers, this is usually done after use to avoid rusting Grease the bearings carrying the compact rollers once a while, for good performance. There are four nipples connected to the bearing carrying the compact rollers. Connect your grease pump to these nipples and pump the grease through them. Now that we have finished showing you the parts of your machine, lets us see how we couple them. COUPLING THE TRAMMEL First let’s see how we fix the trammel. Turn the rod in the middle of the trammel to make sure is firm. If is not firm, guide it and screw it until it is very firm. Push the rod of the trammel through this space and screw the bolt at the back of the trammel to keep it very firm. Take note: the gap between the trammel and the machine should not be too open and also not too tight. If the gap here is too open, you will have some granules dropping through the space during production. Simply slack these two nuts on the rod of the trammel and readjust your trammel to close the gap. After the adjustment, tighten your nuts back to keep it firm. THE EXHAUST POT The next item we are about to fix is the exhaust pot. The exhaust pipe pot is mounted on the exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifold is covered with plastic material to prevent dust from passing through. Mount the pot on the manifold and screw it until is fixed firmly on the manifold. AIR FILTER This is the air filter. It is fixed in the air filter Carrie with a case covering it at the top. Peel off the plastic sill to open up the hole of the air manifold. You will find a black sill around the hole of the air manifold. First Fix on the air filter Carrie to rest on the black sill, then go ahead and fix the air filter to rest in the filter Carrie and fix the air filter cover. Now go ahead and lock it on. Take note of the position of your air filter. THE DUST COVER It is now time to fix your dust cover or dust protector. This facility here is to reduce the amount of fertilizer dust. But does not stop the dust completely therefore, always wear a noise mask during production. MAINTANANCE OF THE UREA BRIQUETTING MACHINE. Our next topic is maintenance and servicing: Careful maintenance is required to keep the machine and its parts in workable condition. Proper maintenance of the machine can guarantee smooth operation and longevity. Pre operational maintenance. Pre operational maintenance is the thing you need to do before starting your machine. HOW TO GAUGE YOUR ENGINE OIL First check your engine oil to make sure is well gauged. Pull out the dip stick. You will find two lines marked on the dip stick. One line is marked at the top of the dip stick while the other line is marked at the bottom of the dip stick. When you pull out your dip stick observe the mark of your oil. Your oil should always mark between the top line and the bottom line of your dip stick. Make sure your oil does not mark above the top line nor below the bottom line If your oil exceeds the top line on the dip stick, make sure you drop portion of it by slacking this nut. And if the oil marks below the bottom line on your dip stick, then top up with some oil. Check the viscosity and elasticity of your oil. You can check that by cleaning the oil on the dip stick with your fingers. Rob your fingers on each other and observe if the oil on your fingers is slipping, if is slipping, then it means the elasticity of your oil is still good. Also check if the oil on your fingers is sticky. If is sticky, then it means the viscosity is quite ok. And you will not need to change your oil. HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ENGINE OIL In changing your oil, start your engine and allow it to work on for about five minutes for the oil to warm up. Slack this nut and get a container under to collect the oil. Prevent the oil from pouring on the floor. Now that we are done with oil, let us check our water level. HOW TO CHECK YOUR WATER LEVEL You can gauge the water level with the help of this red ball of the float in the hopper near the mouth of the funnel. Pour clean water into the water tank until the red ball of the float rises up to the highest position. Do not use dirty water or water which contains alkaline or salt. If you are starting a new machine for the first time, do not put water before starting. You should pour in water about 30 seconds to one minute after starting your new equipment. FUELLING YOUR MACHINE(DIESEL) Open the fuel tank. Pour into it clean diesel fuel already thoroughly precipitated and filtered. Be careful not to let any dust get into the tank while pouring. Make sure the diesel filter is fixed before pouring your diesel. Always clean the diesel filter whenever you notice any dirt. BLEEDING With diesel engines, you will sometimes have air entrapped in the fuel system (air lock). So you need to bleed your new machine to get the air out. To bleed your machine, open the fuel tank cork. Then the fuel will flow through a fuel filter to the injection pump. Loosen the fuel pipe connecting bolt on the fuel injection pump, Or loosen the delivery pipe connections, in order that entrapped air, if any, in the fuel pipe line may get out. When it is noted that fuel without air bubbles flows out, retighten the vent screw. STARTING THE MACHINE Now you can go ahead to start the machine Set the speed-control lever knob at the start position indicated on the panel. Move the decompression lever towards the right with your left hand and hold it. Crank the engine with your right hand by means of the starting