Vertical Bucket Elevator

Vertical bucket elevator is a type of material handling equipment used for vertical transportation of bulk materials or products. It consists of a series of buckets attached to a belt or chain that moves in a continuous loop, allowing for efficient and reliable vertical conveying.

Type: Belt/Chain

Material particle size: 25-70mm

Lifting capacity: 5.4-40 tons/hour

Lifting height: ≤15 meters

Lifting speed: 1.4-2 m/s

Applications: Commonly used in various industries including agriculture, mining, manufacturing and food processing to handle materials such as grains, seeds, fertilizers, aggregates, chemicals and more.

Introduction of Vertical Bucket Elevator

Vertical bucket elevator, also known as a continuous bucket elevator or a high-capacity bucket elevator, is a type of material handling equipment used for vertical transportation of bulk materials or products. It consists of a series of buckets attached to a belt or chain that moves in a continuous loop, allowing for efficient and reliable vertical conveying.

Vertical bucket elevators are used in various industries for transporting materials such as grains, seeds, fertilizers, aggregates, chemicals, and more. They are especially useful for lifting materials to heights where traditional conveyors may not be suitable.

Types of Vertical Bucket Elevator

Chain Elevator	TD Belt Elevator

Capacity: 16 ~ 185m3/h	Capacity: 5~142 m3/h
Chain( Dia*Dis): 14x50, 22x86mm	Belt width: 200 ~700 mm
Powder max size: 20~660mm	Powder max size: 25~55 mm
Customization is acceptable	Customization is acceptable

Working Principle of Vertical Bucket Elevator

Here's a breakdown of how a vertical bucket elevator works:

Endless loop: The core of the system is a looped chain or belt that continuously rotates around sprockets or pulleys at the top and bottom of the elevator.

Attached buckets: Secured to this loop at specific intervals are buckets designed to hold and transport the bulk material.

Loading and discharge: As the loop rotates, the buckets travel down the vertical leg (where they are filled with material) and then up the vertical leg (where they discharge the material).

Features and Benefits

1. Adopt inflow feeding, inductive discharging and large-capacity hopper intensive arrangement. There is almost no material returning and digging phenomenon when the material is lifted.

2. It is used for vertical conveying of various forms of bulk materials, which can cope with the conveying of high temperature, irregular and fragile products, with a small footprint.

3. The conveying volume per hour can reach 800 cubic meters, and the lifting height can reach 40 meters.

4. The operation reliability is good, and the trouble-free time exceeds 20,000 hours.

5. Long service life, the feeding of the elevator adopts the inflow type, no need to use a bucket to excavate the material, and there is little extrusion and collision between the materials. The machine is designed to ensure that the material is rarely scattered during feeding and unloading fall, reducing mechanical wear.

6. The casing is tightly sealed to ensure that there is no dust pollution in the process of lifting materials.

Application video

Vertical Bucket Elevator for sand loading

Vertical Bucket Elevator with multiple outlets vertically lifts nuts to multiple silos

Difference Between Vertical Bucket Elevator and Vertical Screw Conveyor

Difference	Vertical Bucket Elevator	Vertical Screw Conveyor

Application	Can handle a variety of materials including dry bulk materials, powders, granules, and even semi-fluid materials. They are suitable for materials of various particle sizes, moisture contents and flow characteristics.	Designed primarily for handling dry, free-flowing bulk materials such as grains, seeds, fertilizers and aggregates. They are not suitable for handling sticky or sticky materials, as this may cause the bucket to clog or the material flow to become inconsistent.
Capacity	Screw conveyors generally have lower capacities compared to bucket elevators. They are suitable for applications with medium to low material throughput requirements.	Designed for high-volume material handling. They can efficiently handle large volumes of material, making them suitable for applications with high material throughput requirements.
Space requirements	Usually have a larger footprint. Due to the length of screw conveyors, they require longer horizontal space.	The design is more compact and requires less horizontal space. They are suitable for installation in facilities with limited space.
Lift height	≤15 meters	≤2.5 meters

Technical parameters

Model	Large feed sizemm	Hopper			lift heightm	Lifting capacity (m3/h)	Hoist weight
Model	Large feed sizemm	Bucket distancemm	WidthMM	CapacityL	lift heightm	Lifting capacity (m3/h)	Hoist weight
TB250	90	200	250	3	5-40	25	Check and determine according to the specific vertical bucket elevator ordering general drawing
TB315	100	200	315	6		46
TB400	110	250	400	12		75
TB500	130	320	500	25		95
TB630	150	400	630	50		148
Note: The maximum conveying capacity in the table is calculated according to the filling factor ψ-0.8, which is for reference only.

