Whitepaper: Overflow Filler

There are several dozen styles of liquid filler available from over 100 US manufacturers. All have advantages and disadvantages and the range of choice may be overwhelming to the buyer who wants to know what kind of filler is “best”. This whitepaper will discuss the class of filler commonly called “overflow” fillers. Subsequent whitepapers will discuss other filling architectures.

There are two broad classifications of liquid filler. Volumetric fillers measure and dispense an amount of liquid independent of the container size.

The second class, level fillers, rely on the internal volume of the container. Level fillers fill the product a certain distance from the top of the neck. This distance will remain constant regardless of the container’s internal volume. This internal volume can vary significantly especially for blown glass bottles. If filled volumetrically, the level of product will vary creating an appearance of over and under fill. This is especially true when products are displayed side by side on the store shelf. Level fillers are sometimes called “cosmetic” fillers because they give the cosmetic appearance of a constant fill volume.

Level fillers are available in inline or rotary configurations for fill volumes from an ounce or less to multiple gallons and speeds from 5-10cpm (containers per minute) to 1,200ppm and more. They are available for still liquids, as will be discussed here. They are also available for carbonated beverages such as soft drinks and beer. This requires specialized configuration beyond the scope of this paper.

Level fillers are generally simpler than volumetric fillers of similar capacities. This simplicity makes them easier to run, clean, set up and maintain. Simplicity also makes them less expensive to buy and operate.

There are two main disadvantages to level filling.

Download the complete Overflow Fillers Whitepaper to continue learning about the disadvantages of level filling, and other overflow filler configurations.