Citrashine Products
• Brushes
Brushes and Equipment
CITRASHINE ® has for many years specialised in the manufacture of brushes for the fruit and vegetable industry. Experience has shown that it is very important to use the correct brush for any particular application. We are always at your service to select the right brush for your needs. But the following information may be helpful.
Brush Construction:
Types of brushes manufactured.
We supply two different types of brushes. Each has its own specific application.
Channel Lock Spiral Wind Brushes:
The bristles are held in an aluminium channel by a chopper covered wire and then wound round a sturdy heavy gauge aluminium tube. They are trimmed to the required diameter after winding.
• HEAVY DUTY ALUMINIUM CORE
• COMPLETE BRUSH
Three different types of winding are available.
Standard:
Spiral is at 10 mm pitch. This is the general purpose brush which is suitable for most applications for fruit and vegetables.
Close Wind:
The spiral is made as tight as possible. This type of winding is used when brushes are under high pressure sprays. The dense winding helps the fruit resist the downward pressure on the brushes caused by the spraying action.
Open Wind:
The pitch of the winding is increased by about 50%. These brushes are specially made for the following applications:
• Fruit is very wet licker bars are placed under the brushes. The speed should be about 125 rpm. Their main applications when the product enters the brushes machine either from a tank or a spraying unit, the fruit is dripping with water and the combination of the open winding and the flicking action is very effective in removing excess water prior to air drying.
• The product is covered with mud. The open winding helps reduce the tendency of the brush to clog with dirt.
Advantages of channel lock and spiral wind brushes:
• Very strong core which will not distort.
• Very durable.
• Long bristle life.
• Low cost.
• Bristles can be replaced and re-used when brush has become worn.
Tufted Brushes:
The bristles are held n tufts in holes drilled into plastic core. A stainless steel staple holds the tuft in place.
The brushes are made in 300mm long sections are positioned onto a thick walled aluminium tube fitted with standard ends.
Advantages:
• Air flows more easily through the bristles.
• Suitable for use with flickerbars.
• Should an individual section become damaged or worn it can be replaced without the cost of a complete new brush.
HEAVY DUTY ALUMINIUM CORE
INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS
COMPLETE BRUSH
Brush Ends:
There is often a tendency for the product to migrate i.e. move to one side of the brushing machine. This can be overcome by changing the brushed so that the drive and idler ends are reversed.
To enable this to be done the brush cores are fitted at both ends with an iron casting having a 25, 4 mm square hole. A special plastic insert is supplied bored to 19, 5 mm diameter for the idler end. This insert can be fitted to either end of the brush as required.
Brush Trimming:
Standard
Brushes are trimmed parallel with an outside diameter of 125 mm but other diameters and trims can be supplied to customers specifications. Parallel brushes are suitable for most applications and have the longest working life.
Corrugated
Normally supplied with a soft bristle, corrugated brushes give much improved wax application. The tumbling action of the corrugations ensures that the ends of the fruit are coated with wax. This is very important when a wax incorporating a fungicide, such as DECCOWAX, is used.
It is important to use Polyethylene for cleaning and wax application. The cross section of the bristle is special designed to hold the water or the wax.
Bristles:
Extensive research has leaded us to select bristles specifically intended for each type of application.
Polyethylene
• Used with X-shape which ensures a good memory as well as excellent water and wax retention. Several thicknesses are available to provide the most suitable brush for cleaning, drying or waxing.
• Standard colour - Wet brushing off white
• Waxing and drying black
• Polishing black
Polyolefins
• Ideal for applications where stiff bristle needed such as potato washing.
• Standard colour - White.
Nylon
• Used for drying, Applications with flicker bars.
• Standard colour - translucent white.
Drying By Means Of Brushes:
The drying of fruit over brushes forms a very important link in the preparation of fruit and vegetables for the market.
Excess water should first be removed by one of the methods described below so that the produce is damp dry when it enters the brush drier.
