Grain Handling & Processing

Handling and processing grain brings many challenges, such as high volumes, high speed applications - making efficiency a top priority all while dealing with combustible dust!

4B has a long history in serving the grain industry. The company introduced the first grain elevator bucket back in 1909 and has since been leading the field in supplying top quality components for grain elevators and conveyors. 4B has designed and optimised many grain elevators over the years, and many of the technologies used in modern grain elevators, such as high efficiency buckets operating on centrifugal discharge systems.

4B has pioneered the development of electronic monitoring components back in 1984, introducing the first complete elevator / conveyor monitoring system, the Watchdog Elite. 4B’s electronic components have been integral part of conveying systems throughout the grain industry ever since and have become a reference in many grain handling facilities, port facilities, and grain storage systems across the globe.

Grain handling is inherently dangerous, especially in a bucket elevator, where all the factors for an explosion are present: highly combustible grain dust, a confined area, oxygen, and a potential ignition source in the form of overheated bearing, belt slip or misaligned belts or pulleys.

4B engineers can recommend the right sensors and monitoring systems to protect your grain facility, no matter if it is just a single elevator or a complete installation consisting of many elevators and conveyors.

Industry projects
4B team
conveyor chain
Bolt N Go
Increased Capacity
Drag Conveyor Upgrade in Freeport Terminal

Subic Bay Freeport Grain Terminal. Changeover of 4B chain and 4B nylon flights to replace competitor's inferior plastic flights and chain. Resolved problems with bending flights, wear issues and failures. Maintenance has been made a lot easier and productivity increased.

flour mill
hazard monitoring
IE-Node
Flour Mill - State of Art Hazard Monitoring

A large flour mill moved to fully automated material handling equipment using Industrial Ethernet infrastructure. They had to meet safety requirements for monitoring belt speed, alignment and bearing temperature on their elevators and conveyors.

grain handling facility
Jumbo CCS
elevator buckets
capacity increase
BC clamp
Grain Elevator Capacity Increased by 75%

Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers needed to increase receiving capacity without shutting down operations. 4B offered a solution using JCC-S low profile elevator buckets allowing closer installation and the addition of 224 buckets per leg. - A 75% capacity increase!

Sunrice bucket elevator
Super Starco
plastic buckets
troubleshooting
elevator design
Bucket Elevator Engineering & Design Guidance

Elevator upgrade at Sun-Rice Australia. Provided engineering, design guidance and component supply with changing old-style fabricated elevator buckets to modern polymer SPS buckets. Elimination of backlegging and chute wear.

grain terminal fire
ATEX
Industry 4.0
IoT
Hotbus
Hazardmon
risk mitigation
Port Terminal Hazard Monitoring

Major London port import/export grain terminal had a serious conveyor fire causing substantial damage to the facility. It required a hazard monitoring solution that was ATEX approved, industry 4.0 and industrial IoT compliant to make the investment future proof and expandable.

malting facility
CCS buckets
malting
elevator design
Elevator Re-Design from Grain to "Green Malt"

A malting facility repurposed a grain elevator to transport "green malt" and found that the elevator was not functioning properly. 4B reduced the elevator pulley size and RPM to give the correct discharge, and modified the outlet. Elevator running smoother with less loading on the motor.

rice mill
conveyor chain
Bolt N Go
Rice Mill Conveyor Chain Upgrade

Chain conveyor problems solved in major US rice mill. Replaced existing steel-bushed chain and welded flights with 4B Bolt 'N' Go chain and bolt-on paddles - enabling fast repairs and less maintenance. Reduced conveyor downtime. Hot work permits no longer required for chain repairs.

grain storage silos
Hazard
Monitoring
Watchdog
IE-Node
Hazardmon
Testing
Multi-Location Remote Monitoring

Multi-Location Grain Cooperative in the US. Existing stand-alone systems upgraded to fully integrated monitoring solution, using Industrial Ethernet Nodes for remote sensor connectivity; Hazardmon.com for cloud monitoring; and testing tools for 100% verifiability of equipment.

grain storage silos & elevators
Ref70 bolts
bucket elevator
Securing Overlap Belt Splices on Elevator

A North American grain storage facility was concerned that the bolts used to secure the overlap splice section of an elevator leg belt were prone to pull through. 4B offered a solution using Ref70 large diameter elevator bolts in combination with unique oversized oval washers.

