Steep Germinator
The steep/germinator unit is a 4-tank system where each tank is capable of holding either 1 bulk sample of 8 kilograms or 4 samples of 500g. Each tank is a stand-alone unit and can run a steep/germinate program independently of the other three tanks, i.e. each tank can run independent programs using different time and temperature values. Programming the steep/germinator is by a Windows based program running on a PC. The program allows for up to 5 steeping periods with corresponding air rests in between and 7 germinating periods. In both cases the time for each period is programmable between 1 and 48 hours at 1-hour intervals, and the temperature for each period is programmable between 10 degrees C and 30 degrees C at 1-degree intervals. The steep/germinator ensures that the air used to aspirate the tanks is fully humidified. Independent tests have shown that the minimum relative humidity of the aspirating air was 98%. For our steep/germinator designs we use the principle of bubbling air through water to humidify the air. We believe that this method of humidification gives more consistent results. It means that our steep/germinators use compressed air rather than air fans for steep aeration and germination. We believe that compressed air is much more controllable than the air stream from a fan. In essence, our steep/germinators are pneumatic, and should you wish to introduce other gasses into the grain bed, then this is possible in a completely controllable way.
Our latest design allows the user to set the ratio of humidified air to dry air, so as to allow progressive root withering during germination. We believe that this is going to become an increasingly important tool in full scale malting to help reduce the energy demands of kilning the malt.
Where 4 samples are in the unit, they are turned automatically. The bulk sample must be turned manually. Throughout steeping and germination, the air on, air off and water temperatures are continuously monitored and logged.
The steep/germinator requires the following services:
- 230VAC single phase supply at 10 Amps.
- Oil free compressed air 25 litres/minute at 10psi. Per tank
- Fresh clean water supply ( between 4 and 15 degrees centigrade).
- Wastewater outlet
Dimensions
Width 140cm, Depth 80cm, Height 153cm (Including castors)