| Bucket elevators are commonly used for carrying | | | | system. This is usually to protect the grain or fertilizer |
| materials such as, fertilizer, grain, or other flowable | | | | from the elements outside. These types of materials |
| materials that are in bulk. These products are hauled in | | | | are damaged by water, so the shaft system is |
| a vertical direction, instead of a horizontal one. The | | | | important. |
| entire mechanism consists of the buckets used to | | | | Grain elevators use elevators with buckets to move |
| contain the material, a belt to carry the buckets, some | | | | grain from the hauling source to the proper bin. The |
| form of motor or other means to get this belt to move, | | | | earliest grain elevators were ran on steam. Today |
| and any additional equipment needed to load the | | | | they are ran on electricity and these grain elevators |
| buckets with the material. | | | | also use electrical devices that are explosion-proof. |
| These elevators are very sturdy and able to move | | | | The fine dust dispersed into the air from flour and |
| material that is a variety of sizes and weights. Due to | | | | other grains is high combustible. There have been |
| the vertical motion of these elevators, the speed to | | | | plenty of grain elevator explosions because of this, so |
| move the belt must be fairly high. Elevators with | | | | the need to keep sparks from occurring in grain |
| buckets that is less vertical and on more of an incline | | | | elevators is a high priority. |
| can be set a lower speeds. The distance between | | | | Purchasing a kit to build a bucket elevator is possible or |
| these buckets doesn't really matter, as long as there is | | | | they can be build from scratch. The type of bucket |
| room for the belt to continue around the curve at the | | | | used will depend on what sort of material is being |
| ends of the belt cycle. While the vertical elevator | | | | hauled. The speed of each elevator will vary also. |
| needs the speed to get the buckets to empty, the | | | | Centrifugal elevators have widely spaced buckets and |
| inclined elevator can be at a lower speed. | | | | travel at high speeds, so that the material can be |
| The name for this type of elevator is derived from the | | | | quickly thrown from the bucket. Continuous elevators |
| original design. This model actually used individual steel | | | | carry materials that are more fragile and damage |
| buckets for hauling the material and each of these | | | | easily. The speed of these elevators is much lower |
| were attached to a long flat chain. Today the buckets | | | | and buckets are close together. |
| tend to be constructed of plastic and the belt is rubber | | | | Bucket elevators have made the job of getting |
| instead of chain. Pulleys are used to move the rubber | | | | flowable materials successfully from one place to |
| belt and are located at the top and bottom of the | | | | another for storage or transport. These machines |
| system. Most elevators use an electric motor to run | | | | provide maximum efficiency, are extremely easy to |
| the belt and the entire system is located within a shaft | | | | operate, and perform fantastically. |