Elevator Speed

NW Ohio Tim · Mar 26, 2012

Hey guys,

I have a 14 ft Little Giant paddle elevator. It's been sitting unused in the grainery for about 30 years. The motor has long since been robbed for something else.

I think I can use it to fill the feeder, in the old barn we use for freezer pigs. Anybody know, off the top of their head, how fast the conveyor should run... like ft/min??

I want to know what size pully to put on my motor. I can do the math, just trying to get a starting point. I know it's not rocket science and it doesn't have to be dead on, I just want an educated guess.

I'm hoping to end my days of crawling over the fence with 65# bags of feed.

Thanks

Tim

JDseller · Mar 26, 2012

I don't know the speed but I have one that seems to run correctly and it has a two inch pully on a 1750 RPM electric motor.

NW Ohio Tim · Mar 26, 2012

Thanks JD, 2" was what I was thinking in the back of my head.... just wanted some confirmation.

Tim

dmiller · Mar 26, 2012

I'm building an elevator myself right now, can't find any reasonably priced around here. When you get yours working would you mind running/timing it to find out how many feet per minute (or second) the drag chain moves at?

NW Ohio Tim · Mar 26, 2012

Sure will. I hope to have it going in a couple of weeks. I need to replace the bearings in the motor I'm going to use so that will be the hold up.

Tim

gtractorfan · Mar 26, 2012

I'd say there isn't a "right" speed. Consider ear corn pickers, the wagon elevators on many went fast enough to toss the ears. Yours doesn't need to go that fast and allows a smaller motor to do the job. Sounds like trial and error to find a reasonable speed.

dmiller · Mar 26, 2012

thanks. I'm guessing from memory based on the ones I've used in the past that it is about 1 1/2 foot per second or about 20 ft in 30 seconds. (just thinking about how long it takes a hay bale to make it to the top on a 20 ft elevator)

BushogPapa · Mar 27, 2012

Our old McCurdy 40 Ft elevator, I would have guessed it to be about 3 or 4 ft/Sec...Adding one bale as the last one got 1/2 way up was plenty fast for 3 people in the Mow...
For filling feed bunks, I think that would be too fast..
A 1,725 RPM motor, with a small pulley and a much Larger one on the driven end is going to be plenty fast..You are going to need maybe 10:1 reduction..and that still gives you 172 RPM..or nearly 3 turns per Second..
You could measure your driven chain links for length and figure the linear Ft/Min..

Ron..

NW Ohio Tim · Mar 27, 2012

If I put a 2" sheave on the motor, it'll run the paddles at 125 ft/min or a little over 2 ft/sec. That seems about right.

Tim

Elevator Speed

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