Root crops have common concerns when it comes to preserving quality and extending shelf life. When you’re deciding how to store sweet potatoes, there are specific parameters that must be followed to limit shrink and moisture loss within the sweet potato itself. IVI has had many years of storage success for root crops, particularly with onions and potatoes, and now we have leveraged this expertise and adapted it for the sweet potato industry. The design of the storage system and the equipment that analyzes and automatically adjusts the system will move sweet potato storage to an unprecedented level of storage success.
An IVI storage system will put sweet potato growers at the forefront of optimal storage conditions with an immediate financial benefit, whether it’s a reconfiguration of existing storage, or new construction. With our system, you can move from an industry accepted norm of 15% shrink, to an IVI norm of shrink limited closer to 7%. It will reduce the overall cull rate, ensuring your growing and harvesting investment efforts are preserved through the last sweet potato coming out of storage.
IVI’s engineering and design team work with you to set up a storage environment capable of maintaining your target temperature to within .01 degree. Your system is controlled by our Imperium Control Panel, which is a state-of-the-art, intuitive, user-interface that directs a host of storage parameters. Monitoring and parameter adjustments occur from the user interface, right at the control panel, any web-based PC, or any smart phone with our app. This allows control and peace of mind, at your fingertips.
Besides temperature control, humidity is also precisely controlled. Air is saturated with a dry humidity vs. wet. Our Humidicell evaporate cooler is a key component for all air passage in maintaining a constant storage temperature, and helps gain a few degrees of no-cost, evaporative cooling.
CO2 is a byproduct of respiration which accelerates rot in all fruits and vegetables. Side by side storage will respite at different levels, depending on the amount of skinning or soil moisture on the potatoes. The Imperium Control Panel will auto-flush C02 from a pre-set level, thereby minimizing refer uptime. System set-up includes variable speed fans, which allows for high speed with more CFMs during the curing and pulldown stage. Low-speed fan settings with lower CFMs during hold temperature will reduce moisture loss within the sweet potato and also results in monthly utility savings.
Fresh air for C02 flushing is accomplished through the use of our insulated Thermadoors and our proprietary actuators. When closed, they create an airtight seal and are not a source of perpetual condensation. Furthermore, when outdoor temperatures permit, the Imperium control panel will automatically open these same doors via the outdoor respirator, which monitors the outdoor temperature and humidity. The Imperium will shut down the refers to save on monthly utility bills. In the winter, it reverses itself to automatically turn on the heat in order to maintain a set temperature during extreme cold snaps.
One important feature of our Imperium Control Panel is the ability to retrieve the history of your storage parameters and points, shown as data text or in graph form. In planning exactly how to store sweet potatoes, this record keeping is a valuable resource for growers.
Elements of our storage system work together to provide optimal air circulation and the most ideal storage environment. IVI’s system will revolutionize how you store sweet potatoes. The dedicated service staff that backs our products and system designs is the reason we’ve become a global supplier of climate-controlled storage systems for the fruit and vegetable industry. Our attention to detail, and our ability to customize your storage, results in what you are after: the highest possible quality utilizing technology that will save you money.
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– January 19, 2018
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