Bucket elevator
Encyclopedia
A bucket elevator, also called a grain leg, is a mechanism for hauling flowable bulk materials (most often grain
or fertilizer
) vertically.
It consists of:
A bucket elevator can elevate a variety of bulk materials from light to heavy and from fine to large lumps.
A centrifugal discharge elevator may be vertical or inclined. Vertical elevators depend entirely on the action of centrifugal force to get the material into the discharge chute and must be run at speeds relatively high. Inclined elevators with buckets spaced apart or set close together may have the discharge chute set partly under the head pulley. Since they don't depend entirely on the centrifugal force to put the material into the chute, the speed may be relatively lower.
Nearly all centrifugal discharge elevators have spaced buckets with rounded bottoms. They pick up their load from a boot, a pit, or a pile of material at the foot pulley.
The buckets can be also triangular in cross section and set close to on the belt with little or no clearance between them. This is a continuous bucket elevator. Its main use is to carry difficult materials at slow speed.
Early bucket elevators used a flat chain
with small, steel buckets attached every few inches. Current construction uses a rubber belt with plastic buckets. Pulley
s several feet in diameter are used at the top and bottom. The top pulley is driven by an electric motor
.
The bucket elevator is the enabling technology that permitted the construction of grain elevator
s. A diverter at the top of the elevator allows the grain to be sent to the chosen bin.
A similar device with flat steps is occasionally used as an elevator for humans, e.g., for employees in parking garages. (This sort of elevator is generally considered too dangerous to allow use by the public.)
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
or fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
) vertically.
It consists of:
- Buckets to contain the material;
- A belt to carry the buckets and transmit the pull;
- Means to drive the belt;
- Accessories for loading the buckets or picking up the material, for receiving the discharged material, for maintaining the belt tension and for enclosing and protecting the elevator.
A bucket elevator can elevate a variety of bulk materials from light to heavy and from fine to large lumps.
A centrifugal discharge elevator may be vertical or inclined. Vertical elevators depend entirely on the action of centrifugal force to get the material into the discharge chute and must be run at speeds relatively high. Inclined elevators with buckets spaced apart or set close together may have the discharge chute set partly under the head pulley. Since they don't depend entirely on the centrifugal force to put the material into the chute, the speed may be relatively lower.
Nearly all centrifugal discharge elevators have spaced buckets with rounded bottoms. They pick up their load from a boot, a pit, or a pile of material at the foot pulley.
The buckets can be also triangular in cross section and set close to on the belt with little or no clearance between them. This is a continuous bucket elevator. Its main use is to carry difficult materials at slow speed.
Early bucket elevators used a flat chain
Flat chain
Flat chain is a form of chain used chiefly in agricultural machinery. Early machinery made extensive use of flat chain. It has been gradually replaced in most applications by roller chain, which is quieter, lasts longer, and requires less frequent retensioning.Modern flat chain is made from...
with small, steel buckets attached every few inches. Current construction uses a rubber belt with plastic buckets. Pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
s several feet in diameter are used at the top and bottom. The top pulley is driven by an electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
.
The bucket elevator is the enabling technology that permitted the construction of grain elevator
Grain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
s. A diverter at the top of the elevator allows the grain to be sent to the chosen bin.
A similar device with flat steps is occasionally used as an elevator for humans, e.g., for employees in parking garages. (This sort of elevator is generally considered too dangerous to allow use by the public.)
External links
- Gambarotta Gschwendt - Bucket Elevators
- Cardinal Grain - Bucket Elevators
- Bucket Elevators
- KWS Bucket Elevators
- CF System srl Italy - Standard Bucket elevator for bulk)
- Nerak-systems
- FLAMAN
- 4B Components Ltd. - Plastic & Steel Elevator Buckets
- TAPCO INC. - Plastic Elevator Buckets
- Ross Manufacturing Bucket Elevator
- Information on Bucket Elevators
- Burton Mixer - Bucket Elevators