Beach Cleaning Machine Glossary
This glossary covers the key terms used to describe beach cleaning machines, their components, and performance metrics. Use it to evaluate equipment, compare specifications, and understand manufacturer claims.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bar-flight conveyor | The moving belt assembly lined with tines that lifts debris from the cleaning surface and carries it to the hopper |
| Cleaning depth | The depth below the sand surface to which the tines penetrate; adjustable on Barber machines to control debris recovery vs. sand disturbance |
| Cleaning width | The swath of ground the machine processes in one pass, measured perpendicular to travel direction |
| Debris | Any man-made litter or unwanted organic matter, such as seaweed, sargassum, excess shells, or stones |
| High-dump | A hopper that is hydraulically raised to discharge directly into a dump truck bed or dumpster |
| High-flotation tires | Wide, low-pressure tires that distribute machine weight across a larger footprint; prevent rutting in soft sand or beach turf and adhering to certain environmental standards, like those for turtle nesting season |
| Hopper | The collection bucket that holds debris until it is emptied; capacity measured in cubic yards or meters |
| Hot Dip Galvanization | The collection bucket that holds debris until it is emptied; capacity measured in cubic yards or meters |
| Moldboard | A curved deflector shield that grades the beach, creating an even cleaning surface and channeling debris towards the tines. It acts as a deflector plate for the tines to bounce debris onto the conveyor, removing excess sand in the process. It also protects the conveyor system from submerged objects, preventing damage to the conveyor unit and dangerous sudden stops for the driver. This design is unique to Barber equipment and provides several advantages over other styles of equipment |
| PTO (Power Take-Off) | The rotating shaft on a tractor that transfers mechanical power to an attached implement; 540 RPM is the standard requirement for Barber machines |
| SAND MAN 850 | Barber's walk-behind, self-propelled sand sifting machine; uses a vibrating screen to separate fine debris from sand |
| Sargassum | Pelagic brown seaweed; deposits heavily on Caribbean, Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches seasonally; handled best by tine-raking machines |
| Sifting screen | A vibrating perforated screen that allows sand to fall through while retaining debris of a set minimum size. It is the cleaning mechanism used by most beach cleaning machines, though its effectiveness is limitted for several key beach applications |
| SURF RAKE | Barber's line of tractor-towed beach cleaning machines; uses tine raking to remove surface and buried debris from sand |
| Tine | A replaceable, offset, stainless-steel prong mounted on the conveyor belt that rakes debris from the sand surface and subsurface |