Coors brewery
ATEX
T500 Hotbus
Hazardmon
Preventative Maintenance
4B HotBus Monitoring System at Coors Brewery

Coors Brewery had to replace its standalone equipment, which was costly, hard to monitor and leaving the facility at risk of equipment failure. The 4B HotBus system, with alarm outputs and valuable maintenance information, enabled the company to practice preventative maintenance and comply with ATEX requirements.

Products for
Grain Handling & Processing

SPS steel elevator bucket
The popular range of SPS high efficiency buckets has now been extended.
SPS plastic elevator bucket

The Super Starco™ elevator bucket is the result of intensive research to achieve the maximum

JCC-S elevator bucket
The JUMBO™ CC-S ® is an ultra heavy duty version of the CC-S heavy duty elevator bucket, and part of 4B’s High Efficiency bucket range. It is intended for the most severe applications, including port terminals, ethanol plants and highly abrasive materials.
CCS elevator bucket
Unique patented CC-style bucket offering greater capacities, longer life and cleaner discharges.
NBR elevator belt

NBR Nitrile provides good resistance to oil and fat.

Bolt-n-Go - Forged Chains
A new assembly system for forged chains- using bolt-on flights instead of welding.
Watchdog Super Elite hazard monitor (WDC4)
Combined belt speed (slip), belt alignment, continuous bearing temperature, pulley alignment and plug condition monitor for bucket elevators and conveyors.
Supergrip elevator belt fastener

The Supergrip heavy duty belt fastener secures belting on bucket elevators.

4b Touchswitch sensor
The Touchswitch is an electro-mechanical limit switch, which detects tracking and misalignment problems on bucket elevators and conveyors.

4B Autoset Radio-Frequency Level Indicator

The Auto-Set series RF capacitance point level monitors are used for detecting high, intermediate

M3003 & M3007 Slipswitch

The M300 Slipswitch is an easy-to-use inductive proximity shaft speed monitoring device with

VIBMIL vibration sensor

VIBMIL is a vibration sensor designed for continuous monitoring of vibration levels in industrial

Encoder-Flex 1024

The Encoder-Flex 1024 is a rotary shaft encoder that monitors slide gate position, shaft position

elevator bolts

4B is the only original manufacturer of the most well known e

4B bearing temperature sensors

Overheated bearings are one of the main risk factors for dust explosions in bucket elevators and

SPS steel elevator bucket
The popular range of SPS high efficiency buckets has now been extended.
SPS plastic elevator bucket

The Super Starco™ elevator bucket is the result of intensive research to achieve the maximum

4B Starco steel elevator bucket
Engineered for higher capacity elevator legs.
Starco plastic elevator bucket

A better concept in bucket design, Starco™ elevator buckets are engineered for higher capacity.

Starco Jumbo (SJ) elevator bucket

Deep drawn solid steel elevator bucket, designed to replace large fabricated elevator buckets.

CCS elevator bucket
Unique patented CC-style bucket offering greater capacities, longer life and cleaner discharges.
JCC-S elevator bucket
The JUMBO™ CC-S ® is an ultra heavy duty version of the CC-S heavy duty elevator bucket, and part of 4B’s High Efficiency bucket range. It is intended for the most severe applications, including port terminals, ethanol plants and highly abrasive materials.
J-type elevator bucket

Deep drawn solid steel elevator bucket formed without any welds.

4B AM elevator bucket

Suitable for the very toughest of industrial applications. 

Columbus elevator bucket (DIN 15232)
Steel elevator bucket for flowing material on centrifugal elevators.
A-type elevator bucket

Type A elevator buckets are generally used for sticky materials at slow speeds and for free-flowi

B-type elevator bucket

Type B elevator buckets are generally used for sticky materials at slow speeds and for free-flowi

C-type elevator bucket

Type C elevator buckets are suitable for free-flowing materials, or for materials elevated at slo

GB Spidex elevator bucket

High capacity bottomless elevator bucket system.

NBR elevator belt

NBR Nitrile provides good resistance to oil and fat.

FDA-NBR elevator belt

NBR, FDA White Food Quality belts are designed for use in the food industry.

FDA-FRASOR elevator belt

FRASOR-FDA White Food Quality belt, with flame retardant properties.

