Potato Grower

26 POTATO GROWER | JUNE 2020 Diggin' In Diggin' In Lockwood Quick-Change cleaning tables work in any type of soil. Turning the Tables Soil types across the country and around the world are diverse. And as every grower knows, no two fields are exactly the same. Matching your table to your soil condition is easier than ever with the many options now available on the market. Here, we take a look at the different Quick-Change table types available from Lockwood Manufacturing and the soil conditions each is designed for. Lockwood has engineered and manufactured multiple styles of Quick-Change tables for its potato handling and cleaning equipment line, the VACS Mobile and VACS-8 air separator. The tables are designed and tested for real-world soil conditions, ensuring that growers are covered no matter what type of field they are running in. These Quick-Change tables allow for an efficient, quick and easy switch if or when soil changes occur. In days past, growers had two options for dealing with changing soil types at harvest: fighting with tools and heavy equipment for hours in the field, or just putting up with the standard table in your machine, even if it wasn't ideal for a particular situation. That scenario has changed with the design of Lockwood's Quick- Change tables. All tables are hydraulic drive, offering infinite speed and roller pitch adjustment (and ease of switching tables). With only eight bolts, two hydraulic quick couplers, and approximately one hour's time, you are ready to go again with the specific table your field and product need. exTreme clean TaBle Works well in most soil types; great for soils with dirt clods and/or heavy trash The Extreme Clean table is universal and adjustable with its series of fluted urethane spiral rollers, which enable it to gently handle potatoes. The urethane material alleviates dirt buildup on the rollers. These uniquely designed rollers work in combination with either steel or smooth rubber rollers that can be run in forward or reverse. The smooth rollers are adjustable up and down from the control box on the machine to set the level of cleaning desired. The speed of all the rollers is adjustable, including independent adjustment between the smooth rollers and fluted urethane rollers. This table works well in all soil conditions and does a great job of removing dirt clods, grasses, vines HARVEST | Industry Report and corn trash. If you have to move between multiple field types or have a narrow range of soil extremes, the Extreme Clean table is a great all- around option. douBle sTone TaBle Best for rockier, light to medium soils The Double Stone table is designed to remove both small stones and loose dirt. The table consists of a series of narrow hub 13/7 finger star rollers and two smooth steel rollers. The smooth rollers are adjustable up and down to create a stall in the flow of product, dirt and debris over the table. This simple stall design allows smaller stones to fall out, making this table work well in rockier light to medium soils, or soils that are considered chalky or gravelly, or have stony deposits from limestone. sTar TaBle For lighter soils; reverse cleaning in heavy or wet soils The Star table comes in two different configurations: the five- finger star and the 13/7-finger star. All the stars in each table are made out of urethane to help prevent dirt buildup on them in the field. The five-finger star table works great in light to medium soils. The hydraulically adjustable star rollers allow the operator to open them up to size out small rocks, small dirt clods and sometimes the smaller undesired potatoes in certain applications. The 13/7-finger star table works in lighter soils as well. It also works well dealing with smaller potatoes, including fingerlings and small specialty potatoes. The hydraulic drive allows the star rollers to be quickly reversed for cleaning in heavier, wet soils if the need arises. When added to Lockwood's cleaning equipment line, these tables help give growers the cleanest crop possible.

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