TopCoater - Instructions & Troubleshooting

The toggle switch energizes the electric eye, but the vibrator dispenses media only when the electric eye is activated. A small red light on the eye indicates if it is “seeing” the reflector.

KNOB - solid state controller

Adjusts vibration and therefore media flow onto the tray. Infinitely variable, so you can just “dust” trays when top coating, or maximize output for filling, just by turning the dial. There is a “gate” on the hopper that may be adjusted to help control the flow of material also. When adjusted properly, the vibratory feeder should empty the hopper in less than a minute at the maximum setting.

Normally set at the factory, vibration can be adjusted by loosening the large jam nut and turning the large slotted screw on the vibratory feeder unit itself. Turn the control knob to maximum (10) and adjust the vibrator until it “hammers” then back it off a little, and retighten the large jam nut. There is also a fine adjustment on the SCR control itself, inside the control box. Look for a small slotted screw located on the potentiometer (small blue rectangular component) on the solid state circuit board. Caution: when adjusting this screw be very careful not to touch bare wires or other components with the screwdriver. If the vibrator won’t shake at all, adjust the control board screw. Turning it in either direction usually starts the unit operating properly. If it vibrates, but only weakly, adjust the large screw/nut on the back of the vibrator feeder.

Turns belt on and off, the belt will run only if the speed control knob is on, and will run continuously, but the machine will dispense media only when the electric eye is activated.

KNOB - solid state speed control (Grainger part # 5JJ56)

The electric eye must be adjusted to activate the vibrator just prior to the tray going beneath the dispensing point. If the eye is not set correctly it will “see” the media rather than the tray and not shut off.

1. HEIGHT - should be set so the rails are above the flange of the plug tray. Simply loosen the knobs holding the rail in place on the side frame of the TopCoater and adjust the rails so the plug tray flange is directly beneath them, allowing sufficient clearance so the tray can slide below them.
   
   
2. WIDTH- the width of the rails must also be adjusted for the plug tray being used, and to properly align the tray with the dispensing pan of the vibrator. Loosen the thumbscrews and slide the rails in or out to properly position the tray next to the guide rail, but not so tightly that the tray can’t advance through the machine.
   
   

1. FORWARD & BACK - the eye may be moved forward or back on its mounting bracket to sense the tray and activate the vibrator earlier or later.
   
   
2. UP/DOWN - whenever possible the eye should be adjusted to “see” the plug cell rather than the edge of the tray. Loosen the nuts on the eye housing and slide it up or down in the positioning bracket to the proper height, then tighten the nuts.
   
   

Adjustment- thumbscrews in the support brackets

Speed is automatically synchronized with conveyor belt speed.

The 4 cu.ft. hopper holds enough media for 50-80 trays. Expect to fill a 512 tray in about 10 seconds. The more evenly screened your media is the better the TopCoater will spread it. Blackmore’s Greenway Seedling Mix (GSM) is an excellent germination media easily dispensed by the TopCoater, and it will give you excellent results in the greenhouse.

Soil that is too moist tends to clump badly and not fill trays satisfactorily. Still, you want a little moisture in the media, particularly when using a roller/dibbler, to help the soil “hold” the dibble profile. When filling plug trays, insert them in the machine end to end to insure that the first few rows are filled with the excess from the prior tray. See the section below for special instructions on filling trays for sowing marigolds.