What Makes a Good Propeller

It’s important to fully appreciate the role the propeller plays when it comes to mixing effluent. If left to its own devices, effluent will separate out, with some solids floating to the top, and more solids sinking to the bottom of your storage. Mixing the effluent into an homoginised slurry is the best way to ensure maximum nutrient value for spreading, and also reduces strain on your pump and irrigator.

The solids that float to the top will often matt together as they dry out, forming a crust. So the propeller’s first task is to destroy the solid particles from the slurry. However, what’s even more important than what you see on top, is what you can’t see sitting on the bottom of your storage. There’s often twice as much solid particles that have sunk to the bottom, which will cause a number of issues if the propeller is unable to bring these solids into suspension:

• Solids accumulation reduces the capacity of your storage.
• Reduced capacity can put you at risk of non-compliance.
• The nutrient value deteriorates the longer it is sitting in storage.

3 Blades

Just like a ceiling fan, having 3 blades provides a more efficient and effective action for destroying the solid particles.

Shape

Each blade needs to be shaped so that when in rotation a scooping and sucking effect is achieved. The propeller is then able to suck solid particles down from the surface, and scoop them into the propeller area where the 3 blades will demolish them.

Blade overlap

By partially overlapping propeller blades, maximum propeller surface can be achieved within a compact diameter. This allows the slurry to be brought into rotation fast for homoginisation within the shortest amount of time.

Balance

This is an often overlooked feature of propeller manufacturing. Like your car tyre, it’s important for the propeller to be balanced to the hub where it is bolted to the drive shaft. This allows for a smoother, more consistent and efficient operation and use of power.