Choosing the right aggregate washing equipment starts with understanding your feed material and what you need the washing process to accomplish. Two common options are Coarse Material Washers and Fine Material Washers, but despite their similar names, they are designed for different applications.
Knowing the difference can help you select equipment that better matches your material, production requirements and desired finished product.
When Do You Need a Coarse Material Washer?
A Coarse Material Washer is designed for washing and scrubbing larger aggregate, including crushed stone and gravel. These machines use water and mechanical agitation to help remove soluble clay, crusher dust and other unwanted coatings from the material.
Coarse Material Washers are generally a good fit when the primary goal is light-to-moderate scrubbing of coarse aggregate. If your feed contains larger stone that needs to be cleaned before becoming a finished product or moving to another stage of processing, a Coarse Material Washer may be the appropriate choice.
However, the amount and type of contamination matter. Material containing difficult, highly plastic clay may require more aggressive scrubbing equipment rather than a Coarse Material Washer.
When Do You Need a Fine Material Washer?
A Fine Material Washer, commonly called a sand screw, is designed for finer aggregate. Rather than focusing primarily on scrubbing coarse stone, a Fine Material Washer performs three important functions: washing, classification and dewatering.
During operation, fine aggregate is washed while unwanted material can leave with the overflowing wastewater. The screw conveys the remaining product up the inclined tub, allowing free water to drain before the material is discharged.
Fine Material Washers are therefore a good fit when an operation needs to wash and recover fine aggregate while also controlling classification and removing excess water from the finished product.
Eagle Iron Works identifies the primary washing application for its Fine Material Washers as material with a specific gravity of 2.6 or greater and a nominal feed size of 3/8″ x 0.
Coarse or Fine: Which Material Washer Is Right for You?
The simplest way to begin narrowing down the choice is to look at what you’re feeding the machine and what you need it to do.
If you’re processing coarse aggregate such as gravel or crushed stone and need to scrub away soluble clay, crusher dust or similar coatings, start by considering a Coarse Material Washer.
If you’re processing fine aggregate and need to wash, classify and dewater the product, a Fine Material Washer is likely the more appropriate type of equipment.
Feed gradation, capacity, contaminant characteristics, water requirements and desired finished-product specifications should all be considered before selecting a specific washer.
Eagle Iron Works Aggregate Washing Equipment
Southern Machinery Company is an Eagle Iron Works dealer, helping aggregate producers find washing and classifying equipment suited to their applications.
Eagle Iron Works has been serving the aggregate industry for more than 150 years and manufactures a range of washing and classifying equipment, including both Coarse Material Washers and Fine Material Washers.
Eagle Iron Works Coarse Material Washers are available in single- and double-screw configurations and are designed to provide light-to-moderate scrubbing of natural and crushed stone feeds. Their combination of paddles, spiral flights and water promotes particle-on-particle scrubbing to help separate unwanted material from the aggregate.
Eagle Iron Works Fine Material Washers are also available in single- and double-screw configurations. They are designed to wash, classify and dewater fine aggregate, with adjustable overflow weirs that allow classification to be modified for the application.
Find the Right Eagle Iron Works Washer for Your Operation
Choosing between a Coarse Material Washer and Fine Material Washer ultimately comes down to your feed material, desired product and processing goals. From there, the right machine size and configuration can be matched to your production requirements.
Southern Machinery Company can help you determine which Eagle Iron Works washing solution fits your operation. Contact our team to discuss your application and learn more about available Eagle Iron Works washing and classifying equipment.