Oliver Stoner, Operating Instructions Manual

Page: 9 / 25

This sketch is a sectional diagram of what occurs on a stoner deck. Compressed air forced through the mesh
of the deck cover lifts the lighter particles upward, while heavier particles sink against the air currents and
come to rest on the deck surface, providing the air is properly adjusted. The heavier particles are forced to
travel uphill by mechanical action, while the lighter particies float downhill on a film of air.
While stoners have greater capacities than gravity separators, based on square feet of relative deck area,
there is a limit as to the amount of feed flowing to the deck. As the feed is increased, the stratifying area is
also increased. The stratifying area should not occupy more than 1/3 of the entire deck area.
We have already stressed the need for earlier processing of products before they are introduced onto the
stoner. (See p. 1.). This pre-sorting enables separations that are otherwise impossible. There are three guide-
lines developed by the late Oliver W. Steele that state what can be separated and what cannot be separated
on a gravity separator or stoner.
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FIGURE 5
FEED
BACKWARD
FORWARD