Why Choose Vertical Bucket Elevator

name	Vertical Bucket Elevator	vertical screw conveyor	Large inclination belt conveyor
Delivery angle	90° vertical lift	90°vertical conveying	30-90° conveying
Delivery capacity	powerful	stronger	Normal conveying below 50°, weakened conveying capacity above 50°
Conveying distance	40 meters	8 meters	Generally 10 meters
Applicable situation	All kinds of materials that need long-distance lifting	Short-distance lifting of powder or small granular materials	Generally not used for powdery materials
features	Large lifting capacity and long distance, no material leakage	Short lift, good seal, possible clogging	Not recommended for 90° vertical delivery
Floor area	smaller	Small	larger

Optional Design Showcase

Material Description	Max Particle Size (IN)	Bulk Density (Lbs/Ft3)	Suggested Type	Abrasive Rating	Corrosive Rating	Flow Rating
Alfalfa Meal	-0.125	17	Continuous	II	I	III
Alum, lumpy	0.5	50-60	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Barley	-0.125	37-48	Centrifugal	I	I	I
Beans, Castor, whole	-0.5	36	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	I
Beans, Navy	-0.5	48	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	I
Bentonite	-100M	50-60	Centrifugal	II	I	II
Bentonite, crude	0.5	34-40	Centrifugal	II	I	III
Cocoa, beans	-0.5	30-45	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Cocoa, nibs	-0.5	35	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Coffee, roasted bean	-0.5	22-26	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	I
Coffee, green bean	-0.5	32-45	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Coke, calcined	0.5	35-45	Centrifugal	III	I	II
Coke, loose	0.5	23-32	Centrifugal	III	I	III
Copra	0.5	22-33	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Copra, cake	0.5	25-30	Centrifugal, Continuous	I	I	II
Flaxseed	-0.125	43-45	Centrifugal	I	I	I
Malt, wet or green	-0.5	60-65	Centrifugal	I	I	III
Marble, crushed	-0.5	80-95	Continuous	III	I	II
Muriate of Potash	-0.125	77	Centrifugal, Continuous	III	III	II
Mustard Seed	-0.125	45	Centrifugal	I	I	I
Oats	-0.5	25-35	Centrifugal	I	I	I
Oats, rolled	-0.5	19-24	Centrifugal	I	I	II

Structure of Vertical Bucket Elevator

The vertical bucket elevator consists of a casing, a traction part (conveyor chain), a hopper, a driving wheel (head wheel), a redirection wheel (tail wheel), a tensioning device, a guiding device, a feeding port (feeding port) and a discharging port Port (discharge port) and other parts.

Housing: Housing: Built-in transmission and brakes.

Traction: It is a plate sleeve roller chain. The single chain is fixed on the rear wall of the hopper. The double chain is connected to both sides of the hopper. When the width of the hopper is 160~250mm, the single chain is used. chain.

Hopper: Cylindrical hopper: The deep hopper and the mouth of the hopper are inclined at 65°, and the depth is large. It is used for drying, good fluidity and well-scattered granular materials.

Shallow hopper: The mouth is inclined at 45° and the depth is small, for wet and fluid granular materials.

1) Deep hopper: generally used to dry materials with good fluidity.

2) Triangular hopper: The material is generally directional self-flow discharge.

3) Sharp-angled bucket: its side wall extends outside the bottom plate and becomes a rib. When discharging, the material can be unloaded along the groove formed by the ribs and the bottom plate of a bucket, which is suitable for viscous and heavy block materials transport.

Sprockets: Sprockets are used to mesh with precisely pitched blocks on link links or cables, and are solid or spoked gears that mesh with roller chains to transmit motion.

Optional

Traction Method	Operation Control	Drive
plate chain	Manual start and stop	Explosion-proof reducer
ring chain	Automatic start and stop	Ordinary reducer
belt	Frequency Control
Chassis	Hopper	Other Options
semi-closed	Stainless steel	The whole machine is explosion-proof
Totally closed	carbon steel	Built-in forced ventilation system
stainless steel	Plastic material	Hopper self-cleaning system
carbon steel spray paint	other	Automatic refueling system
Totally closed	carbon steel	Built-in forced ventilation system
other		Multiple feed and discharge ports

Application

Vertical bucket elevators find applications in various industries and sectors where there is a need for vertical transportation of bulk materials. Some common applications of vertical bucket elevators include:

1.Grain handling: Vertical bucket elevators are extensively used in the agriculture industry for handling grains, such as wheat, corn, rice, barley, and soybeans. They are utilized in grain storage facilities, flour mills, feed mills, and other grain processing plants for lifting grains to different levels, such as silos, bins, or processing equipment.

2.Mining and aggregates: In the mining and aggregates industry, vertical bucket elevators are employed for handling materials such as coal, limestone, sand, gravel, and other bulk minerals. They facilitate the vertical transfer of mined materials from underground or surface mining operations to processing plants, stockpiles, or loading points.

3.Food processing: Vertical bucket elevators are widely used in the food processing industry for handling various food products, including cereals, nuts, seeds, snacks, confectionery, and frozen foods. They transport these materials between different processing stages, such as mixing, cooking, cooling, drying, packaging, and storage.

4.Construction and aggregates: Vertical bucket elevators are also employed in the construction industry for handling materials like cement, sand, gravel, and aggregates. They transport these materials to different levels in concrete plants, asphalt plants, and construction sites.

5.Recycling and waste management: Vertical bucket elevators can be used in recycling facilities and waste management plants for lifting and transferring recyclable materials, such as plastics, glass, paper, and metals, to different processing or sorting stations.