What

Bucket
Elevator?
Ray Hensley, Renold Jeffrey,
provides an introduction to
the different types of bucket
elevators and their various
attachments.
Introduction
Bucket elevators are used to move a variety of
materials in many industries: everything from
food to fertilizer can be moved using bucket
elevators. Bucket elevators are one of the most
commonplace pieces of equipment, because
they are extremely efficient at handling any
bulk loose material that does not contain lumps
too big for the buckets and is not too sticky
to be discharged. There are many different
manufacturers of bucket elevator systems,
but there are four basic types: centrifugal,
continuous, super-capacity, and positive or
perfect discharge. Identifying the type of
elevator will help operators to understand the
capabilities and limitations of that piece of
equipment and how its potential can best be
maximised.
Figure 1. Continuous bucket Figure 2. Centrifugal discharge Figure 3. Super-capacity elevator.
elevator. elevator.

Bucket elevators comprise three basic segments: a acts as a chute for material discharged by the bucket directly
head end, a foot end, and intermediate sections. The behind it. This combination of continuous buckets and
head end includes the head shaft and sprocket, bearings, moderate speed means that the capacity of the continuous
drive assembly, supporting structure, buckets, chain, and bucket elevator is nearly twice that of the positive discharge
casing. The foot end includes the foot shaft and sprocket, elevator. It is however less than that of the high-speed
bearings with a take-up, supporting structure, casing, centrifugal discharge elevator. Buckets are fed through
buckets, and chain. Intermediate sections normally consist a loading leg or chute which, combined with the gentle
of the elevator supporting structure. In most cases, elevator method of discharge, makes continuous bucket elevators
casings are used to support the machinery and control well-suited to handle fragile materials.
dust.
Most elevator chains feature straight sidebars, Positive (or perfect) discharge elevator
hardened bushings, and are rollerless. The exception is Positive (or perfect) discharge elevators move relatively
high-capacity elevator chains, which feature hardened slowly (usually well under 120 ft/min.) and feature end‑hung
rollers that ride on vertical guides to keep the chain and buckets between a double strand of engineering-class chain.
buckets aligned within the elevator casing. Occasionally, an A pair of snub wheels completely invert the buckets over the
offset sidebar chain is used. discharge spout. This deliberate method of discharge is ideal
Bucket elevators that utilise engineering-class steel for powdery material and for sluggish loads that tend to
chains can lift massive quantities of heavy materials to stick in the buckets. Pulverised coal, powdered feldspar, and
substantial heights. Super-capacity elevators are frequently wet sugar beet pulp are typical loads.
capable of lifting up to 750 tph of material weighing
125 lb/ft3 as high as 120 ft. When even higher-rated Centrifugal discharge elevator
performance is desired, special chains can be engineered by Centrifugal discharge elevators (Figure 2) are designed to
a quality chain manufacturer to meet those specifications. use the buckets to scoop material from the elevator boot
There are many different elevator designs; the focus and discharge it by centrifugal force as they pass over the
of this article will be limited to identifying medium or head sprocket. Centrifugal elevators run at relatively high
heavy‑duty types, with an emphasis on chains, speeds. The head shaft speed varies with the diameter of
attachments, and buckets. the head and sprocket, as well as nature of the material,
but is typically between 35 – 50 rpm. Centrifugal discharge
Continuous bucket elevator elevators work best with fine, loose material, such as ash,
The continuous bucket – or continuous discharge – elevator grain, cement, and crushed coal: materials that can be
(Figure 1) typically operates at speeds of 100 – 125 ft/min. It thrown from the buckets and are not fragile.
is unique in that the buckets are spaced continuously and Because the chain is in direct contact with the material
have flat fronts and projecting sides, so that each bucket in the boot when the buckets are loaded, steel-bushed

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World Cement
 rollerless chain should be used. When dealing with
particularly abrasive materials, chains featuring sealed
joint technology or components featuring increased
wear resistance are recommended. The chain pitch varies
depending on the size of the buckets and the weight of the
material but, since the speed must be comparatively high,
a single strand chain with a pitch of 6 in. is used in most
applications.

