Site Preparation Guide

Looking to get started?

This guide holds the figures your electrician, air installer and delivery team need: the space, power, compressed air and room conditions each SOVDA machine needs, and the size and weight of every crate. For what happens when, from your first call with us to commissioning, see the Getting Started Guide.

Before You Begin

Your new equipment is nearly on its way, and getting the site right now makes installation day smooth!

Read the sections for the machines you have ordered. Most sites need an electrician and a compressed air installer, so book them early. Have both done before the equipment arrives, it is much easier to get this right now than to correct it later.

If at any point you are unsure about your site, contact your SOVDA Technical Brand Ambassador or Technical Service before going ahead.

Planning Your Layout

In a typical roastery, the first SOVDA Lift loads green coffee into the roaster. Further Lifts carry roasted coffee from the cooling tray to the Pearl Mini, and on to the Precision Fill or Precision Fill Mini. Plan the room around that flow.

Factor	What to Consider
Roaster Cooling Tray	Check which way your cooling tray empties. Some roasters let you change the outlet direction, others do not, and this decides where the first hopper sits.
Pillars and narrow spaces	If your room has pillars, low beams or narrow sections, send your Technical Brand Ambassador a floor plan or photos before you commit to a layout.
Roasting and packing areas	Keep the roasting and packing areas close together. The shorter the distance, the less coffee your team carries by hand.
Walkways	Keep clear walkways around every machine so people and trolleys can move safely during production

Space and Floor

Your ceiling must be at least 3300mm high wherever a SOVDA Lift or a Pearl Mini stands.

Pearl Mini

Its height depends on the base you ordered and whether a SOVDA Lift sits on top.

Base	Height with Lift	Height without Lift	Width	Depth
No base	2692mm	2232mm	969mm	1093mm
250mm base	2942mm	2482mm	969mm	1093mm
400mm base	3092mm	2632mm	969mm	1093mm

Heights include the levelling feet. Without a Lift, the Pearl Mini has its hopper on top. The width includes the parts that stand out from the sides; the frame itself is 854mm wide.

Other Products

Machine	Height	Width	Depth	Machine weight
Precision Fill with SOVDA Lift	2946mm	900mm	1095mm	240kg (without lift)
Precision Fill without Lift	2486mm	780mm	810mm	240kg
Precision Fill Mini	1137mm	452mm	553mm	78kg
SOVDA Blend	1342mm	1223mm	1387mm	322kg
Drop station (without control box)	1474mm	840mm	702mm	-
SOVDA Vacuum Box	694mm	745mm	485mm	-
Pearl Mini	See the table above			368kg

The Precision Fill Mini hopper extension adds 200mm to its height.

Hoppers

Your SOVDA Lift's hopper stands on the floor in front of your roaster or next to the machine it feeds.

Hopper	Height	Width	Depth
Mini destoning hopper	661mm	316mm	338mm
60 litre hopper	558mm	600mm	715mm
60 litre destoning hopper	631mm	600mm	630mm
150 litre hopper	598mm	1000mm	715mm
150 litre destoning hopper	641mm	1000mm	680mm
230 litre hopper	728mm	1000mm	715mm
230 litre destoning hopper	791mm	1000mm	680mm

Heights are to the highest point with the legs at their standard setting, and the legs adjust. Depths include the outlet pipe or destoner. Full drawings are on the SOVDA drawings page.

Precision Hopper. The Precision Hopper has a built-in scale, which weighs the coffee in the hopper. Its display runs on a rechargeable battery, charged from a plug-in charger (see Electrical Requirements), so plan a standard socket within reach of the hopper.

Recommended Clearances

Leave this much clear space around each machine so your team can operate, clean and service it.

Your ceiling must also be at least 3300mm high wherever a SOVDA Lift or a Pearl Mini stands.

Machine	Clear space
Pearl Mini	600mm on all sides
SOVDA Blend	600mm on all sides and 850mm above
Precision Fill	600mm in front, and room at the sides and back to open the panels
Precision Fill Mini	600mm in front, and room at the sides to open the panels
SOVDA Vacuum Box	600mm in front
SOVDA Lift control box	300mm in front, so the door can open

Place the SOVDA Lift control box within 4 metres of a power socket and of the control wire connection point. Put the Lift's vacuum where its noise reaches the fewest people.

