Spiked Drums to Turn Compost at Monterey Mushrooms
General Description of the Application
Monterey Mushrooms is a multi-facility producer with numerous growing farms strategically located throughout North America. Mushrooms are grown in processed compost that must be properly prepared and mixed with the soil prior to planting. The compost (straw, protein meal, gypsum, water) is stored in an open area and periodically turned and mixed until it is ready for the growing phase. This process is accomplished by feeding the compost through a piece of equipment with two stacked drums. These drums have teeth which break up and mix the compost as it passes through. The Monterey Mushrooms plant in Louden, Tennessee had been ordering replacement drums from the OEM overseas, but KWS reverse engineered the drums to improve the design and to provide a more cost effective source manufactured in the U.S.
Advantages Provided by KWS
Prior to their partnership with KWS, Monterey Mushrooms had to wait on the OEM to supply replacement drums from an international source or make an attempt to fabricate the drums on site at the growing facility. KWS used its team of engineers to reverse engineer the drums to provide a source that is not only more readily available, but also made in the U.S.A. Extensive field measurements combined with the 3D modeling capabilities of the KWS engineering staff allowed for a high quality, drop in replacement fabricated from superior materials that has been performing exceptionally well since it was put in service.
Special Features of KWS Design
The new drums are fabricated to very close tolerances to insure long life with minimal downtime. The top drum has carbon steel teeth with hardsurfacing applied to the edges. The bottom drum uses bolt-on teeth covers fabricated from ½” thick AR400 plate. Improved balancing was achieved on the redesigned units by ensuring that the end flanges were square in relation to the drum.
Testimonial
"The quality is much better than what we had before. The end flanges on the old one weren’t square and constantly broke bolts. The new drum is balanced very well."
Bryant Padgett – Maintenance Manager, Monterey Mushrooms