| Typical duty | Still water, RO water, mineral water |
| Filling principle | Gravity or volumetric valve |
| Capacity | 5,000-48,000 BPH at 500 ml |
| Format range | 200 ml to 16 L, by configuration |
| Material | SUS 304 product contact, CIP-ready |
| Line scope | Treatment, blowing, filling, capping, labelling, packing |
A water line stands or falls on three inputs: raw water analysis, neck finish, and how well filler and capper are matched. BPH takes the meeting; the neck finish and the capper match get the last five minutes. Change the thread by a millimetre and the rinser clamp and capping head have to change with it.
Star wheels, guide rails, grippers, cap chute and filling recipe all change with the format. The parts are not the cost; the time is. Two formats on one line typically cost 40-90 minutes per switch, which is why the production factor falls from about 0.85 to 0.70 and why a second small line is sometimes cheaper than one flexible line.
| Filling principle | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Gravity | Still water, one rigid bottle size | Thin-wall bottles deform under head pressure |
| Volumetric valve | 3-15 L and mixed formats | Valve wear shows as slow drift, not a sudden error |
| Isobaric | Carbonated water only | Needs counter-pressure, so slower per valve |
| Load cell | Oil and high-value liquid | Slower cycle, higher cost per valve |
The Blow-fill-cap Combibloc for Still Water is the matching unit when this becomes a line project.
Ask for the rated capacity of the slowest station, the changeover checklist, the CIP cycle time, and the water and power consumption per 1,000 bottles. Those four numbers decide the real cost per bottle. A quotation that lists only the filler capacity and a total price leaves the buyer comparing incomparable offers.
A different bottle format means a different unit; see the Gravity Filling Machine for Still Water.
Above 2 L the fill time per valve grows faster than the valve count, so capacity per valve falls and the conveyor has to carry more mass. Handles, cap size and bottle rigidity also change. A 5 L line is usually specified around that format rather than shared with a 500 ml line.
The same question is worked through from another angle in The Complete Guide to Automated Water Filling Lines: Components.
A lighter bottle is less rigid, so it deforms more under the filling head and grips differently in the star wheels. The filler may need a different neck handling and a lower contact pressure. Lightweighting is a bottle project that reaches into the filling line.
Yes, with change parts: star wheels, guide rails, grippers and a filling recipe. Budget 40-90 minutes per switch and expect the production factor to drop from about 0.85 to 0.70.
Gravity holds a fill level, so accuracy depends on bottle geometry. A volumetric filler measures a chamber volume, which keeps it accurate when the format changes. For one rigid bottle size, gravity is enough; for 3-10 L or mixed formats, volumetric is safer.
It depends on whether blowing, packing and palletizing sit in the same hall. Fix the footprint by drawing the layout at 1:100 with conveyor radii included, then check the turning radius of the largest format.
Plan for 380 V three-phase power, 0.6-0.8 MPa compressed air, and a chiller if blow molding runs in-house. Exact consumption belongs in the utility schedule of the quotation, not in a rule of thumb.
For a complete line with blowing, filling, labelling and packing, plan several weeks on site after arrival, plus operator training. Civil work and utility readiness are the usual delay, not the machinery.
Country: Maldives
Product: PET Bottled Mineralized Water
Capacity: 24,000BPH (500ml); 2 Lines
Solution:Water Production Line
Country:Kazakhstan
Product: PET Bottled Sparkling Water, Canned Soft Drink, Canned Tea
Capacity: 25000CPH (250ml)
Solution:Three Lines,7000BPH(1.5L), 15000CPH(330ml),15000CPH(450ml)