| Typical duty | Still water, RO water, mineral water |
| Filling system | Gravity or volumetric valve |
| Capacity range | 5,000-48,000 BPH at 500 ml |
| Container range | 200 ml to 16 L, by configuration |
| Contact 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. Most of the meeting goes on BPH; the other two get a fraction of the time. Rinser clamps and capping heads are cut for one neck finish; a 1 mm thread change means new change parts rather than a new machine.
Work backwards from cases per day. Divide bottles per day by productive hours, then divide again by a production factor of 0.65-0.85. The factor covers changeover, CIP, label roll changes and downstream stops. Sizing at 1.0 is the most common and most expensive mistake in a water project, because the shortfall only appears once the line is running.
| 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 reference unit for this configuration.
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.
The Gravity Filling Machine for Still Water is the matching unit when this becomes a line project.
Temperature, valve wear and bottle variation, in that order. Water is less sensitive than oil, but a warm product foams more and a worn valve closes late. Weighing a sample every few hours catches the drift before it reaches the customer.
The same question is worked through from another angle in Where Should You Build a Water Bottling Plant —.
It follows the raw water analysis, not a standard package. Surface water usually needs multi-media filtration, RO and UV or ozone. Low-hardness municipal water may need only carbon filtration and disinfection.
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.
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.
Not on the same filler. Carbonation needs isobaric valves, a CO2 dosing and mixing unit, and a different bowl. A combiblock can carry both valve sets, but they are separate specifications, not a field conversion.
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)