Note: Domestic/Export crating must be selected with the items above.

Pellet Durability Testers are used to predict the durability of pellets after manufacturing. The pellet durability represents the ability to handle pellets without experiencing unacceptable breakage or generating a significant amount of fines. The durability tester allows the user to have a standard of comparison for all types of pellets and to be able to check quality production control for different formulations and pellet binders. Swine and poultry research studies indicate establishing a specification for the maximum percent of fines at the feeder is important for growth performance and feed conversion. 

Seedburo offers a 2 and 4 compartment tester. Each tester has a gasketed lid.  Tumbling produced by a 1/6 HP gear motor and includes a 10-minute programmable digital timer and on/off switch. The Pellet Durability Testers are constructed of heavy-duty steel and heavy-duty pillow block bearings. 

TES-NEW2  2 Compartment Pellet Durability Index Tester with ⅙HP Gearmotor, 1PH, 60 Hz, 120 Volts, with Digital Countdown Timer

TES-NEW4  4 Compartment Pellet Durability Index Tester with ⅙HP Gearmotor, 1PH, 60 Hz, 120 Volts, with Digital Countdown Timer

Sample Procedure

1. Catch entire stream of cool pellets at pellet discharge to get a 25 pound (minimum) sample. Pellets are considered cool when temperature of pellets fall within 10 degrees of room temperature.
2. Use sample divider to reduce 25 pound sample to 6 or 7 pound sample. Save the same half (side) each time. Seam sample plastic bag, and label. Discard remaining pellets. 

Lab Testing Procedure

1. Cut 6 to 6 pound sample once on sample divider. Save one fraction for durability tests. Hold other fraction for reserve until durability tests are finished.
2. Cut durability fraction once on sample divider to get two 500 gram (plus) samples. Hand screen each fraction on appropriate screen (see table). Shake 12 times each way with 4 one-quarter turns. Discard fines and trim both samples to exactly 500 grams.
3. Tumble each sample ten minutes at 50 rpm. Screen and weigh the whole pellets (overs) in each sample. Record data and discard sample.
4. Calculate pellet durability with this formula: Pellet durability = Weight of the whole pellets (500 x 100).

• If the two samples vary more than +/- 2%, prepare a third sample from your reserve and retest. Indicate time in hours between cooling and test as a subscript of the pellet durability figure.
• Caution: Pellets tend to harden rapidly for the first 8 hours, more slowly from 8 to 48 hours, and very little after 48 hours. So all tests should be made at about the same time after sampling for most reliable comparisons.