Tubular Conveyor Capacities

Tubular conveyors come in varying disc diameters for varying capacities.

You can figure out which tubular conveyor is right for you using a function of your product’s bulk density and your desired rate of conveyance.

Let’s say you want to convey 50,000 lb/hr of cornmeal which has a bulk density of 40 lb/ft3.

50,000 lb/hr ÷ 40 lb/ft3 = 1,250 ft3/hr

Since you want a conveyor that can move at least 1,250 ft3/hr of cornmeal, that puts you comfortably within a 6″ diameter tubular conveyor.

Or if you want to know the maximum amount of cornmeal at 40 lb/ftyou can move on a 6″ system that does 1,400 ft3/hr.

40 lb/ft3 × 1,400 ft3/hr = 56,000 lb/hr

This means you could move 56,000 lb/hr of cornmeal in a 6″ tubular conveyor system.

“We are very happy with our Chain-Vey and MPE’s service.”

―Troy Julian, FW Renner & Sons

Andrew Willse, Business Unit Manager, explains Chain-Vey capacities and things to consider.

Flexible Tubular Conveyor Designs

All of our tubular conveyor systems are robust, sanitary, gentle, and quiet. The robust, low-friction discs are designed for lower maintenance costs and energy consumption. Chain-Vey offers both standard Quiet Pucks and High-Efficiency Pucks for special applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Could I run the tubular conveyor at full speed all the time?

Yes. But it’s inadvisable for two reasons:

1. It creates unnecessary wear on internal components.

2. When planning out system capacity, do not let your conveyor become a choke point. Give yourself some headroom as capacity grows. A loosely applied rule is matching a customer’s maximum desired rate with a conveyor’s rate at 80% speed and 80% pocket fill.

Are Chain-Veys’ widths measured by inner pipe diameters or outer tubular diameters?

All 4″, 5″, and 6″ Chain-Veys are fabricated with pipes, whose diameters are measured from inside the pipe. Technically this means Chain-Veys could be referred to as pipe conveyors instead of tubular conveyors. The benefit is that 4″ Chain-Veys actually have 4″ wide diameters (referred to as “nominal pipe size”) inside their pipes. Other competitors who make their conveyors with tubes may claim a 4″ diameter which, while technically true, means the usable diameter is really only 3.5 or 3.75″ wide. The obvious difference is that, all else equal, Chain-Veys will have more volume to convey compared to non-pipe tubular conveyors.

One exception is that Chain-Vey’s 3″ diameter system is fabricated with tubes, whose diameters are measured from outer tube diameter.

How does one clean a tubular conveyor?

Our tubular conveyors are self-cleaning because they all have at least one wiper disc that continually wipes small fragments or residual product through the conveyor until it leaves through one of the discharge points. Getting inside turnarounds for periodic cleaning is easy with tool-less entry.