FRASOR elevator belt

Recommended for use in equipment/installations where there is a risk of fire or explosion.

NBR+K elevator belt

Suitable for use in ATEX applications.

SBR elevator belt

4B elevator belting is of laminar construction, to give high impact resistance coupled with low s

Euro Bolt (approx. DIN 15237)
Euro bolts have a concave head and two lugs to help prevent rotation
Ref70 elevator bolts

Reference 70™ (REF 70™) are ISO grade 5.8 elevator bolts with a concave head and four lugs on the

FANG elevator bolts

The fanged elevator bolt is characterized by two sharp teeth that are intended to penetrate the c

Easifit elevator bolt

4B Easifit elevator bolts are unique in that they employ a hexagon tip.

Gripwell Elevatorgurtverbinder

The Gripwell light duty aluminum fastener secures belting on bucket elevators.

Supergrip elevator belt fastener

The Supergrip heavy duty belt fastener secures belting on bucket elevators.

BC elevator belt fastener

The Braime Clamp (BC) series of heavy duty belt splices securely fastens belting on larger bucket

4B Vise Splice

4B Vise Splices are mechanical splices and fasteners for use on most PVC and rubber elevator belt

bucket elevator drums

4B's elevator drums are specifically designed for both elevator head and elevator tail pulle

Elevator Chains

We supply buckets elevator chains on application, in which there are too many numerous style / ty

Bolt-n-Go - Forged Chains
A new assembly system for forged chains- using bolt-on flights instead of welding.
4b drop forged conveyor chains

Drop forged chain is either supplied with welded flights or with bolt-on flights (

sprocket for drop forged chain

4B sprockets and trailers are manufactured from high grade heat treated steel to a minimum hardne

trailer for forged chains

4B sprockets and trailing wheels are manufactured from high grade heat treated steel to a minimum

Watchdog Super Elite hazard monitor (WDC4)
Combined belt speed (slip), belt alignment, continuous bearing temperature, pulley alignment and plug condition monitor for bucket elevators and conveyors.
IE-Node

The Industrial Ethernet Node (IE-NODE) is a remote monitoring interface designed to provide senso

T500 Elite Hotbus™ elevator & conveyor monitoring system
Monitors up to 256 sensors: temperature, alignment, speed...
T400N Elite - Bearing Temperature Monitoring System

Unique low cost alarm/indicator panel for use with any 4B NTC-type temperature sensors.

T400 Elite

Low cost alarm/indicator controller for use with PTC temperature sensors. 

B400 Elite Beltswitch

The B400 Elite Beltswitch belt misalignment monitor uses 4B Touchswitch sensors to monitor belt a

A400 Elite Trackswitch

The A400 Elite Trackswitch belt misalignment monitor uses 4B WDA or BAP magnetic proximity sensor

VIBMIL vibration sensor

VIBMIL is a vibration sensor designed for continuous monitoring of vibration levels in industrial

4B bearing temperature sensors

Overheated bearings are one of the main risk factors for dust explosions in bucket elevators and

Alignment Sensors for Elevators & Conveyors

4B's line of sensors and switches are designed to detect (mis)alignment and motion on&n

Speed Switches

4B's line of speed switches includes: proximity, inductive, zero speed, stop motion and rotary en

inductive proximity sensors

4B inductive proximity sensors are designed to detect shaft speed, shaft position, gate position

junction boxes

4B junction boxes allow for easy installation of sensors in potentially explosive dust hazard env

RG Series level sensors
The RG Series of rotary level sensors is suitable for a wide range of bulk granular materials
4B Autoset Radio-Frequency Level Indicator

The Auto-Set series RF capacitance point level monitors are used for detecting high, intermediate

RLI rotary level indicator

The RLI rotary paddle switch is designed to detect high and low levels of bulk granular solids in

4B Binswitch Elite Capacitive Sensor

Detects level or plug situations for bulk granular solids or liquids in tanks, bins, or silos and

Autoset Flush Probe RF level indicator  / plugswitch
The Auto-Set flush probe is a low profile RF capacitance plug switch level monitor designed for tight fitting applications to detect levels of liquids, powders and free flowing granular solids in conveyors, bucket elevators and surge hoppers.
Remote Autoset RF level sensor

The Auto-Set Remote series RF capacitance point level monitors are designed for high temperature