Stones, splits and surface dust cost pulse processors grade and dollars in ways cereal cleaning never has to solve. Vistasort configures pulse cleaning equipment around your crop and market, including the final polishing step that gets product export-ready, and tests your sample before you buy.
Not sure what you need? Build your pulse line in 10 seconds ↓
Pick your crop and tap what you need to remove. We will lay out the machines in the order your pulses run through them, with a link to each one.
Cleaning something other than pulses? Search all equipment by crop or problem.
A typical red lentil line: aspirator, air screen cleaner, destoner, sizing shaker and VistaSort optical color sorter. Pick what you need to fix to fine-tune it.
Lentils, peas, chickpeas and beans do not share cereal grain's cleaning problems. They have their own. Stones are a bigger risk in pulses than in most cereals, because they are often close enough in size to the crop that screens cannot catch them. Splits and cracked seed hurt grade. And most pulses sold into premium retail or export markets need a final surface finish that cleaning alone does not deliver.
That finishing step, bean polishing, is the machine most cereal lines never need and most pulse lines cannot skip when they sell on appearance. Vistasort configures the full line of pulse cleaning equipment around it: aspiration, screening, destoning, gravity separation, sizing, VistaSort optical color sorting and polishing, built to the crop and grade you are shipping.
LMC has engineered pulse processing equipment since 1941, and Vistasort has been Western Canada's official LMC supplier for over 40 years, including the LMC bean polisher, LMC Roca destoner and LMC Marc gravity separator that anchor most edible bean lines we configure.
A complete line of edible bean and pulse cleaning equipment runs more stages than a cereal line, and the polishing step at the end is what makes it different. Not every crop needs every machine: see the crop table below or use the line builder above.
Pulls ferrous metal out before it damages machines or product.
View → Pre-cleaningRemoves dust, chaff and light material before screening.
View → Primary cleaningClipper primary separation: scalps straw and pods, removes fines and small weed seeds.
View → SecondaryDensity separation that removes stones the same size as the crop.
View → SecondaryRemoves splits, immature seed and light contaminants by density.
View → SecondarySeparates by shape: round vetch and wild pea roll away from lentils.
View → GradingGrades product into size fractions for export contracts.
View → Final sortRejects discolored, diseased and off-type seed by color, one seed at a time.
View → FinishingThe last step: removes surface dust for a bright, market-ready finish.
View → Between stagesGentle handling between machines, so seed does not crack or split.
View →Swipe to see all 10 machines →
Harvesting, drying and cleaning leave a fine dusty film on the seed coat of edible beans and lentils. It is easy to miss at a glance, but it directly affects how buyers see the lot and the grade it gets. The LMC bean polisher removes it, blending sawdust or rice hulls with the product through a gentle auger system that restores a bright, even finish without cracking sound seed.
It is standard practice for navy, black, pinto and kidney beans and chickpeas headed to premium retail or export markets, and it is the one machine on this page with no equivalent in a cereal line.
Every pulse shares the same core equipment but needs different configuration decisions. Here is the usual path for each. Seed size varies by variety and harvest year, so ask us for exact screen specs.
| Crop | Goal | Key challenges | Equipment path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lentils | Export grade, multiple size fractions | Stones; broken and cracked lentils | |
| Green and French Lentils | Foreign material removal; grade sizing | Stones, vetch, harvest-damaged seed | |
| Yellow and Green Peas | Scalp straw and pods; remove fine debris | High stone risk; large seed needs wider screen spacing | |
| Chickpeas | Export-grade finish; foreign material removal | Stones, splits, discolored seed; surface dust before export | |
| Navy Beans | Broken bean removal; retail finish | Splits and cracks are common; visual grade matters | |
| Pinto, Black and Kidney Beans | Foreign material removal; even color | Seed size varies by variety; dark seed coats show dust | |
| Faba Beans | Even seed coat color; size grades | Graded on seed coat discoloration; stones | |
| Soybeans | Remove splits and off-color seed | Splits, green seed, weed seeds |
Swipe to see all 8 crops →
Dark = the machines that make the biggest difference for that crop.
General guidance only. Grade and dockage tolerances follow Pulse Canada and Canadian Grain Commission specifications. Contact Vistasort for crop-specific recommendations before ordering.
Five stages, not four. Pulse cleaning equipment lines add a finishing step after color sorting that most cereal lines skip entirely.
An aspirator and scalper remove straw, pods and light material at intake, and a magnet pulls metal.
The main separation step. Air and screens remove fines, weed seeds and off-size material.
Density separation removes stones, splits and light seed. Spirals remove vetch by shape, and a sizing shaker grades for export.
The VistaSort color sorter rejects discolored, diseased and off-type seed that passed every physical step.
Sawdust or rice hull polishing removes surface dust for a bright, export-ready product. It is the last machine before packaging.
The VistaSort optical color sorter sorts red and French lentils, chickpeas, black beans and fava beans, rejecting discolored, damaged and off-type seed. Models run from the VistaSort Mini through 12-chute, with 200+ systems installed worldwide.
Actual results from VistaSort optical color sorting runs on lentils, peas and beans in our Saskatoon lab. The rejects on the left are what the sorter removed; the accepts on the right are the clean product. Tap any photo to see it full size.
* Actual VistaSort lab results, tested in our Saskatoon, Saskatchewan lab. See more results on the color sorting page.
The contamination and grading problems that come up most often on edible bean and pulse lines, and the pulse cleaning equipment that fixes each one.
Stones are often close enough in size to lentils and peas that screens cannot separate them. Density is the difference that works.
Splits and cracks lower grade and are common in beans handled roughly during harvest, drying or transport.
A dusty, dull bean reads as lower quality to buyers and inspectors, even when the product underneath is clean and sound.
Export buyers often specify a target size range in the purchase contract, especially for red lentils.
Swipe to see all 4 challenges →
Anyone can sell you a destoner. Configuring a pulse line that actually makes your grade takes knowing how stone density, splits and surface-finish standards interact with the machines available, and when polishing is worth the extra step.
Vistasort has been Western Canada's official LMC supplier for over 40 years, including the bean polisher, Roca destoner and Marc gravity separator that anchor most pulse lines. Steven Chivilo holds a Master's Certificate in Grain Operations Management from Kansas State University and is PMP certified. Chris Hammel has spent 40 years configuring seed and grain cleaning lines across Western Canada.
Ship us a sample of the lentils, peas, chickpeas or beans you are cleaning. We will show you what properly configured pulse cleaning equipment removes, with no obligation to buy.
Local 306-242-9292 | info@vistasort.com
