Grading Products
Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader
- Worldwide Best-Selling Mobile Grader
- Unrivalled Cleaning with EasyClean Separator
- Advanced & Intelligent HMI controls
- All Electric Drive - up to 50% more efficient
- Custom-built to your specification
- High Throughputs up to 80 tons per hour
THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING MOBILE GRADER
With over 90 years of engineering experience, Tong has unrivalled expertise in manufacturing the most gentle, efficient and advanced mobile vegetable grading machine on the market.
With the first Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader manufactured in the 1970s, as they say, some things improve with age. Tong’s inherent drive to keep the Caretaker at the forefront of crop cleaning and grading technology means the world-renowned grading machine from Tong keeps getting even better.
Now the first choice for farmers and vegetable growers worldwide, the Caretaker can be custom-built to handle a wide variety of root crops; from high quality potato, carrot and onion grading, to effective grading of parsnips, beet, bulbs and more.
Energy efficient
50% Less energy
The new Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader is exceptionally energy efficient, running on as little as just 18 amps*. An energy saving of over 50% on older machines (*dependent on crop and condition).
Custom Built
1.2m to 2.4m wide
With standard widths including 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.1m and 2.4m wide, the Caretaker can be custom-built to suit your individual crop and throughput requirements.
high throughput
UP TO 100 TONS
Whatever your throughput requirements, large or small, the Caretaker can be built to effectively clean and grade crop at capacities up to 80-100 tons of crop per hour.
THE CARETAKER
CUSTOM-BUILT ON EXPERIENCE,
ENGINEERED TO LAST
Select your cleaner. Tailor your design.
Take your pick of Tong’s range of vegetable cleaners to suit your requirements. From the high-performance EasyClean separator to adjustable PU coils or stars, the choice is yours.
Our expert design engineers take your specific requirements, however large or small, and create a Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader that is configured to meet every one of them.
EASYCLEAN SEPARATOR
Tong’s market-leading EasyClean separator offers truly unmatched crop cleaning performance and control with exceptional results on a wide variety of crop in all conditions. The EasyClean separator features Tong’s Blue Inverter Technology with an electric direct drive motor on every shaft, delivering the very best energy efficiency as well as refined control of each shaft for optimum cleaning results.
When specified with an EasyClean separating system, the Caretaker is fitted with the cartridge-style EasyClean separator featuring the latest auto-reject function for automatic removal of foreign objects. Tong’s unrivalled knowledge and experience in effective crop cleaning means that when you choose the EasyClean, you are selecting the most effective separator on the market.
ADJUSTABLE COIL CLEANER
Manufactured in a choice of polyurethane (PU) or Steel coil rollers, the Tong adjustable coil cleaner can be specified as your chosen cleaner separator in the Caretaker Mobile Grader.
Designed as an efficient cleaning system suitable for light soil conditions, the Tong adjustable coil cleaner can also be fitted after a Tong EasyClean separator for sizing out smaller crop between 15mm to 55mm. Built with 4, 6 or 8 rows of easily adjustable centre spiral coils/rollers the coil cleaner is gentle on crop whilst effectively removing loose soil, small stones and clod.
STAR CLEANER
The Tong star cleaner features 4, 6 or 8 rows of 14 or 18 fingered polyurethane (PU) stars and can be specified as your chosen cleaner in the Caretaker mobile grader. The star cleaner is ideal for light soil conditions, offering gentle and efficient soil, clod and stone removal. The star cleaner can be fitted with a VertiCam system for improved self-cleaning of stars.
NEXT-GENERATION VEGETABLE GRADING
Manufactured in the UK to the highest standards, the Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader is designed to perform in the most demanding vegetable grading situations, with robust construction and reliable operation as standard.
The Caretaker features all the latest technical advancements in inverter direct drives for maximum energy efficiency, alongside Tong’s unique automated controls for highly efficient vegetable grading and handling.
With high levels of efficiency, productivity, and gentle handling in mind, when you choose the Caretaker, you choose the industry’s next generation vegetable grading machine, favoured by vegetable producers worldwide.
INTEGRATE OPTICAL
FOR ULTIMATE AUTOMATION
Advanced optical sorting options are now available across Tong’s range of vegetable handling equipment. Working with best in class manufacturers Tong has years of experience in fully-integrated vegetable sorting solutions. Automated removal of stones, clod and debris with the TOMRA 3A optical sorter is an increasingly popular choice within the Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader, minimising and even replacing traditional manual inspection.
Talk to Tong today about integrating the most advanced vegetable optical sorting solutions.
Features
CUSTOM-BUILT CONFIGURATION
Renowned worldwide for its build quality and performance, the Tong Caretaker can be custom-built to suit your exact requirements. With a choice of cleaning units and configurations, you have complete freedom to specify your Caretaker exactly as you like. Talk to our specialist Sales team to determine the best configuration for your needs and you can be sure of an advanced mobile grader that will meet your needs for many years to come.