Super-capacity elevator
Super-capacity elevators (Figure 3) feature extra wide
buckets that are end-hung between two strands of chain
and carry heavy loads – from fine sand to large lumps of
coal and ore. Since the super-capacity elevator carries very
heavy loads, a smooth run is required. To achieve effective
discharge, a long‑pitch bushed straight-sidebar roller chain
is normally used. Rollers between the sidebars allow the
Figure 4. Attachments.
chains to roll smoothly along tracks fixed to the inside of
the casing. The material is fed directly into the buckets
Table 1. Common elevator chain attachment
from a hopper, so that it does not enter the chain joint. This
configurations.
prevents excessive wear inside the diameter of the roller
Attachment Number of holes and outside the diameter of the bushing, which is common
K-2 2 with scoop-type loading.
K-24 4 Super-capacity buckets are typically mounted to the
double strands of chain using G attachments. This allows
K-44 8 the buckets to assume a more vertical position, which places
K-443 10 the back of the bucket past the chain centre line. The sides
G-100 4 of the bucket also extend outward more than those of the
regular‑capacity continuous buckets and are shaped so that,
G-9 4
when inverted, each bucket forms a deep trough to receive
the material being discharged from the following bucket.

Attachments
When a single strand of chain is used, the buckets are
bolted to K-type attachments with two holes. The number
of holes is dependent on the forces and impact created
through conveying the material. For larger capacities, K
attachments with more holes are used with buckets up to
24 in. wide (Figure 4). For centrifugal discharge elevators,
double strand chain is not recommended. Common elevator
chain attachment configurations are shown in Table 1.

Elevator buckets
Because the buckets for centrifugal discharge elevators are
the loading apparatus, durability and resistance to abrasion
should be a key concern. Centrifugal elevator buckets
are typically spaced further apart to optimise material fill
and reduce the amount of interference between buckets.
Buckets are commonly attached to every third or fourth
chain pitch, which is 2.5 – 3 times the projection of the
bucket. The load discharged from one bucket should be
thrown clear of the preceding bucket. Exceptions are
for specially-designed buckets or high-speed discharge.
Specially-shaped buckets are available for large capacity
or very fine or wet material. Reinforced welded steel
buckets are used for high-speed cement or grain elevators.
Buckets made of nonmetallic materials, such as high-density
polyethylene and nylon, are also available for special
Figure 5. Elevator buckets. handling requirements. The bucket length is governed by

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World Cement
the rule of thumb that it should not exceed five times the buckets. Materials such as clay, salt, wet grain, and
chain bushing length. pulverised wet ore are well suited to handling by
Different styles of elevator bucket include the following Style C elevator buckets.
(see also Figure 5): ll Style SC elevator buckets have an extra heavy body
and feature a reinforcing band along the front edge
ll Style A elevator buckets are used when very small and ends to improve abrasion resistance. They are well
buckets are required for handling cement, ashes, coal, suited to handling foundry sand.
sand, gravel, and similar materials. ll Salem steel elevator buckets are used for powdered or
ll Style AA elevator buckets are reinforced buckets granular free-flowing materials. They are formed from
generally used for heavy materials. They feature a sheet metal and have a smooth rounded contour for
heavy reinforcing band along the front, which is ideal clean handling and discharge of materials. The front
for use with most types of free-flowing material in and ends of these buckets do not have seams and the
centrifugal discharge elevators. bucket backs are reinforced for additional strength.
ll Style AA-BB elevator buckets are used to handle
highly‑abrasive materials in demanding conditions, Conclusion
where impact conditions are present. They are The proper identification of the type of bucket elevator,
similar to style AA buckets, but have even more along with a better understanding of how the components,
reinforcement and feature ribs on the front and backs such as buckets, attachments, and chains, work together,
that are twice the standard thickness. opens the door to getting the most out of a plant and
ll Style AC buckets increase elevator capacity through its equipment. Small adjustments to the features of the
closer bucket spacing. Style AC buckets are frequently components, such as adding a reinforced lip to buckets or
used to handle materials, such as crushed clinker selecting a chain with a sealed joint to protect against wear,
and finished cement. Air ports are punched in the can help an elevator reach its maximum potential. The next
bottom of the bucket to allow for faster loading and time you see a bucket elevator, will you be able to identify
unloading of light, fluffy materials. what type of bucket elevator it is?
ll Style B elevator buckets are for handling coarsely
broken materials, such as coke, stone, and ore. The About the author
low front allows for a clean discharge at a relatively Ray Hensley is the Director of Engineering Sales for Renold Jeffrey.
slow speed.
ll Style C elevator buckets are designed to handle wet
or sticky materials that tend to pack and stick to the

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World Cement