The key questions are whether the current equipment is adequate to allow the material to empty from the bag and what size of lump will prevent the material flowing freely.

If the bag will not discharge efficiently, but there is no further problem of subsequent equipment dealing with whatever lumps are in the material when the contents are out, then the current 'massager' is not breaking down the lumps sufficiently and a supplementary device is required to complete the task. As the existing breaker presumably will fracture the main 'block' of the bag contents, it would then a question of whether this existing unit can be modified or adapted to concentrate on the bag neck section to produce the required results. If not, an additional breaker is needed.

If the bag contents will fully discharge without difficulty, but the residual lumps cause problems further down the flow route, then the best way is probably to introduce a lump breaker under the bag outlet.

Obviously, the strength of the lumps has a bearing on the requirements but a fundamental difficulty in dealing with irregular sized pieces in a flow channel is that of assessing the probability of 'structural arching' causing flow blockages. I have a short article on this subject of blocking by lumps and will send a copy if you care to send your email address to [/email]lyn@ajax.co.uk[/email]. Ajax makes lumbreakers and devices for dealing with big bag contents that 'cake' or set, either in entirity or with large agglomerates, so we may be able to put forward a proposal.

If you send details of the present equipment, preferably with a drawing, with a brief description of the problems that are being caused to my above email, I will review the situation and send back my best advice. ■