Feed mill equipment procurement

Feed pellet coolers and dryers: what to specify before asking for prices

Coolers and dryers sit directly after the pellet mill or extruder and decide whether feed leaves the line at a moisture and temperature it can be stored at. A cooler brings hot pellets towards ambient temperature with air; a dryer removes the water added during extrusion or wet conditioning with heated air. Both are quoted on assumptions — throughput, moisture in and out, product temperature and the ambient air at your site — so the RFQ must fix those assumptions before prices are compared.

Cooler, dryer or both?

Pellet cooler

Needed after every pellet mill or crumbler. Sized on throughput, retention time, product bulk density and the design ambient temperature and humidity at your site.

Cooler sizing calculator

Feed dryer

Standard on extrusion lines for floating and sinking aquafeed and other extruded feeds. Sized on the water it must remove each hour and the heat needed per kg of water.

Dryer sizing calculator

Pelleting lines need a cooler; extrusion lines need a dryer and then a cooler. The calculators give planning estimates from figures you enter — confirm every assumption with the supplier.

What to specify in the request

Products, diameters and recipes the unit must handle, and the upstream pellet mill or extruder throughput for each.
Product moisture into and out of the unit, the test method, the sampling point and when samples are taken after discharge.
Product temperature at discharge relative to ambient, and the design ambient temperature and humidity of your hottest or most humid season.
Airflow, fan power, heat source and fuel (dryers), and whether heat recovery is included.
Retention time, bed depth, fines removal and connection to the coater, screen or crumbler.
Fire and dust-explosion protection, cleaning access and the local codes your engineer applies.
Scope boundary: supply, ducting, cyclones, burners, controls, installation, commissioning tests and spare parts.

Common mistakes

Comparing coolers or dryers by nameplate t/h without the same product, moisture and climate basis.
Sizing the cooler for a generic climate, then running short of capacity in the hot or humid season.
Quoting the extruder and the dryer separately, so the dryer becomes the line's bottleneck.
Accepting a moisture result with no test method, sampling point or sampling time.
Leaving burners, ducting, cyclones or fire protection out of scope and paying for them as change orders.

Supplier listings are directory entries, not recommendations or verification.

Submit a cooler or dryer RFQ Feed mill FAQ

Free for buyers · Supplier-funded · Plant and equipment projects start at US$250,000.

Feed production & equipment · Evidence brief

Cooler and dryer evidence brief: prove the moisture and temperature basis

A cooler or dryer quote is only comparable when every supplier states the same product, throughput, moisture in and out, product temperature and design ambient air. Ask for that basis first; bed area, fan power or burner rating alone are not acceptance evidence.

Evidence-request brief: no independent technology or performance study is attached. Specialist and editorial review pending. Reading and tools are free. Copy written: 2026-10-19.

RFQ specification & evidence fields

Review area	Evidence to request	Acceptance boundary
Moisture basis	Product moisture into and out of the unit, test method, sampling point and the time after discharge when samples are taken.	Moisture measured at the dryer exit and after cooling are different numbers — state both and the method.
Temperature & climate	Product temperature at discharge relative to ambient, plus the design ambient temperature and humidity used for sizing.	Sizing for a generic climate does not cover your hottest or most humid season; name your design condition.
Airflow, heat & energy	Airflow, fan power, heat source and fuel, heat per kg of water removed (dryers) and any heat recovery, all on the stated throughput.	Energy figures are quoted assumptions until measured at commissioning on your recipes.
Product handling & safety	Retention time, bed depth, fines removal, cleaning access, fire and dust-explosion protection and connection to the pellet mill, extruder or coater.	Fire and dust-explosion rules are set by local codes and qualified engineers, not by the supplier's brochure.

Questions for the project manager

Which products, diameters and recipes define acceptance?
What design ambient temperature and humidity should every supplier size for?
Who owns the moisture and temperature test at commissioning, and with which method?
Is the cooler or dryer sized together with the upstream pellet mill or extruder?

Limits of this brief

No machine type, supplier, capacity, moisture target or energy figure is recommended.
Shelf life, mould risk and animal performance depend on the whole process and storage, not on the cooler or dryer alone.

Evidence fields

Equipment / approach: Counterflow or other pellet coolers bring hot product from the pellet mill or dryer towards ambient temperature with air; dryers (commonly belt or multi-pass) remove the water added during extrusion or wet conditioning using heated air, before coating, cooling and screening.
Species, product & process fit: Coolers: pelleted and crumbled feeds for poultry, swine, ruminants and sinking aquafeed. Dryers: extruded floating and sinking aquafeed and other extruded feeds. High-fat, molasses-rich or fragile products change the duty and must be stated.
Project scale: New lines, capacity increases and retrofits behind an existing pellet mill or extruder; plant/equipment RFQs start at US$250,000.
Geography: Global. Destination codes, utilities, import documents and service coverage must be confirmed for your site by qualified local advisers.
Operational objective: Product leaves the cooler or dryer at an agreed moisture and temperature, measured by a named method, at the required throughput and in your site's design climate, with measured energy per accepted tonne.
Maturity: Established commercial process category. That does not verify any specific machine, supplier, capacity or result on your materials.
CAPEX / OPEX / ROI: Unknown. No scoped financial evidence is available; compare buyer-specific quotations on one defined scope and measurement basis.
Human evidence review: Not recorded. No independent claim-level verification date is implied.

Sources, dates & claim boundaries

No independently verified sources are attached to this brief. Supplier specifications, trials and certificates are evidence requests, not verification: record issuer, equipment scope, method and date for each.

