A garlic cleaning and grading line was delivered to processors in South Africa and Australia. With a capacity of 3–4 t/h, it delivers thorough cleaning, precise sizing, and minimal product damage – replacing manual labour with automated, consistent production.
Country / Region
South Africa, Australia
Fruit / Material
Garlic
Capacity
3~4 t/h
Equipment Configuration
An elevator, a brush cleaning machine, a drum grading machine with 5 grades and central controller
Project Overview
The garlic farming and processing industry in the Southern Hemisphere has been growing steadily in recent years. For growers and processors, post-harvest handling has always been a persistent headache – inadequate removal of skins and soil, inconsistent sizing from manual grading, and high damage rates during processing. Each of these issues directly affects final selling prices and customer satisfaction.
Fstsort recently delivered customised garlic cleaning and grading machines to clients in South Africa and Australia. Both machines are now in production, helping clients transition from fully manual processing to automated operations.
Client Challenges
Before installing our equipment, both clients operated with typical "labour‑intensive" workflows:
· Grading was done by eye and hand, resulting in inconsistent sizes and mixed batches that caused frequent customer complaints
· Garlic surfaces were not thoroughly cleaned of dry skins and soil, hurting presentation and making supermarket channels reluctant to accept the product
· Garlic was frequently bruised or damaged during handling, leading to consistently high waste rates
· Each harvest season required hiring temporary workers, with wages rising every year – and it was often difficult to find enough staff
What both clients needed was a processing line that could truly solve these problems: stable capacity, thorough cleaning, precise grading – and no damage to the garlic.
Our Solution - Garlic Cleaning & Grading Machine
Fstsort designed and delivered garlic cleaning and grading machines for the two clients. Each line consists of three core modules, from feeding to final grading in one continuous flow:
1. Roller Elevator
Garlic enters the elevator from the infeed hopper. Unlike conventional belt elevators, the rollers have fixed gaps between them – the design purpose is straightforward: skins and soil fall away naturally during conveying, so they don't travel all the way to the downstream cleaning stages. At the same time, garlic continuously rotates on the rollers, loosening dry skins and surface dirt, which reduces the workload on the brush cleaner.
2. Brush Cleaning Machine
This is the core module that solves the "skins not cleaned off" problem. The machine is equipped with 20 PEX brushes. The material is chosen for its ideal hardness – too hard and the brushes would scratch the garlic skin, hurting appearance; too soft and they wouldn't remove dry skins effectively. PEX sits right in between – it cleans thoroughly without damaging the garlic.
Cleaning speed is adjustable via a frequency converter. Different seasons and varieties of garlic have different amounts of soil and skin tightness; operators can easily adjust the brushing intensity based on actual conditions.
3. Drum Grader
This is the most technically sophisticated part of the line. Garlic enters a rotating drum where round holes along the drum wall increase in diameter section by section – smaller garlic falls through first, medium sizes move forward and fall through the next section, and larger bulbs continue to the final section. This achieves 5 precise size grades.
The grader features several practical design details:
· Anti‑jamming roller: Garlic sometimes gets stuck in the drum holes – especially irregularly shaped bulbs. If not cleared, it causes a pile‑up. This machine has a row of shifting rollers inside the drum that automatically push stuck garlic out, avoiding downtime for manual removal.
· Inter‑drum belts: When garlic drops from one drum section to the next, direct impact can split cloves. The connecting belts cushion the fall and also prevent garlic from accumulating between sections.
· Bag hanger at outlets: A simple but very useful feature. Bags are hung directly under the outlets; when one bag is full, it's replaced with an empty one – no extra operator is needed for bagging.
Technical Specifications
Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
Capacity | 3–4 tons per hour |
Grades | 5 (by diameter) |
Power | 2.1kW (voltage customisable) |
Material | Carbon steel frame |
Customisation for Different Markets
We offer flexible customisation based on each client's local power supply standards, operating environment, and budget. Voltage can be adapted to different national grid requirements, and the overall configuration can be adjusted to meet specific needs – ensuring plug‑and‑play installation upon arrival. We also provide detailed photo and video installation guides, eliminating the need for on‑site engineers and significantly reducing installation cost and time for the client.
Core Value Delivered
1. Precise grading – Fully mechanical grading ensures consistent sizing regardless of throughput. Clients report that their shipments are no longer rejected or discounted for "off‑size" produce.
2. Minimised damage – The soft PEX brushes, inter‑drum belts, and cushioning throughout the line all work toward one goal: reducing mechanical damage. One client said, "We no longer have to pick out piles of broken garlic every day."
3. Thorough cleaning – The brush cleaner with adjustable speed removes dry skins and soil effectively. A client commented, "The washed garlic looks as clean as if we had wiped each clove by hand."
Ready to Upgrade Your Garlic Processing Line?
Fstsort specialises in customised post‑harvest solutions for fruits and vegetables worldwide, covering garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, citrus, and more. Our engineering team provides high‑precision, turnkey custom solutions tailored to your specific requirements for capacity, voltage, and budget.
Want learn more about garlic machine, look at our product page of Garlic Cleaning Grading Machine→