by Jill J. Dunkel

Feedyards that feed steam flaked corn need a good-running flaker. Frequent breakdowns or poor efficiency slow the feeding process, resulting in higher energy and labor costs. But five years ago, Cimarron Feeders in Texoma, Oklahoma, found a way to run grain through their flaker faster than ever before. They installed the Gentle Roll rotary grain cleaner.

The Gentle Roll, sold by EBM Mill & Elevator Supply, works to eliminate all of the fines such as dust, bugs, and weed seeds that can gum up a roller mill. It also gets out large products such as corn cobs or rocks, which can be detrimental to the rollers. "The Gentle Roll takes out the junk in the grain before it enters the flaker," explains Dean Wedekind, sales manager for EBM.

The Gentle Roll keeps the product continually moving over screens to sort out the fines. The screens encase a flighted drum, explains Wedekind. When the screens rotate with the drum, the product moves over the screens. "It rotates slow enough that the product is not damaged," he says. "For every one foot of forward movement, there are six feet of screen coverage."

The Gentle Roll is vibrationless, so it can be mounted about anywhere. "Some yards put them on top of a bulk bin, or in the mill just before the grain enters the flaker," he says. "Since it is vibrationless, it can be mounted at the top of a facility. You can't easily do that with a shaking cleaner."

Curtis Carter, mill manager at Cimarron Feeders, says the Gentle Roll has sped up the flaking process at their mill. "It eliminates all of the trash going through our flakers," he says. "We are running grain through our flaker faster than before."

Cimarron Feeders purchased their Gentle Roll five years ago, and Carter estimates it paid for itself in just a few months. "We increased our output by one ton per hour," he says. The increased tonnage reduced the overall production time at the mill. That reduced energy and labor costs, allowing for the unit to pay for itself in a matter of months.

"One of its biggest assets is the ease of working on the unit," says Carter. "It takes about 20 minutes to change out a set of screens. It's easy to work on."

Mike Veltri, mill manager with Supreme Feeders in Liberal, Kansas, recommends the Gentle Roll. "It does a very good job at cleaning the grain," he says. "By getting the fines and trash out of the grain, our production rate is increased."

Veltri also likes the Gentle Roll because of its low maintenance. "We've had our machine for seven years, and we don't have to do much to it very often. When we do, it's easy to work on," he says.

"Cattle feeders are really noticing how much time and energy the Gentle Roll can save them," says Wedekind. "About 50 percent of our sales this year are coming from cattle feeders." The Gentle Roll is also routinely used in the ethanol, soybean, and pelleted feed industries. It is also used to sort salt, coffee and fish food. ©