The Wrights Dowson Group is the UK’s leading supplier of bulk handling equipment and accessories. They build on their long-established reputation for high-quality product manufacture and fast supply to offer screw conveyors for your applications, ensuring the best use of your space and processes.

If you’re looking to transport materials vertically from one floor to another or elevate the product to another part of the production process, you’ll need bulk handling equipment that can do so efficiently. Screw conveyors are one of the most versatile machines to do so. They can be installed horizontally, at an angle, or vertically.

However, ordinary screw conveyors should typically not be angled above 25 degrees. You may experience an issue with product fallback and need to tighten your pitch screw considerably.

Vertical screw conveyors designed for this process offer several benefits and can be a better solution.

Introducing Vertical Screw Conveyors

A vertical screw conveyor saves a lot of space by transporting products vertically up or down. This application uses the same type of screw flights or spirals as other screw conveyors. These can be shafted or centreless. However, they are designed to move products vertically with minimal fallback.

The height of a vertical screw conveyor depends on how much material is to be conveyed. Usually, screw conveyors aren’t taller than 50 feet due to the spiral elongation risked during product conveyance.

They ordinarily come equipped with a pulling drive at the top of the screw conveyor, as bottom drives will eventually experience shaft seal wear and require replacing. This issue is eliminated with the pulling drive.

When Should You Use a Vertical Screw Conveyor?

It’s worth noting that Vertical screw conveyors have their limitations. You should not use them for fine particles or wet sludge materials. Dried solids and dewatered sludge, for example, work well. But lower-solid materials like grit should be avoided, even if the water content is low. Because of the vertical conveyance, the material will be compacted by gravity and release more water from wet products. This can accumulate in the trough. Be aware of a product likely to clog screw conveyors and drains.

It also takes more energy to move the product vertically, so the handling volume and efficiency of a vertical screw conveyor may be less than an inclined or horizontal counterpart.

So, when is it good to use a vertical screw conveyor? Look towards this equipment if you have little space and want to maximize your production despite that. Vertical Screw conveyors are best over short distances and with dry materials that are less likely to slip and fall back.

Unsure which conveyor to get for your plant? Contact the Wrights Dowson Group. Our friendly engineers can answer technical questions and advise you which of our bulk handling equipment is best suited to your needs.