Potato Sorter

a machine for separating (sorting) potato tubers into three groups; removing dirt, clods, and stones; and picking out planting material and damaged tubers. The USSR produces the RKS-10 sorter. It has a roller-type sorting surface; the smooth rollers remove dirt and plant remains from the bulk matter while the shaped rollers (arranged in pairs and forming shaped holes) separate the tubers into small (20–40 g), medium(40–80 g), and large (more than 80 g) ones. Tubers weighing less than 20 g are expelled by the rollers. There are chutes beneath to guide potatoes in each group to conveyors that pour them into containers or into the beds of trucks. The working parts of the potato sorter can be driven by an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or a tractor’s power takeoff shaft. Productivity of the sorter is 10 tons per hour.