How to choose a bottle Washing Machine – A Complete Guide

Health and safety issues need to be addressed in the water bottling industry. As a water bottling factory, you may have the highest quality product but are you 100% sure about the containers you are using?

Reusable Bottle (3, 5 gallons, and so on) washing is one of the hardest-working appliances in your factory. Here’s how to find the best washing machine that fits your washing needs and business.

Before you buy a big bottle washing machine, there are a few factors you need to consider. We have divided the task of choosing the most popular mechanical device into 6 subsections. They are:

1. Performance and Technology of Machine

2. Product Capacity, Size, and Type of plant

3. Fully-Automatic /Semi-Automatic Washing Machine

4. Machine Functions

5. Think about Cost and Price

6. Other Factors to Consider

Performance and Technology of Machine

Machine performance evaluation is vital for objectively demonstrating that a machine can meet healthy specifications and standards, and for allowing users to make informed decisions on how to best use their resources.

The performance of the machine depends directly on the washing technology.

We can categorize main washing technologies into 4 main categories:

1. Fix Brushing

2. Moveable brushing

3. High-Pressure washing

4. Particle Friction Technology

Fix Brushing

The most common and simplest way to wash a bottle is to use a brush, which is usually fixed in the machine (or rotated around its axis) and the bottles rotate around it. This method is popular for washing outside and inside of the bottle.

To wash the outside of the bottle by using several brushes or a special brush design, access to the whole surface of the bottle is provided and the surface is thoroughly washed. But in the case of the surface inside the bottle washing, due to the narrowness of the neck of the bottle, brushes with long and soft bristles are used, which has a bad effect on washing performance.

Moveable brushing

To solve the problem of brush performance in washing inside the bottle, BY equipment has designed and used a movable brush system. In this system, first, the inside washing brush arm is closed so that the bottle can be easily placed inside the machine, then with the start of the washing, the brush arm is opened and cover the inner surface of the bottle. This design covers all problem of fixed brush type but at the same time increase cost of the machine.

Closed brush Arm	opened brush Arm

Washing machine with Moveable brush is so popular in micro and small plants.

High-Pressure washing

HPBW (High-Pressure Bottle Washer) is a device that washes the bottles using the high-pressure jet nozzle. In this type of machine, the bottle is automatically rotated and the nozzle is moved up and down to spray water with High Pressure (6 ~ 8 bar).

This technology is applicable for washing inside and outside the bottle, but it is mostly used for washing inside of the bottles.

Particle Friction Technology

Particle friction washing technology is innovated and patented technology by BY equipment. In this technology by using balls made of special plastic material are used for washing. Usage balls in combination with simultaneous rotation of barrels in two axes including rotating the barrel in line with the main axis of the machine (main drum) as well as rotating the bottle around its axis, provides full access to all corners of the bottle for the washing machine as shown in the photo.

This technology not just has high performance but also consumes less power and less water. In addition, it is cheap and has a low maintenance cost. But It is just applicable for washing inside of bottles.

Product Capacity, Size, and Type of plant

The most important thing about buying a bottle washing machine is its washing capacity which is measured in Bottle per Hour (BPH) and is correlated with your production capacity.

However, don't make your washing stage the bottleneck in your bottling plant. The machine capacity should be such that you can produce continuously, on the other hand, you do not have to run and off the wash cycle again and again so 110% ~120% of filling capacity could be reasonable capacity for the washing machine.

You need to consider the available space in your plant and product line arrangement too and carefully check the complete dimension of the particular washing before order and make sure the washing machine comes inside your plant and product line comfortably.

Your bottle storage as inventory buffer production management also is another factor that affects the sizing of the bottle washing machine.

When we talk about a small refilling station, the sizing criteria is a little bit different. Washing machine speed normally is so higher than filling water dispensers so the washing machine is not your system bottleneck and you can select a smaller washing machine.

