Equipment Spotlight | MAY 2016 Tub Grinders

by MARY M. COX

Useful in processing organic and other waste, tub grinders rely on gravity and tub rotation to feed material into a hammer mill at the bottom of the tub, which then grinds the material. There are a variety of tub grinders available in the global marketplace, with a myriad of sizes and capabilities, including for construction and demolition (C&D).

CW Mill Equipment Company has been manufacturing grinders for over 40 years, and the firm’s HogZilla® grinders are configured with either tub or horizontal feed systems mounted on self-propelled tracks, trailers, and stationary frames. “Diesel engines are the most popular power source facilitating portability, but electric power is very popular even in high horsepower systems due to the simplified overall design. HogZilla’s heavy construction, quality components, and proven performance have stood the test of time in a wide variety of applications such as C&D, land clearing, mulch production, scrap tire processing, and many other types of waste and recycling processes,” Tim Wenger, vice president and sales manager, stated.

He explained that when processing C&D waste, “knowing and understanding the mix of items included in the original waste is critical. All processing machinery requires some degree of classifying and sorting of the input material to make sure that the materials are fit for the chosen processing machinery. A properly sorted and classified waste stream ensures that the material to be ground will enable a safe, productive, and profitable operation. Assuming a given mix is capable of grinding, some discharge separation options are also available.”

Some machines may also incorporate various mechanical or electronic options to possibly react to minimize the damage associated with instances where contamination has made contact with the grinder. The first and absolute best approach is to keep un-grindable materials out of the machine without relying on systems that intervene after contact with the mill. With input material control, industrial grinders become a great processing option.

Wenger concluded, “Whether customers are processing C&D material, forestry products or shredding tires, CW Mill offers many machine options, including mounted grapple loaders—and each machine can be customized to suit each individual user’s wants and needs.”

“At DuraTech Industries International, we supply a line of tub and horizontal grinders to fit the needs of today’s recyclers. We have designed these grinders with features that allow us to be the leaders in the wood waste grinding business,” Bob Strahm, vice president of sales, commented. DuraTech offers 7 models of tub grinders from the smallest model 2009 with 325 hp, 9.5’ tub to the largest model 4012 with 950 hp, 12’ tub. Features include enclosed engines with self-cleaning rotating radiator screens. Strahm said, “This system constantly keeps the radiator free of debris and the engine running cool. Another exclusive feature is the oscillating conveyors, which allow 150 percent more material than a typical conveyor, to be stacked without moving the machine. It also makes it easier to load trucks and to remove the ground pile by positioning the conveyor to one side and pushing the product away.” Tub grinders are available with pintle hitch trailers, fifth wheel trailers or tracks. Models 3010 and 4012 are available with grapple loaders for self-loading.

All features are offered on the horizontal grinders too – models 5064 and 9564. The 5064 model is 475 to 630 hp and the 9564 has a choice of 950 or 1050 hp.

“We sell tub grinders throughout North America and have also established an excellent reputation in the horizontal grinder market. DuraTech has been in business since 1966 and we continue to push our products into the wood waste recycling markets, which consist of recyclers, mulch and compost providers, and bio energy markets. Our customer base consists of municipalities, counties, townships and even parishes that see the value in wood waste recycling,” said Strahm.

Vermeer offers 3 tub grinder models: TG5000, TG7000 and TG9000 — with horsepower of 540 (403 kw), 950 (708.4 kw) and 1,125 (838.9 kw), respectively. Each model also offers a corresponding size tub to meet differing throughput and end product size needs. Tub diameters of models range from 12.3’ in the TG5000, 13’ in the TG7000 and 13.6’ in the TG9000, to accommodate varying sizes of material to be processed.

Jeff Bradley, product manager – recycling and forestry stated, “The exclusive duplex drum design in our tub grinders makes maintenance more convenient with enhancements such as an independently secured wedge system and the ability to externally balance the drum. Impact tests are performed on all the hammers and tips used in the duplex drum system before they are certified as genuine Vermeer. The patented Thrown Object Restraint System (TORS) reduces the amount and distance of thrown objects, and helps to improve flow of material into the mill.”

Bradley noted that “with Vermeer tub grinders, contractors can use one machine to process waste materials to their end product needs more efficiently by simply switching out the screen sizes. The versatility of a tub grinder is one of the features our C&D customers appreciate the most. Large material can be processed on the jobsite to a more manageable size and then easily transported to where the tub grinder will regrind it into the final desired product, like landscape mulch. Depending on the application, the tub grinder is also capable of sizing the product in one pass.”

New construction is trending upward, Bradley believes, and “there is a strong correlation between new construction and C&D. Because of this, wood and organic waste generated will continue to grow from a volume standpoint across the U.S. As the industry looks to increase the recycling rate of these demolition materials, the need for equipment to do so efficiently will continue to grow as well.”

Published in the May 2016 Edition of American Recycler News