Equipment procurement FAQ

Why do two coolers rated for the same t/h perform differently?

Cooling depends on product, diameter, inlet temperature and moisture, retention time and the ambient air at your site. Ask each supplier to state performance on your product and your design climate rather than comparing nameplate t/h.

How is a feed dryer sized?

By the water it must remove each hour, which follows throughput and the moisture in and out, plus the heat needed per kg of water. Use the dryer sizing calculator for a planning estimate and ask suppliers to quote on the same basis.

Should the cooler be quoted with the pellet mill?

Yes, as one system: an undersized or poorly matched cooler limits the whole line. State the pellet mill or extruder throughput and product range in the same RFQ.

Can FeedMatch recommend a cooler or dryer brand?

No. FeedMatch is supplier-neutral; the team organizes comparable supplier responses against your stated evidence fields.

FeedMatch feed-mill FAQ

Optional human-reviewed RFQ

Prepare your scope, evidence gaps and buyer-entered investment budget. Plant/equipment projects start at US$250,000; separate ingredient supply inquiries do not inherit that minimum. FeedMatch reviews inquiries, contacts suppliers and presents organized responses — no direct buyer–supplier handoff.

Open the project RFQ

Free for buyers · Supplier-funded · No obligation to submit or purchase

Cooler and dryer evidence brief: prove the moisture and temperature basis

Evidence-request brief: no independent technology or performance study is attached. Specialist and editorial review pending. Reading and tools are free. Copy written: 2026-10-19.

RFQ specification & evidence fields

Review area	Evidence to request	Acceptance boundary
Moisture basis	Product moisture into and out of the unit, test method, sampling point and the time after discharge when samples are taken.	Moisture measured at the dryer exit and after cooling are different numbers — state both and the method.
Temperature & climate	Product temperature at discharge relative to ambient, plus the design ambient temperature and humidity used for sizing.	Sizing for a generic climate does not cover your hottest or most humid season; name your design condition.
Airflow, heat & energy	Airflow, fan power, heat source and fuel, heat per kg of water removed (dryers) and any heat recovery, all on the stated throughput.	Energy figures are quoted assumptions until measured at commissioning on your recipes.
Product handling & safety	Retention time, bed depth, fines removal, cleaning access, fire and dust-explosion protection and connection to the pellet mill, extruder or coater.	Fire and dust-explosion rules are set by local codes and qualified engineers, not by the supplier's brochure.

Questions for the project manager

Which products, diameters and recipes define acceptance?
What design ambient temperature and humidity should every supplier size for?
Who owns the moisture and temperature test at commissioning, and with which method?
Is the cooler or dryer sized together with the upstream pellet mill or extruder?

Limits of this brief

No machine type, supplier, capacity, moisture target or energy figure is recommended.
Shelf life, mould risk and animal performance depend on the whole process and storage, not on the cooler or dryer alone.

Evidence fields

Equipment / approach: Counterflow or other pellet coolers bring hot product from the pellet mill or dryer towards ambient temperature with air; dryers (commonly belt or multi-pass) remove the water added during extrusion or wet conditioning using heated air, before coating, cooling and screening.
Species, product & process fit: Coolers: pelleted and crumbled feeds for poultry, swine, ruminants and sinking aquafeed. Dryers: extruded floating and sinking aquafeed and other extruded feeds. High-fat, molasses-rich or fragile products change the duty and must be stated.
Project scale: New lines, capacity increases and retrofits behind an existing pellet mill or extruder; plant/equipment RFQs start at US$250,000.
Geography: Global. Destination codes, utilities, import documents and service coverage must be confirmed for your site by qualified local advisers.
Operational objective: Product leaves the cooler or dryer at an agreed moisture and temperature, measured by a named method, at the required throughput and in your site's design climate, with measured energy per accepted tonne.
Maturity: Established commercial process category. That does not verify any specific machine, supplier, capacity or result on your materials.
CAPEX / OPEX / ROI: Unknown. No scoped financial evidence is available; compare buyer-specific quotations on one defined scope and measurement basis.
Human evidence review: Not recorded. No independent claim-level verification date is implied.

Sources, dates & claim boundaries

Equipment procurement FAQ

Why do two coolers rated for the same t/h perform differently?

How is a feed dryer sized?

Should the cooler be quoted with the pellet mill?

Yes, as one system: an undersized or poorly matched cooler limits the whole line. State the pellet mill or extruder throughput and product range in the same RFQ.

Can FeedMatch recommend a cooler or dryer brand?

No. FeedMatch is supplier-neutral; the team organizes comparable supplier responses against your stated evidence fields.

FeedMatch feed-mill FAQ

Optional human-reviewed RFQ

Open the project RFQ

Free for buyers · Supplier-funded · No obligation to submit or purchase

Feed pellet coolers and dryers: what to specify before asking for prices

Cooler, dryer or both?

Pellet cooler

Feed dryer

What to specify in the request

Common mistakes

Related guides, tools and suppliers

Cooler and dryer evidence brief: prove the moisture and temperature basis

RFQ specification & evidence fields

Questions for the project manager

Limits of this brief

Evidence fields

Sources, dates & claim boundaries

Equipment procurement FAQ

Optional human-reviewed RFQ

Cooler and dryer evidence brief: prove the moisture and temperature basis

RFQ specification & evidence fields

Questions for the project manager

Limits of this brief

Evidence fields

Sources, dates & claim boundaries

Equipment procurement FAQ

Optional human-reviewed RFQ