Two actions are required for good drying:
• The bristles spread out any droplets occurring on the skin. It is very important to use soft brushes so that the product lies deep in the brush.
• Airs passing through the brushes dry the bristles, and then the dry bristles are used to dry the product.
It will be seen that if the last brushes of the brush dryer are dry the fruit will come out dry, but immediately the last brushes become wet the produce will come out wet.
To ease the load on the brush dryer it is important to remove as much excess water from the produce as possible, before it enters the brush dryer. This should be done by using rubber donuts with pressure rollers or brushes fitted with flicker bars. It is very important that the water eliminating section has sufficient capacity to ensure that the product is only damp dry as it enters the brush dryer.
Drying Of Waxed Fruit And Vegetables:
Drying of waxed produce should be done by evaporation only. The fruit is carried aluminium or plastic rollers through a suitable air flow.
Wax should never be dried over brushes for two reasons:
• It is essential that wax is allowed to dry slowly. Many waxes contain fungicides and it is necessary for the wax to stay wet on the fruit at least 45 seconds to enable the skin to absorb the active ingredient of the fungicide.
• Wax tends to clog the bristles and it is impossible to apply wax at the recommended rate of application.
Brush Recommendations:
Citrus:
Grapefruit, lemons and oranges.
Where high pressure sprays are used, the cleaning is done by the jet action of the water rather than by the brushing action. We make a special close wound channel lock brush for use under high pressure sprays. The extra bristles in the brush resist the action of the high pressure sprays to push the fruit down into the brush, and ensure a much longer brush life.
Easy Peeler Cultivars:
Potatoes.
Care should be taken not to damage the skin, which is more tender than other varieties. Where high pressure sprays are used the pressure should be considerably reduced. Standard channel lock type brushes are recommended.
Apples, Mangoes, Avocados, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Melons, Carrots and Squashes.
A gentle action is required. Use much softer bristle.
Citrashine Automation Equipment:
• Drip Applicators.
• Spray Applicators.
• Spinner Applicators.
• Fungicide Applicators.
• Dosing Equipment.
• Drying Tunnel Capacity Controller.
CITRASHINE has the answer to all your wash line problems.
We manufacture and supply the following equipment designed for South African conditions:
• Fully automatic wax controllers.• Complete dripper systems.
• Complete spray race systems.
• Advanced spinner applicators.
• Heavy duty peristaltic pump sets.
• Heavy duty wax pump sets.
• Fully integrated wax and fungicide application equipment.
• Brushes for all applications with proven track record.
Citrashine Fully Automatic Dripper System:
• Well proven design.• Ensures correct amount of wax at all times.
• Excellent control of fungicide application.
• Not operator reliant.
• Manufactured and supported by CITRASHINE.
Citrashine Spinner Applicators:
• Very much improved wax application, especially in larger installations.• Extra tough peristaltic pump design.
• Can be coupled to the CITRASHINE fully automatic wax applicator.
Citrashine Top Layer Waxer:
• Post waxing unit has many applications.• Ensures an excellent gloss and presentation of fruit at point of sale.
• Offers chill burn protection during pre cooling.
• Lowest recorded lenticels damage.
Citrashine Spray Race Applicator:
• This tough well proven system is extremely versatile.• Has a definite advantage in the shorter brushing machines i.e. 8 brush units.
Citrashine Automatic Fungicide Application:
• When coupled to the CITRASHINE Automatic Wax applicator this unit will take complete control of the hot water baths.• This will ensure very accurate control of the fungicide concentrations.
• Substantial cost saving will be achieved by efficient fungicide dosing.
• The only sure way to remain within the (mrl) levels.
Citrashine Automatic Fungicide Applicators:
• Automation of the fungicide bath reduces risks related to poor fungicidal protection.• Water levels are controlled automatically as well fungicide concentrations.
• Other options include automatic temperature control and
• Automatic P.H control.