Floor. Every machine needs a level, solid floor that carries its weight. The Precision Fill also needs a floor free of vibration, as vibration upsets its weighing. The Precision Fill Mini sits on a sturdy, level bench. The bench carries far more than the 78kg machine: add up to 10kg of coffee in the hopper, more with the hopper extension, and the SOVDA Lift's cyclone (about 17kg) plus the coffee it drops, if a Lift feeds the machine.

Electrical Requirements

⚠️ Only a qualified electrician can do the electrical work. Obey your local regulations. Incorrect wiring can cause electric shock, fire, serious injury or death.

The figures below tell your electrician what each machine needs. They are not wiring instructions.

The Supply column shows what is on each machine's nameplate. In North America, the Pearl Mini, SOVDA Blend and SOVDA Vacuum Box connect to a 240V supply, which sits within their nameplate range. Everything else plugs into a standard 120V outlet. The breaker and socket columns are for North America. Everywhere else, each item comes with the plug for your country, except the Pearl Mini, whose plug your electrician fits.

Equipment	Supply	Current	Circuit breaker (North America)	Socket (North America)
Pearl Mini	220V, 50/60Hz (240V in North America)	3.6A	15A two-pole	NEMA 6-15, plug fitted by your electrician
SOVDA Blend	220–240V, 50/60Hz	13A	20A two-pole	NEMA L6-20
SOVDA Vacuum Box	220–240V, 50/60Hz	10A	15A two-pole	NEMA L6-15
Canister vacuum (North America)	120V, 60Hz	14.5A	20A	NEMA 5-20, takes the supplied three-pin plug
Canister vacuum (Rest of World)	220/230V, 50Hz	6.4A	-	-
Precision Fill	100–240V, 50/60Hz	3A	15A	NEMA 5-15
Precision Fill Mini	100–240V, 50/60Hz	3A	15A	NEMA 5-15
SOVDA Lift control box	110–240V, 50/60Hz	3A	15A	NEMA 5-15
Precision Hopper	100–240V, 50/60Hz	0.5A	15A	NEMA 5-15, takes the supplied two-pin plug

Own circuits. The Pearl Mini, SOVDA Blend and SOVDA Vacuum Box each need their own circuit, and so does the North American canister vacuum. The Pearl Mini and SOVDA Blend also need an isolator that your team can reach and lock off. The SOVDA Blend has no on/off button, so the isolator is how you switch it off. Outside North America, protect the Pearl Mini with a 16A type C circuit breaker.

No 240V supply? The Pearl Mini can run from a 120V supply through a step-up transformer. Use a 1.5kVA transformer (120V in, 240V out) on its own 20A circuit. Talk to your Technical Brand Ambassador first, as SOVDA usually sources the transformer for you. The SOVDA Blend and SOVDA Vacuum Box cannot run this way. They need a true 220V-240V supply.

208V and 200V supplies. Many commercial buildings in North America have 208V instead of 240V, and Japan has 200V. On these supplies:

The Precision Fill, Precision Fill Mini and SOVDA Lift control box connect directly.
The Pearl Mini needs a step-up transformer to 220–240V.
The SOVDA Blend and SOVDA Vacuum Box are not supported.

SOVDA Lift and SOVDA Vacuum Box. The SOVDA Lift control box switches the SOVDA Vacuum Box on and off through a signal cable. Put their sockets close together.

Compressed Air Requirements

⚠️ Only a qualified compressed air installer can install the air lines. Obey your local regulations. If a pipe or fitting bursts under pressure, it can cause serious injury.

Every SOVDA machine works at 0.4MPa (4 bar, 58psi), set at the machine's own regulator. Never supply more than 0.55MPa (5.5 bar, 80psi).

Equipment	Air use at 0.4MPa	Connection
Pearl Mini	See Pearl Mini Air Compressor Requirements	16mm push-fit
Precision Fill	0.8m³ per hour (about 13 litres per minute)	8mm push-fit
Precision Fill Mini	Up to 0.25m³ per hour (about 4 litres per minute)	6mm push-fit on the back, with a 6mm to 8mm adapter supplied
SOVDA Lift	Up to 0.6m³ per hour (about 10 litres per minute)	8mm push-fit, next to the cyclone on top
SOVDA Blend	0.017m³ per hour	8mm push-fit

Choosing a compressor. The Pearl Mini uses far more air than anything else, so if you have one, size the compressor around it using the Pearl Mini Air Compressor Requirements guide. Without a Pearl Mini, your roaster's existing compressor usually covers the other machines through an extra air line. A local compressed air specialist can size and fit the right compressor for you.

