the application specifications of bucket elevator used for steel silo

The bucket elevator is widely used in grain silos, steel cment silos, fly ash silos ,and many other dry bulk storage silos. It is a mechanism for hauling flowable bulk materials vertically.

I. Installation specification

1. The bucket elevator must be firmly installed on a solid concrete foundation, which is flat and horizontal to ensure that it can be operated safely and reach the requirements of vertical installation.
2. The higher bucket elevator should be installed in the proper position together with the adjacent silo to increase its stability. During the installation, we should install the lower components first. We should fix the anchor bolts and then install the middle casing, and finally complete the upper casing. After successful installation, we must make the verticality calibration with lead line for the measurement. The tolerance should be less than 10mm. The lower and upper shafts are supposed to be parallel and the axial line should be in the same plane.
3. Before the lower bucket elevator is installed, we could connect the upper middle and lower castings together on the ground plane and then made the whole casting hung straightly and fixed in the concrete foundation.
4. The chains and the buckets can only be installed after the casting installation. We can use a U-shaped screw to connect the hopper. These screws are both chain joints and buckets fasteners and must be tightened and securely locked.
5. Once the chains and the buckets have been installed, we will make sure that they are properly tightened.
6. Appropriate amount of oil and butter will be added to the speed reducer and the bearings. The reducer can use the industrial gear oil for lubrication. Inside the bearing seat, calcium or sodium base grease can be used.
7. After the installation has been completed, we will need to have a test run. During the test run, following points should be noted:

• 1). Never let it work reversely;
• 2). No bump phenomenon is allowed;
• 3). The testing time should not be less than 2 hours;
• 4). We must ensure that there is no overheating phenomenon; the bearing temperature should be no more than 250℃, and the reducer temperature should be no more than 300℃.

If nothing goes wrong during the 2-hour’s test run, we can then test the device loaded. Feeding should be made uniform to prevent clogging. Excessive feeding will lead to the so-called "stuffy car".

II. Safety specification

• 1. It is prohibited to open the observation door, the head cover of the machine, and the maintenance door on the seat while the elevator is running. It is also prohibited to start the machine when the maintenance is on.
• 2. Before we open the maintenance door of the elevator for cleaning, we must ensure that the power has been cut off and communication with the control room is live.
• 3. It is very dangerous to put your hands into the base seat of the elevator, so do not do it. We can use tools to dig the materials to avoid being injured by the reverse work of the elevator.
• 4. When the bucket slips due to clogging, emergency stop should be performed to avoid overheating, which may cause fire or dust explosion.
• 5. The bolts of the buckets should be fastened once a month to prevent the equipment from being damaged by the falloff of the bucket.
• 6. Replacing or tensioning the bucket should be done by experienced maintenance workers or under the guidance of an expert.

III. Operation and maintenance specification

• 1. During operation, each worker team should check the bearing of the head wheel and the temperature of the reducer. If it feels hot when we touched it for 10 seconds, then the temperature is too high. We will need to find the cause and add lubricating oil or clean the bearings and take other appropriate measures.
• 2. Lubricating grease should be added to the bearing of the head wheel once a month.
• 3. During operation, the abnormal noise, the bucket belt slipping, and the overheating of the bearing and gear reducer should be noted if they were to happen.
• 4. New bucket belt should be checked when its loaded operation time reached 10 hours. It is suggested to adjust the screws and tension the belt on the base.
• 5. The accumulation of materials in the machine base should be checked once a week.
• 6. The material attached to the head cover should be cleaned up every time we open it, the head cover need to be cleaned at least once a month.
• 7. We should stop feeding and keep it running for 3-4 minutes to empty the materials before we shut it down

IV. Maintenance specification

1. The elevator is required to be examined every six months, the examination should include following steps:

• A. Check if the wire connection in the motor terminal box is loose.
• B. Check the fastening bolts of the connector, the nose and the bucket, and replace  damaged bolts.
• C. Check the wear of the head wheel and anti-slipping rubber. Replace them if necessary.
• D. Clean residual materials on the wall of machine head, base seat and middle machine casting
• E. Check all the buckets and replace the deformed buckets
• F. Replace gear oil, check and clean the air cover, replace it if necessary.

2. Medium grade repair should be performed once a year, including following steps:

• A. Check the wear of the motor bearing, replace the damaged bearing and add lubricating grease.
• B. Check and clean the head wheel of the bucket, the bearing of the bottom wheel and the bearing seat, replace lubricating grease and seal rings.
• C. Check the wear of the head wheel and the bottom wheel, repair or replace them if they were damaged
• D. Check the wear of the bucket belt, replace it if necessary.
• E. Detach and clean the reducer, check the wear of all parts.
• F. Check the wear of the baffle board of the unloading hole.
• G. Check the connection sealing of the machine casting, the loading hole and the unloading hole, and replace the seal gasket if necessary.
• H. Check the machine casting deformation and the bucket verticality, and adjust verticality within 8mm.

FLYER Company has rich experience in designing and constructing modern large spiral steel silos. We are able to solve complex problems you may encounter. If you have any problems or requirements, please contact with us freely. We will provide you relevant specified information. We expect to build a long term partnership with you!