handle and gradually speed up. When the cranking speed attains its maximum, suddenly release the decompression lever so as to let the air in the engine cylinder now subject to compression. But continue to crack the engine with effort. Then the engine will start up running itself. Once the engine starts up running, the starting handle will disengage and jerk out by itself. Therefore, the operator must keep holding the starter firmly in other to prevent any injuries. STOPPING THE MACHINE Unload the engine and let it run idle for a while Move the speed control lever knob to the stop position, the engine will then stop running. Under special condition, where emergency stop is necessary, it is advisable to take off the air filter and block the engine intake pipe with hand. Or loosen any of the connections of the high pressure fuel pipe; the engine will then immediately stop. The engine can also be stopped by putting the decompression device into action. ADJUSTING THE BELT To adjust the belt, slack the four nuts holding the generator. Tighten the adjustment nut. As you turn the nut, the whole generator is pushed backward for you to get the right tension. And when you attain the right tension for the belt, tighten back the four nuts holding the generator. Now loosen the “lock nut” on the adjustment bolt. You can test for the right tension of the belt by using your hand. Make sure your belt is hard. But not too hard. CHECKING THE GEAR OIL Unlike your engine oil, your gear box doesn’t have a dip stick. The only way to check your gear oil is for you to open your gear box and gauge it using your eyes. You have two gears in the gear box. A rear gear and a main gear. The rear gear is dawn, lying flat at the bottom. Make sure your oil in the gear box is covering the rear gear. Once the rear gear in the gear box is covered by the gear oil, then it means you have enough oil in your gear box. But if you realize your rear gear is not dipped in the gear oil, then top up some oil. SWITCHING THE BRIQUETTE HEADS We have two types of briquette heads. One type produces 1.8-g. granules, while the other head produces 2.7-g granules. If you want to switch your heads, first loosen and decouple your hopper. There are four nuts holding the hopper. Two in front here and two at the back Loosen them completely and take off the hopper. The next thing is to remove the trammel. Then go ahead and remove the dust cover. After removing the dust cover, now take off the down plate. Remove the spur gear and fan belt covers. After removing the covers, slack the fan belt to enable us loosen out the gear box. We will now loosen the four nuts holding the generator, slack the adjuster, and push the generator in front to slack the belt. After slacking the belt, go ahead and loosen the gear box to disengage it from the spur gear. Now we have successfully removed all the components holding the engine. Our next step is to loosen the four bolts holding the compacting gear. Your briquette head is now free and ready to be brought down. The briquette head is very heavy. In taking it down, you need a strong wire or a strong fan belt. And a very strong piece of wood as you can see it here. Lock your wire firmly in a round form. Now pass your piece of wood in between the wires or fan belt. You need strong people to help take it down. It is quite heavy. Always remember to use a strong wood. Do not use a metal. A metal may slip off during the process and may cause injury. Now that we have finished changing the heads, we will couple back the parts. SWITCHING OF FEEDING ROLLERS There are two types of rollers The corrugated feeding rollers which we use for briquetting urea. And the smooth rollers use for briquetting NPK. The machine right now is carrying the corrugated feeding rollers. Now we want to demonstrate how to change the corrugated feeding rollers to smooth rollers. Before we can have access to the main compact rollers, we have to first take off the hopper Carrier. The feeding rollers unit is also called the hopper Carrier. The hopper is mounted on the hopper Carrier to enable us feed in the urea (or NPK). Before disengaging the hopper Carrier, There are two spur gears on the compact rollers unit that controls the feeding rollers. They are two nuts holding these spur gears. Slack the nuts holding the spur gears. After you have slacked the two nuts holding the spur gears, loosen the four nuts holding the hopper Carrier, And take it down. Now we have on the screen the feeding rollers compartment. Our next step is to dismantle this unit; loosen the spur gears out, knock out these bearings away from this plate to enable us change the corrugated feeding rollers to smooth rollers. There are two keys holding the spur gears to this shaft. The purpose of the key is to lock the spur gear to the shaft. To enable the shaft drive the corrugated feeding rollers. Without the key, the spur gear cannot turn the shaft and therefore will not be able to drive the feeding rollers. So always remember to keep these keys at a save place when you remove them. Also don’t forget to put it back when fixing back the spur gear. Now we will slack these six bolts holding the bearing unit to take out the bearings. After slacking out the bearings, loosen these two bolts holding the plates covering the rollers. Now knock out the bearings. Go ahead and knock out the corrugated feeding rolls. And replace them with the smooth rollers Now, the corrugated rollers have been successfully removed with the shaft. Knock out the corrugated