Fully-Automatic vs Semi-Automatic Washing Machine

Based on the operations it performs, there are two types of washing machines. One is a fully automatic in-line machine and another one is semi-automatic. In other words, the amount of manual intervention is the key to this classification. However, each one of them has its pons and corns.

Semi-Automatic Washing Machines

It’s a traditional device and the machine is serviced manually, but workflows are automatic. Therefore, in this type of machine, a lot of manual intervention is required.

It gives more control over the washing process but it’s normally considered labor-intensive. The semi-automatic bottle washing machines are always Off-Line washing machines and need the operator to place the bottle on the washing part.

Pros:

· Easy to operate

· Comes at low prices

· Low maintenance

Cons:

· Needs manual operations

· Occupies more space

Fully-Automatic Washing Machine

It is a machine that is fully connected to the product line with a conveyor system and is sometimes also called an in-line machine. It makes the washing easier without human intervention because all the processes from handling to washing happen on their own through an automated program.

Pros:

· No Manual operations

· Occupies Less Space

· Multiple wash programs could be available

· Temperature setting could be available

Cons:

· Costly

· More complex than semi-automatic

Machine Functions

Washing cycle including several phases:

1. PREWASH

2. DETERGENT

3. FIRST RINSE

4. SANITIZING

5. SECOND RINSE.

The machine may perform some or all of the phases. So you have to check the machine functions and choose a machine that suits your needs.

Think about Cost and Price

Budget is an essential factor to decide which type of washing you can get. Firstly you need to set a budget and then look for the machine with all the desired features. However, you can get the required features, functions, and benefits even in a machine that comes within an affordable price range. In addition, you need to choose the balance between operation cost and machine price which is most economically efficient leading to investment decisions that reflect the whole life costs (and benefits) of the solution. At a minimum, you should consider electrical power cost and labor cost as the main operating cost in addition to Machine price.

Other Factors to Consider

The material of the machine body

The machine is usually made up of either Stainless Steel 304 or Stainless Steel 316.

Control and monitoring system

Automatic washing machines as routine equipped with PLC and touchscreen, you can get a large size touch screen to read easily and know which specific operation is carried out. In addition to this, it will display a few important parameters like washing, spinning, timer, and temperature setting. However, it is absent in almost every semi-automatic washing machine.

Conclusion

There is no option that is suitable for everyone, but you can choose the right option based on production capacity, labor costs, and available space. The table below can help you make the right choice.

R	Item		Semi-automatic options			Automatic options
			Fix Brushing	Movable Brushing	High-Pressure Flushing	Particle Friction	Fix Brushing	High-Pressure Flushing
1	Performance		Low	High	High	High	Low	High
2	No. of Operator (man / 100 Bottle)		1	0.5~1	1	0.1~0.2	0.3	0.2
3	Capital cost (Capex)		Lowest	Medium	high	Cost-effective	Lowest	Very high
4	Barrel loss		High	Low	Very low	Very Low	Low	Very low
5	Complexity		simple	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	High
6	Washing	outside	√	√	√		√	√
		Inside	√	√		√	√	√
		Both	√	√	√		√	√
7	Suggested Production capacity (BPH)		<200	<400	<200	500~3000	300~1000	>1000

You can also go through our list of the top 5 popular big bottle washing machines produced by BY and see the different features. In our list of the top 10 best washing machines, we finally recommend you BY-NX-series and BY-YX- series fully Automatic as a complete package because it is equipped with various features and suitable for a large production capacity.

R	Machine photo	Machine series	Technology	Operation mode	Washing Inside	Washing outside	Washing capacity	Note
1		BY-NX	Particle Friction	automatic	√		500~2000
2		BY-YX	Brushing	automatic		√	1000~3000
3		BY-NC	High-Pressure Flushing	Semi-automatic	√		Related News How to set up a bottled water plant？ How To Choose Industrial Reverse Osmosis For A Water Factory What does the light inspection equipment do? Where does bottled water come from? How can 5 gallon bottle water factories increase production Which palletizer system will be best for you?