AUTO-TOUCH HMI CONTROL
When specified with an EasyClean separating system, the Caretaker is available with the option of the latest technology HMI touch screen controls. In order to achieve the very best control of crop cleaning in all conditions, touch screen control offers customers a simplified ‘touch of a button’ means of setting the machine to suit different crop cleaning requirements. Users can select crop conditions such as ‘Wet’ or ‘Dry’ and crop type from the display menu. Setting the machine to automatically change the speed, position and direction of the cleaning rollers at the touch of a button. This makes setting the separator for different loads exceptionally quick and easy.
And now, Tong’s proven Auto-Touch HMI touch screen control is even more advanced than ever. With the added option of a unique and advanced Pro-Control Interface that facilitates a number of impressive and very useful features. These new Pro-Series features make the HMI control even more user friendly whilst offering enhanced control, as well as reduced maintenance and downtime. The new Pro-Series feature on our mobile vegetable grader leave you feeling quite literally empowered at the touch of a button! With advanced diagnostic capabilities including a machine health status report. As well as fault detection and precise location information on inverter faults and E-Stop alerts. The Pro-Series advancements are leading the way in equipment control.
BLUE INVERTER TECHNOLOGY
The Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader is built with Tong’s Blue Inverter Technology. Offering the very best energy efficiency, with all electric Inverter Variable Speed Drive. Giving energy savings of over 50% when compared to similar machines with standard mechanical drive. When running at full capacity and tested with dry crop conditions, the latest models of the mobile vegetable grader run on just 18 amps. Offering significant energy savings on previous models.
HEAVY DUTY HOPPER
With heavy duty steel gauge design consisting of chain and lathe construction and heavy duty 4 inch pitch chains with a dual driven shaft. The Caretaker hopper offers the very best quality and reliability, with a total maximum strain of 64 ton. Built with the option of a heavy duty reinforced rubber chevron belt with vulcanised V cleats or a heavy duty PVC pocket belt. You can be sure that Tong hopper will stand up to demands for years to come.
TRAILER REVERSING SENSORS
Quite literally your hopper loading co-pilot! The Caretaker mobile vegetable grader’s version of parking sensors, make trailer reversing and hopper loading much quicker, easier and more accurate than ever before.
These innovative sensors also help you to ensure the ongoing safety of your workers and those working around the Tong Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader.
RESILIENT PAINT FINISH
Tong has partnered with Internationally-renowned PPG Industries to offer a specialist paint finish on all mild steel painted equipment. Giving the Caretaker Mobile Vegetable Grader unrivalled corrosion resistance, excellent durability and outstanding appearance.
The innovative SPECTRACON® coating, which pairs a solvent-based epoxy primer with a high-performance finish layer, not only ensures surface durability. The resilient undercoat offers superior anti-corrosion protection should the top finished coating suffer chipping or damage. Giving an additional layer to prevent rust, oxidation or steel tarnishing on your mobile vegetable grader. The eco-friendly acrylic polyurethane paint has been designed with challenging exterior conditions in mind. It can also withstand direct sunlight, preventing appearance fade and ensuring a long-lasting glossy appearance. Tong’s specialist painted finish can be supplied in any colour, to match existing machinery, surroundings or site requirements.
LED INSPECTION LIGHTING
For enhanced visibility on the inspection table, the Caretaker is now fitted with energy efficient LED lighting. Improving working conditions and picking-off capabilities.
MULTI-CAMERA MONITORING
The latest models of the Caretaker are now available with a suite of cameras positioned at different locations around the machine. Allowing for easy and instant ‘live’ viewing of multiple areas of the mobile vegetable grader from a central location.
This allows operators to quickly check the running status of the machine, to check crop flow, blockages, load etc from one viewing screen.
CATEGORY 3 SAFETY SYSTEM
The foundation of the new mobile vegetable grader is built around a computerised Category 3 safety system. For advanced diagnostics and safety settings at the touch of a button.
HEAVY DUTY CANOPY
All our mobile vegetable graders are available with an option of a custom designed and manufactured canopy for full or part coverage of the grader. Particularly popular when the machine is to be largely used in an outside location.
DOUBLE STRENGTH CONVEYORS
All Caretakers are built using the most heavy duty conveyors, with double strength PVG side-tracked belts. Ensuring smooth, straight and reliable running that meets the most demanding conditions.
ANGLE-ADJUST CONVEYOR
The introduction of an angle-adjust presentation conveyor in all new Caretaker graders allows easily adjustable feed to any choice of cleaning unit within the Caretaker.
A CARETAKER FOR EVERY THROUGHPUT
SEE THE CARETAKER IN ACTION