rollers from the shaft and replace the corrugated feeding rollers with your smooth rollers. The feeding rollers too have keys that also lock them to the shaft and enable the shaft to drive the rollers. Remember to keep the keys at a save place. And don’t forget to fix the keys back when assembling your smooth roller. Now that your corrugated feeding rollers are out, you can go ahead and fix on the smooth rollers. The smooth rollers have been replaced now. Couple all the parts back the same way you decoupled them. Take note of all the bolts and nuts. Remember to replace them back in their right positions. Do not forget to fix back the keys that lock up the rollers and spur gears to the shaft. Always avoid using metal to metal any time you want to knock in or knock out any part of your machine. While knocking out the feed rollers, the bearings may fall out from the bearing Carrie. So just in case the bearings fallout from the Carrie, remember to place them back into the groove. There is also an oil seal covering the bearings. Remember to fix it back. PRODUCTION Now that we want to go in to production, we have to prepare the grounds and make it conducive. You will need to spread a tarpaulin to contain the fertilizer dust during production, Make sure the tarpaulin is clean. The fertilizer dust can be scooped from the tarpaulin and poured back into the machine for production. Clean all the grease on the compact rollers. To be able to clean the grease from the compact rollers faster, you need to use petrol. Diesel can also be used in cleaning the compact rollers. But petrol is more appropriate because petrol dries faster than diesel. Before starting the machine, make sure all the fertilizer bags are opened and ready to be poured into the feeder When trying to open your fertilizer bags, make sure you don’t destroy the bags. You will eventually need the bags for your finished products, to repackage the USGs PRECAUTIONS DURING OPERATIONS OF THE ENGINE Do not feed in wet fertilizer. Make sure your fertilizer is dry. If there are lumps in your fertilizer, try and break them before feeding them in to the machine. When you start your machine, first pour in about half a bucket full of fertilizer and observe the outcome. If you are sure of your final product, then you can begin to feed in your rollers. Once you start production you can feed your fertilizer for three hours nonstop Do not put your hand in the machine during production. Always use a stick to stir your fertilizer during production. The machine should not run without fertilizer If granules are to be produced satisfactorily, the fertilizer is to be placed on the hopper simultaneously so that the machine does not run without producing granules Cooling water: the engine cooling system is water-evaporative type; the water in the hopper keeps boiling during operation of the engine. Do not feed fresh water as soon as boiling is noticed However, sufficient quantity of fresh water must be fed in at once when the water in the hopper decrease in quantity due to continued evaporation, to such an extent that the red ball of the float goes down to the mouth of the funnel of the hopper. Lubricating oil: Frequent observation should be made on the red float of the oil indicator to see if it rises up. In case it drops down, stop the engine at once for examination and check. TROUBLE AND REMEDIES FOR BRIQUETTE MACHINE If granules are not produced satisfactorily, pockets of the two compact rollers are to be adjusted properly to see the pockets of both rollers closed face to face Pockets can be adjusted with the help of two bolts on the spur gear turning left or right wards by loosening the adjustable spur gear. After this, two bolts are to be tightened at the correct position. If you produce non-uniform briquettes, first loosen the two bolts located on the slots of spur gear and then adjust the pocket of the compact roller using two bolts adjacent to the spur gear By excessive dust check clearance between the two compact rollers, if it is beyond limit, loose two L-end bolt and then tighten the front side two bolts using adjustable wrench equally. Again tighten the above two L-end bolts EXHAUST SMOKE The engine is not allowed to operate under black smoke exhaust conditions. Any black smoke in the exhaust during operation of the engine, if everything else is normal, will indicate that the engine is over loaded. In that case, the load on the engine should be reduced. ENGINE NOISE: It is advisable to listen to the engine noise frequently, and if abnormal or unusual sound is heard, the engine should be immediately stopped, inspected and checked for the cause of the sound. POST PRODUCTION SERVICING AND MAINTANANCE Post production servicing and maintenance are the things you should do after production. First of all the machine should be washed properly with water after the operation is completed to ensure there are no remaining fragments of fertilizer present. The water should be wiped out by using a dry and soft cloth. After this, main roller and feeding roller should be treated properly with lubricant such as oil or grease. You may use engine oil only if you intend to produce the next day. But if you are not producing for the next one week or more then use grease. And finally, The machine should be covered properly with polythene sheet or cloth. To protect it from dust It is after you have followed all this instructions properly, that you can be sure of a smooth operation and a long life of your Urea Briquette machine.