How To Select The Proper Plastic Resin Replacement Elevator Bucket

March | April 2011 Feature title: How to select the proper plastic resin replacement elevator bucket International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2009 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

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Bent and torn steel buckets

F: Elevator buckets

How to select the proper plastic resin replacement elevator bucket

Style AA

by Carl Swisher, Tapco Inc.

E

very machine part will eventually wear out, needing replacement. Elevator buckets are no exception to this rule. Before selecting a replacement bucket, it is helpful to know several pieces of information... 1: Your elevator type: industrial or agricultural; 2: Bucket elevator manufacturer; 3: Material being handled; 4: Bucket dimensions; 5: Material of bucket construction. Selecting a replacement elevator bucket for your bucket elevator can be a challenge, especially when you consider how many different buckets are on the market. Properly selecting the correct elevator bucket can keep your operation running smoothly, cut maintenance costs and improve elevator efficiency. Regularly scheduled inspections are also an important factor to maximize productivity of your facility.

Measuring the Existing Elevator Bucket The length of the bucket is measured across the back from outside wall to outside wall (dimension A).The projection is measured from the outside of the back wall to the tip of the front lip at a perpendicular (90 degree) angle off the back wall (dimension B). Often projection is incorrectly measured from the top of the back wall to the tip of the front lip. The depth of the bucket (dimension C) is measured from the

upper most point of the bucket to the bottom most point. Bolt hole spacing or centers are measured from the left edge of one hole to the left edge of the second hole.

Why is Plastic Resin Better Than Metal? Elevator buckets made from plastic resins are now the market norm of the bulk material handling industry. Plastic provides the following basic advantages over metal: • Lighter in weight; • Non-corrosive, rust-free and non-sparking; • Safe food grade material; • Impact strength; • Flexible yet strong. The major advantage of any plastic bucket is its physical ability to absorb an impact inside the elevator leg. More buckets tear up and break due to impacts and obstructions, than are worn out by abrasion from the product carried. Bent and torn buckets cause a myriad of problems in the elevator: not efficiently carrying product, dragging and scraping inside the casing and creating a potential sparking hazard. A well-designed plastic bucket has the built in ability to “give” or “yield” to bypass an obstruction in an elevator, return to its original shape and keep on working.This requires strong, consistent, uniform wall thickness and the proper grade of the selected resin.

The weight of the elevator bucket contributes significantly to the total cost of the elevator. By using lighter weight plastic resin buckets – approximately half the weight of metal buckets – elevator manufactures can use lighter gauge belts, smaller pulley shafts and bearings, and reduce their horsepower and mechanical transmission requirements. This also means less wear and tear on elevator drive components. Another important factor is the ease of installation of plastic buckets. Due to their lighter weight and lack of hazardous, sharp edges, they are much easier to handle when changing or retrofitting in an elevator. This makes the job easier and safer for those tasked with keeping the bucket elevators running at peak performance.

Switching to Plastic Resin

Bucket Choices for Centrifugal Discharge Style Elevators Proper identification of elevator type and style of existing bucket – and then matching it with a plastic replacement – is vital to ensuring the bucket elevator continues to operate efficiently. The correct bucket, when properly installed (with close bucket spacing) – assures the same or Increased elevator capacity. Plastic resin elevator buckets are commonly found in centrifugal discharge style elevators. In contrast, metal buckets are

Specifying the Bucket

(A) length, (B) projection, and (C) depth. (T) thickness, (WL) water level, (E) hole centers.

Back View

still predominantly used in continuous discharge style bucket elevators. There are two categories of centrifugal discharge style bucket elevators: High speed (operates at speeds faster than 91 mpm) and slow speed (operates at speeds under than 107 mpm). High-speed elevator buckets come in many different shapes and sizes. The two most common bucket styles used in high-speed centrifugal discharge elevators are the North American CC (close center) style and European style. They handle materials such as grains, feed and feed pellets, salt, seeds, fertilizer, and dry chemicals. Slow-speed buckets are used to handle denser and larger materials, such as aggregates, foundry sand, coal, clay, sand, gravel, and crushed glass. Commonly used bucket styles for this elevator include Style A, AA and AARB, which has a reinforced back. Style AA buckets are readily available in polyethylene, nylon, urethane, ductile iron or steel. With the correct selection of plastic replacement buckets and good preventive maintenance, operators and maintenance managers can look forward to many years of proper and profitable operation.

About the Author Carl Swisher, Tapco Inc Sales Manager oversees domestic and international sales force. Swisher has 20 years of experience in industrial sales and international business. Prior to joining Tapco, Swisher was the Latin America Regional Sales Manager for a leading parts supplier in the sewn products industry. Proficient in Spanish, he is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and completed his graduate studies at the Stern School of New York University. Founded in 1974, Tapco Inc is a leading manufacturer of elevator buckets with 900,000 buckets in stock – available in polyethylene, polyurethane, nylon, aluminum, ductile iron and fabricated steel. Standard styles include AA, AC, Continuous, CCB, CC-HD, CC-XD and Super EuroBucket. Tapco also maintains a large inventory of elevator bolts, belt splices or joiners, abrasion-resistant sheeting, drag flights, and hanger bearings. Carl Swisher, Sales Manager TAPCO INC, St. Louis, Missouri USA Tel: +1 314 739 9191 ext. 1920, Website: www.tapcoinc.com

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In order to select the appropriate plastic bucket, one must consider the characteristics of the conveyed bulk material being handled. Important factors to take Your partner in technology,

European style (Super Euro Bucket)

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Xtreme Duty (CC-XD)

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AL30O

Heavy Duty (CC-HD) into account are the size, shape, bulk density, temperature, moisture content, flow-ability and abrasiveness of conveyed material. The three most common plastics are highdensity polyethylene (HDPE), nylon and urethane (thermo plastic urethane). Each plastic carries a number of different advantages when paired correctly with the corresponding bulk solid. 26 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | March-april 2011

End View

F: Elevator buckets

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March-april 2011 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 27

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