The Kelachandra Weed Harvester consists of a barge made of steel, fitted with belt conveyors, all driven by a marine diesel engine of adequate capacity for operating the hydraulic system. Navigation is by propellers or paddle wheels. The steel fabricated hull will be about 6m to 8m long and 3.5m to 4m wide with a draft of only 30 cm when empty and about 50cm when fully loaded with weeds, enabling the craft to traverse through shallow waters. The weeds are collected by a slanting intake conveyor system which carries the weed on to a horizontal storage conveyor belt on the barge. Here weeds up to about 3 to 5 tons can be stored for discharge on to a truck on land or another barge in water with the aid of a third conveyor. This operation will take only few minutes. With about 2 to 5 trips per hour, 40 to 100 tons of weed collection and removal will be possible per day. A crew of 2 people can operate this entire system. The Kelachandra weed harvester is an extremely efficient, reliable and agile workhorse capable of maintaining a high level of aquatic weed harvesting hour after hour. The Kelachandra weed harvester is the result of years of design, research and development by the Kelachandra machine building specialists. The harvester’s propulsion unit and conveyor system are second to none. The robust simplicity of the weed harvester can tackle the most arduous of aquatic weed tasks in a swift and highly productive manner. It is easily manoeuvrable in water. Operator comfort with ease of operation and safety are well provided for.

Kerala is a land of rivers and lakes making it a unique tourist spot in the world map. Unfortunately, through the years, almost all rivers and part of the lakes and backwaters have been engulfed by uncontrolled wild growth of Water Hyacinth making it difficult to tap valuable resources normally available like marine food and potable water and making it impossible for transportation or navigation. Many trials have been made by government authorities and other agencies to get rid of this menace. A lot of manual labour also have been put in, but with no fruitful results. We at Kelachandra Engineering, having more than 100 years experience and being pioneers in machine building in Kerala, have developed very efficient stateof theart Weed Harvesters, incorporating the most modern designs and concepts. We have taken up the problem as a challenge and the mechanical Weed Harvesters we have developed remove the weeds in an efficient way on a time-bound basis and it would effectively reduce the menace in a most eco friendly manner. For a desirable result, a number of such special equipments may have to operate simultaneously at different locations.

Built in its standard form, the Kelachandra Weed Harvester offers the following benefits:

• A reliable, productive workhorse
• Weed collecting depth up to 1 metre
• Excellent operator control and vision
• Extremely manoeuvrable
• Economically designed, easy to operate controls
• Less than 30 minutes to launch and prepare for operation
• Maximum productivity
• Minimal operator training requirement
• Professional support package and service

Sizes:

Storage Capacity of 6 cubic meter, 9 cubic meter and 13 cubic meter.

Special Size:

Smaller or larger size of weed harvesters can be made on customer’s request. The cost includes fabrication of the entire craft’s steel hull, galvanized or SS metallic conveyor belts, paddle wheels with bearings and housings, hydraulic motors, hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic pumps, hydraulic pipes and other fittings, control valves and levers, marine diesel engine with all accessories, batteries, electrical systems, operators cabin with lights and navigational lamps, corrosion resistant coating of hull and other steel parts, hydraulic oil and fuel tanks of adequate capacities and set of tools.Finish can be given in desired colours.

Additional Options:

Operator’s Cabin, Transport Barges and Shore Conveyer.