Carter Disk Cleaner

Scroll through the thumbnail images and click on an image to enlarge (23 images) (Nov '07)

Disks as they appear to the human eye. This pic was shot at 1/13th sec exposure. The disks run at 60 RPM. The door has to be opened for the shot, but the cleaner should be run with it closed as the disk chamber runs in a small vacuum to control dust and aid in some aspects of cleaning.

Shot at 1/125th sec. Shows the pockets cast into the cleaning disks. The disks clean by both length (Only kernels short enough to fit the pocket are carried up and thrown forward) and also weight (material that fits in the pocket but is too light, falls short of the auger trough in the front of the disks). Material that is not thrown in the auger trough is gradually worked to the left of the disk chamber, where is falls into the indented drum portion of the cleaner.

The grain falls into the cleaner at the right rear side of the wheat disk chamber as it exits the scalper on top. Feed rate is controlled so this disk chamber has sufficient grain to keep the disks imbedded at least to the point slightly above the pockets in the disks. A shutter speed of 1/200th sec. served to freeze the kernels in mid-flight here.

The auger at the front of the wheat disk chamber carries the grain to this disk chamber. Pockets in these disks remove and discard small seeds and cracked grain . The last two disks in this chamber are large enough to separate some short kernals. The operator can decide to either discard them or separate them from small seeds that fit in these pockets but not the small pockets in the disks at the far right of this photo.

Motor on the auger that feeds the mill is controlled via a VFD so grain level can be maintained in the glass area of the wooden hopper and thus keep the scalper properly supplied. Large stove pipe exits the building and exhausts dust and very light chaff that the vacuum in the scalper and disk chambers removes. A tailings elevator rescued from an old combine carries the screenings collected in the auger pan beneath the cleaner to the old clean grain hopper that now serves as a screenings bin. Once again, The door of the disk chamber should be closed.

These chutes were formed from 14 ga. steel. They are enclosed so the slide gates on the bottom of the hoppers can be opened completely and the input of the auger that supplies the cleaner is kept full and the actual feed rate is controlled by the VFD on the auger motor. Yes, A little duct tape was needed to keep grain from drizzling out beside the chute.

The Motor Frequency Drive varies line frequency, voltage and wave shape in order to make the auger motor run at the proper speed required to keep the mill fed at the required rate.

Screenings from various parts of the mill are collected in an auger trough that was fabricated for the mill. They are conveyed to the screenings bin via the old combine elevator.

The auger in the foreground carries the clean grain from the mill output. It can be directed into either of the two small hoppers or either of two trucks parked side by side with the grain hoppers. The auger in the background is used to transfer uncleaned grain into either of the hopper compartments. It is also used to transfer screenings into a vehicle that will dispose of them.

Completed chutes in position awaiting fabrication and attachment of auger hopper.

Early stages of chute fabrication. Compound angles are in ample supply here.

Auger tube positioned for fitting of chutes and receiving hoppers.

Sides being added to the hopper frames. Divider panel between the two compartments has already been welded in place.

Side panels were cut from 14 ga. sheet and stiffened by bending a small channel along their width.

Traps for the two small bins are cut from 14 ga. material and welded together.

Welding the pieces together.

Frames have been welded together and just need a small amount of nudging to perfectly square them up before panels are added.

Frame for the second compartment is added to the first.

An old Anderson Rod-weeder was cut up to make frames for the grain hoppers.

The clean grain hopper from an old pull-type Gleaner has been recruited for duties of holding screenings from the cleaning process.

Mill removed from the pickup and mounted on a new set of legs.

After the cleaner was purchased in 1970, my dad mounted it on this old Chevy pickup. It was powered by a PTO on the pickup and we moved from bin to bin to clean wheat. When I first moved it to my shed, I pre-cleaned with my SUKUP screen cleaner.

Another shot of the cleaner setup. Screenings were collected in various containers and dumped when the tubs filled up. Official farm greeter "Petie" is watching over things here.

Wheat Disks In Action