Originally Posted by JohnS

I am engaged in research on the operation and design of dry bulk terminals. The intent of the initiated research is to gather detailed information of existing dry bulk terminals and to derive general design guidelines for future dry bulk terminal designs.

Currently I am investigating details of dry bulk stockyard storing equipment. I aim to gather detailed information and to make an overview of available stackers, reclaimers and stacker/reclaimers.

I will be very pleased if you bulk-online forum users are able to help me to get some details of your machines.

Is it maybe possible to get some more details (than publised on the manufacture's websites) of for example some existing stackers, some existing reclaimers and some existing stacker/reclaimers? I am interested in the detailed characteristics (e.g. brochures) concerning:

· Capacity

Commodity dependent and totally dependent on out bound shipping capacity, storage at end use and availability of shipping.

· Boom length

totally dependent on the owners available land area and pocket book, stock pile design, and material stored.



· Rail gauge

storage depot dependent

You have to clarify this as many stock piles are railcar fed and reclaimed

· Installed power

depends on available KW and machinery demands

· Travel length

dependent upon the available land area and size of desired stock pile

· Pile shape and pile height

Not a one size fits all animal as if you expect to have dry bulk storage yuo either use a rubber tired loader for reclaim or have draw points under the floor of the stock pile building



· Belt width and belt speed

same as above

· The number of active stackers worldwide

some stock piles have no use for stationary machinery- dozers only

· Manning per stacker per shift

site and stacker type dependent

· Investment costs

PV of the various dollars, The Rand, Mark, Rupee, Yuan, Yen, Lira, Peso

not including interest and actual installation cost incurred

· Maintenance costs (Estimated)

totally site and machinery type dependent

· Value of the spare parts depot (Estimated)

same as above

I will be very pleased if you are able to help me.

Thank you in advance.

Oh boy,

Dry bulk stock piles tells me you want to tarp or have tee pees or dome storage.

Its a case of doing one of two things and hoping it works, either doing a lot of traveling and asking questions of the stock pile terminal operators, and only if they allow you on the property, as you would be considered a commercial threat to their business, and or any potential business, as they do not know who you are or who you work for or:

Simply calling the manufacturers of this equipment, being up front with them about what you are attempting to do, and they may not want to talk with you anyway for the same reasons.

the latter being much more cost effective and less time consuming

Spending time with Mssrs. Lyn Bates and Lawrence Nordell here on the forum

will be more productive for you for sure. ■

John this is one of those secondary questions that requires

asking permission of a system owner or a consultant within

the business to open his operating expense account to you for

your examination.

You will be better served by contacting Krupp, Rahco, and the others

directly as the owners of theses machines will not willingly offer this

information to you as it is part of their income and expense accounting.

Inquiring of a government entity that operates a harbour stockpile operation

as a normal course of business in owning and operating a port may be a faster

approach depending on your time constraints.

The isssues for you to examine are;

1. Commodity type.

2. Type of operating system.

3. Normal operating hours of one or more machines and the type of system invovlved.

4. The depreciation schedule maintained per required national or international accounting

standards which will govern the depreciation expense account.

5. Labor costs per hour to maintain a maintenance department, stores department around the

clock or per operating hours of operation of the stock pile.

6. Overhead costs related to the stockpile side of the sytem alone, if and only if the overhead

costs are not determined for the entire operating arm.



7. Spare parts inventory cost which includes the recommended stocking level of spares per

machine in service including the following;

1. motor spares/wire/connectors/weatherproof splices

2. belting

3. mechanical splices

4. bearing inventory/taper locks/keystock

5. pulleys/pulley lagging

6. roller chain spares, including

replacement roller chain/replacement chain links/sprockets

7. reduction gearboxes/gearbox seals/gaskets/replacement coupler spares/keystock/set screws

8. spare flight chain and buckets for specific reclaimers

9. replacement idler wheels for bucket reclaimers

10. spare digging teeth if used on plow conveyors

11. spare hydraulic pumps and rebuilding parts for same

12. oil filter inventory

13. nuts, bolts, etc.

The problem has become one of spares costing as it cost more money to maintain any type of inventory in large quantity as some wear parts may not be used for years and some parts are immediately expensed which affects the net income of the operator.

Any operation that uses the faster machinery life expensing depreciation schedules may or may not expense the spare parts immediately upon thier becoming inventory.

Decisions about inventory have become one of profit and loss rather than using the machinery builders recommended stocking level of parts inventory which can and will effect operating hours if parts must be ordered for overnight delivery.

It would serve you better to personally visit the major builders and introduce yourself to them and ask to speak to someone in the specific department. ■

There is a new technology you may want to consider. The Walker Reclaimer (pat pend) provides for an unlimited amount of bulk material to be stored and reclaimed without the use of mobile equipment. It is also applicable to reclaim of material from barges and ships eliminating the need for unloading equipment.

Please check www.picor.biz for more information.

Tony ■

Hello,

You can write to manufacturers of stacker, reclaimer and stacker-cum-reclaimer machines to send their published business purpose leaflets / catalogues about their installed / supplied machines, which is likely to have some of the information you are looking for. Possibly, you may also get such information from their website. Obviously, these will not have all the information mentioned by you, that too in your format.

As regarding reclaimers, there are quite a few types, which would have differing prices and application.

Regarding maintenance aspects, you can refer to some users of the machines, known by you.

Regards,

Ishwar G. Mulani

Author of Book: Engineering Science And Application Design For Belt Conveyors (new print November, 2012)

Author of Book: Belt Feeder Design And Hopper Bin Silo

Advisor / Consultant for Bulk Material Handling System & Issues.

Pune, India.

Tel.: 0091 (0)20 25871916

Email: conveyor.ishwar.mulani@gmail.com

Website: www.conveyor.ishwarmulani.com ■