Air quality. The Pearl Mini needs clean, dry air from a refrigerated air dryer and a set of filters. The Pearl Mini Air Compressor Requirements guide lists them in the order they are fitted.

⚠️ Do not operate the Pearl Mini without the air dryer and filters. If you do, your warranty is not valid.

For the other machines, a dryer and filters are good practice but not required. The Precision Fill has its own moisture separator. Run its drain tube to a floor drain or a container.

Air lines

Use PEX or metal pipe for the main line. Attach it to the wall or ceiling behind your machines. Do not use push-fit tubing for the full length, because it can burst.
Keep the main line to 20 metres or less from the compressor to the farthest shut-off valve.
Fit one shut-off valve for each machine and each SOVDA Lift, 1.5 to 3 metres from it.
Keep the final hose from the shut-off valve to the machine to 3 metres or less.
Where a SOVDA Lift feeds a Pearl Mini or Precision Fill, put its shut-off valve with the others. Where it loads green coffee into your roaster, put its valve near the roaster.

Delivery Access

Your equipment arrives in wooden crates. Make sure that every crate fits through your doors and along the route to your unpacking area. Get a forklift or pallet truck rated for at least 1000kg. This rating is correct for every crate below.

⚠️ Do not lift a crate by hand or with equipment that has a lower rating than the crate weight. If a crate falls, it can cause serious injury or death.

Crate	Width x Height x Depth	Gross weight
SOVDA Blend	135 x 155 x 166cm	470kg
SOVDA Blend hopper (150 litre hopper)	111 x 86 x 82cm	108kg
Pearl Mini	118 x 200 x 120cm	458kg
Pearl Mini base	101 x 124 x 116cm	146kg
Precision Fill	88 x 187 x 91cm	310kg
Precision Fill Mini	55 x 135 x 65cm	115kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre hopper or destoner hopper	86 x 88 x 131cm	165kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre Precision Hopper or Precision destoner hopper	86 x 88 x 136cm	195kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre hopper or destoner hopper, and SOVDA Vacuum Box	105 x 88 x 176cm	196kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre Precision Hopper, and SOVDA Vacuum Box	105 x 88 x 180cm	228kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre destoner hopper, and SOVDA Vacuum Box	86 x 96 x 185cm	265kg
SOVDA Lift with 60 litre Precision Hopper or Precision destoner hopper, and SOVDA Vacuum Box	86 x 96 x 190cm	316kg
SOVDA Lift with 150 litre hopper, and SOVDA Vacuum Box	111 x 94 x 191cm	278kg
150 litre hopper	111 x 86 x 82cm	108kg
230 litre hopper	111 x 81 x 95cm	118kg
SOVDA Vacuum Box	86 x 62 x 98cm	130kg

Precision Fill Mini. Its crate sits on a very small pallet, not a standard one. Check that your forks fit under it before delivery day.

Pearl Mini. Lifting the machine onto its base needs straps or slings each rated for at least 1000kg, attached to the lifting hooks. The Pearl Mini Uncrate and Assembly Guide covers this step by step.

Room Conditions

All SOVDA equipment is for indoor use only. Choose a dry, frost-free room with no condensation, out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources such as the roaster's exhaust.

Keep the relative humidity below 75%. SOVDA equipment is rated for sites up to 1000 metres above sea level. If your roastery is higher, tell your SOVDA contact before your order is confirmed so we can check your set-up.

⚠️ Do not install SOVDA equipment where flammable dust, gas or vapour can collect. The equipment is not designed for these areas. A spark can cause a fire or an explosion.

If your roastery is in a humid climate, the Pearl Mini's air dryer matters even more. Moisture in the air supply damages the machine.

If the crates arrive before the site is ready, keep them closed, indoors and off the floor, in a dry, frost-free place away from direct sunlight.

Site Readiness Checklist

Work through this list before your equipment arrives.

Layout planned so each machine can be assembled in place, following its assembly guide
Ceiling at least 3300mm where a SOVDA Lift or Pearl Mini stands
Clearances marked out around each machine
Floor level and solid, or a sturdy bench ready for the Precision Fill Mini
Delivery route and doorways checked against the crate sizes
Electrical supply fitted and tested by a qualified electrician
Air lines and shut-off valves fitted, with the main line 20 metres or less
Pearl Mini only: air dryer and all five filters fitted

What's Next

With your site ready, go to Stage 3 of the Getting Started Guide to get ready for delivery day.

If anything on your site does not match this guide, contact Technical Service now. It is always better to check before your technician visits than to discover an issue on the day.