build conveyor

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Has anyone built a conveyor?I've been checking out eBay trying to pick one up to dig out half of my cellar that is dirt.  The shipping charges or the fact that most of the ones on eBay are 3 phase make it impractical for me to buy one for a one time job.  There are no places locally that rent them.A conveyor seems to be just a metal frame with a roller on each end and a belt in the middle powered by some kind of motor that drives a chain with sprockets on each end.  I haven't seen one up close so I'm probably missing something that I'm not seeing in the pictures.I want to make one that I can move around on my own that isn't going to weigh 300 plus pounds.  What kind of material should I use for the framework?  What size motor would I need to run this thing?Neil
Reply:Having built and worked around them for a long time,Neil, it would be quite a project for a one time use unless you found other uses for it later. I've heard of people using a small conveyor to do that but never saw one in use. The smallest components I've seen ie: troughing rollers,head and tail pulleys, are 18". I have no idea where to search for components narrower than that. You could build one, but it would be quite a project as you have to pay very close attention to parallel,square and level when assembling the frame. you might google"conveyor components" etc to see what is available.   Working part time on a farm now, I'd suggest looking at drag elevators that are part of grain combines. Providing the dirt isn't rocky, you could adapt the chain to run in a sheet metal channel. As to power, if you have a tractor w/ hydraulics or a log splitter, a hyd motor could power it.   That's the best I can come up with. Hope I helped,                           MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Thanks.  I'll keep looking on eBay until one comes up.Neil
Reply:Not the answer you are looking for but I had a friend that dug a full basement under his house with a small bobcat. He just dug a long ramp down from the yard so he could drive it in/out. I admire your ambition.Hobbiest hack
Reply:I helped my brother dig his out last year.  It was clay and really hard.  We did it by bucket and had to break the clay up with a demolition hammer and the large rocks with dexpan.I'm not looking forward to doing it again but if I don't it won't get done.Neil
Reply:Conveyors are/were pretty common in the ag world when I was a kid. Might do some driving around for ideas. Ag converyors are a lot simpler than you'll want for dirt and rock but it'll give you an idea of parts required.  All angle iron, old axel, adjustable height and old used conveyor belting come to mind when thinking about what you might need. Wouldn't take much of a motor as long as you never stopped it with dirt on it. Believe it or not, you'll see scrapped sections laying around the mom and pop gravel pits and such. Bearings alone could be a budget buster for the occassional use you're talking about unless you went with the cheapest die-cast pillow blocks you could find. Check around some of the scrap equipment places in your area and see what might be laying out back for a starter kit.
Reply:i used an old  belt  conveyor  for my  basement...just  keep the  grade not  to  steep..works  fine
Reply:My suggestion is to go used else be prepared to pay for the belting.For what you are describing a p[lain old flat belt type conveyor would work in a pinch.   Not ideal but we are only talking about a house basement here.    the bigger issue is that the conveyor would have to be fairly long to either dump the material in a big pile or to drive a truck under.    Get to steep and you need a conveyor with pattles or buckets.If you where the go the route of a commercial conveyor designed to move gavel and dirt I'd suspect that the cost would be absolutely huge.Another option is to go to a tool rental / leasing establishment and look for the conveyors used at job sites to raise shingles to roof tops.   Also concrete conveyors.    These are about the only things that I could see being available at all for rental, even at that we aren't talking your run of the mill rental shop.Someone suggested a bobcat type machine.    I actually think that is a good idea and in the end likely chepaer than the conveyor approach.    You should be able to rent a bucket with the bobcat suitable for the soils in question.Dave
Reply:Originally Posted by fallon416I helped my brother dig his out last year.  It was clay and really hard.  We did it by bucket and had to break the clay up with a demolition hammer and the large rocks with dexpan.I'm not looking forward to doing it again but if I don't it won't get done.Neil
Reply:ihad  a  belt  conveyer  only about  16 feet  long...kept  slope low  and  just  let  dirt  pile up  on the  garage  floor....scooped it  up  with  a  farm  front  end  loader....it w as  hard  clay  so it  went up the  belt  quite  well
Reply:Neil if you end up building your own conveyor check around some of the construction companies in your area for old belting that they might be able to give you. 1/4" thick belt would be all that you need. If they had belt that was wider than you need it can be cut down the length with a sharp utility knife.Another option might be to use a grain auger. I think they might work well. A lot of the small concrete paving machines such as the Miller Formless Pavers use augers to feed mud from a truck up to a hopper that feeds there slipform mold. If it was me I would try the auger. should be able to find an old one cheap  Good luck  Jim
Reply:If you go with an auger,be sure not to feed it wet sticky material. You'll wind up pulling the screw out of the tube to clean it. And any rocks of any size are a definite no no.                         MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw